Dekay’s Brownsnake

Uploaded on Jun 19, 2009

just some pics and info on Northern Brown Snakes, hope it's some help to some people. enjoy! :)

Published on Sep 1, 2012

Uploaded on Aug 2, 2011

Dekay’s Brown Snake
(Storeria dekayi)

Description: 10-20 3/4" (25.4-52.7 cm). Small; gray, yellowish-brown, brown, or reddish-brown, with 2 parallel rows of small dark spots bordering an indistinct wide light back stripe. Belly pale yellow, brown, or pinkish with small black dots along edges. Young have yellowish collar. Scales keeled, in 17 rows. Anal plate divided.

Subspecies: Seven; 4 in our range. Wide zones of intergradation occur between races.
Northern (S. d. dekayi), vertical or diagonal dark bar on temporal scale on side of head usually extends through 6th and 7th lip scales; s. Maine and s. Quebec to Virginia. Intergrades with Midland from Michigan to Carolinas.
Marsh (S. d. limnetes), horizontal dark bar on temporal scale, 6th and 7th lip scales unmarked; coastal marshes; Colorado Co., Texas, east through Louisiana, Mobile Bay and Pensacola.
Texas (S. d. texana), no bar on temporal scale; large blotch on nape of neck extends downward to belly scales; Minnesota to Texas, south into Mexico.
Midland (S. d. wrightorum), similar to Northern, except parallel spots fused by narrow crossbands; Illinois and Indiana south to s. Mississippi, s. Alabama, and sw. Georgia. Intergrades with Texas in c. Wisconsin, e. Illinois, w. Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

Breeding: Live-bearing. Mates spring and fall; 3-31 young, 3 1/4-4 1/2" (8-11 cm) long, are born June to September.

Similar Species: Florida Brown Snake (S. victa), formerly considered a subspecies of Dekay's, has 15 scale rows (all Dekay's have 17) and a light band across head; it occurs from se. Georgia to the Florida Keys.

Habitat: Moist upland woodland to lowland freshwater and saltwater marshes; margins of swamps, bogs and ponds; vacant lots, gardens, golf courses.

Range: S. Maine, s. Quebec, and s. Minnesota, south to Florida panhandle, and through Texas and Mexico to n. Honduras.

Discussion: Diurnal, but nocturnal in warm weather. Hides under flat rocks, logs, or trash. Usually found near water or damp places. Feeds on earthworms, slugs and snails. Large numbers may congregate to hibernate together.

Uploaded on Apr 8, 2008

This small snake is a regular along the road we were walking along, unfortunately as they make their way across the road many do not make it to the other side.

These snakes have live birth and mate April through May, so in the coming weeks we may see many newborns in that area.

Published on May 21, 2013

A Brown snake (Storeria dekayi) I found on a hike on the Spring Valley trail in Ancaster, Ontario.

Storeria dekayi, commonly known as the brown snake or De Kay's snake, is a small species of colubrid snake. It is native to Southern Ontario and Quebec, most of the eastern half of the United States, through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and possibly El Salvador.

Dorsally it is brown to gray with a lighter center stripe bordered by small black spots; ventrally it is lighter brown or pink with small black dots at the ends of the ventral scales.[5] Adults usually measure less than 12 inches (30 cm), but the record size is 192⁄8 inches (49 cm). It has keeled dorsal scales, and no loreal scale.

Like other Natricine snakes (such as watersnakes, genus Nerodia; and gartersnakes, genus Thamnophis), Storeria dekayi are ovoviviparous.

It eats earthworms, slugs, snails, and most other small insects.

The specific name, dekayi, is in honor of American zoologist James Ellsworth De Kay (1792--1851), who collected the first specimen in Long Island, New York, while the generic name, Storeria, honors zoologist David Humphreys Storer. This is the only North American snake whose binomial is a double honorific - that is, both the generic name and the specific name honor people.

Published on Jun 20, 2014

Here are several brown snakes that I found in Bucks County Pennsylvania. You can clearly see some of the variations among individuals of the same species. Always a happy find while herping.

(thumbnail photo ©Christopher Egnoto