Storeria dekayi, commonly known as De Kay's brown snake, De Kay's snake, and simply the brown snake (along with many other snakes), is a small non-venomous species of snake in the family Colubridae.Stejneger L, Barbour T (1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (Storeria dekayi, p. 98).Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, A Division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). (Storeria dekayi, pp. 697-714, Figures 205-209, Map 53). The species is native to North America and Central America.

Geographic range S. dekayi is native to Southern Ontario and Quebec, most of the eastern half of the United States, through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and possibly El Salvador. www.reptile-database.org. More specifically, this common species inhabits most wetland and terrestrial habitats east of the Great Plains from sea level to 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) above sea level.

Description Dorsally, S. dekayi 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.Schmidt KP, Davis DD (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp. (Storeria dekayi, pp. 227-228 + Plate 25). Adults usually measure less than in total length (including tail), but the record total length is .Conant R (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. (hardcover), (paperback). (Storeria dekayi, pp. 153-156, Figure 35 + Plate 22 + Map 28). On average, juveniles measured 3 inches (7.68 cm) just after being born. The dorsal scales are keeled, and it has no loreal scale.Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. (Storeria dekayi, pp. 158-159). Females exceed males in snout–vent length and number of ventral scales while males exceed females in tail length, head dimensions, and number of subcaudal scales.

Habitat S. dekayi is a lover of urban areas and tends to frequent cities more often than the countryside. It can also be found in areas such as wetlands, grasslands, dunes, and forests, but it is most commonly encountered where humans are found.It prefers moist habitats. Although S. dekayi is solitary, aggregations of individuals have been observed.Hecnar, S. J., & Hecnar, D. R. (2011). Microhabitat selection of woody debris by Dekay's brownsnake (Storeria dekayi) in a dune habitat in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Herpetology, 45(4), 478-483.

Reproduction Like other natricine snakes such as water snakes (genus Nerodia) and garter snakes (genus Thamnophis), S. dekayi is a viviparous species, giving birth to live young. Sexual maturity is reached at two to three years. Females have seasonal sperm storage that allows for delayed fertilization and parturition, which synchronize birth timing with peak prey availability. Mating takes place in the spring, after snakes emerge from brumation. Field studies have shown that males use pheromone-based mate searching to find receptive females. Between 3 and 41 young are born in late summer.

Diet S. dekayi primarily feeds on slugs, snails, and earthworms. In the southern extent of its region, the snake usually preys predominantly on earthworms; however, in the northern reaches of its range, slugs are the predominant food source. It has specialized jaws that allow it to remove snails from their shells for consumption. Reports of other invertebrates (such as woodlice, mites, or millipedes) in the diet of S. dekayi are more than likely the result of accidental ingestion rather than intentional feeding, in which one of these invertebrates may have adhered to a slug or other prey item being consumed.

Ecology S. dekayi is a prey item for larger snakes, large frogs and toads, birds, and many mammals including weasels and invasive housecats. The milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum) has previously been reported to be a predator of S. dekayi.Ernst, C.H.; Ernst, E.M. Ernst (2003). Snakes of the United States and Canada. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Press. © The Center for North American Herpetology. An observed predator avoidance mechanism of S. dekayi is coiling the anterior portion of the body and swaying it side to side as it attempts to flee. In addition to this, it releases a foul musk from its cloaca when threatened. The species is shy and rarely found in the open, usually found hiding under rocks or logs for safety and comfort. It will also occasionally burrow. Its most active period is from about March to October.

Etymology The specific name, dekayi, is in honor of American zoologist James Ellsworth De Kay (1792–1851), who collected the first specimen on Long Island, New York, while the generic name, Storeria, honors American zoologist David Humphreys Storer.Beltz, Ellin (2006). Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America – Explained. http://ebeltz.net/herps/biogappx.htmlBeolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Storeria dekayi, p. 68; genus Storeria, p. 255).

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.

References

Further reading Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Knopf. 743 pp. . (Storeria dekayi, pp. 654–655 + Plate 550). Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Ischnognathus dekayi, pp. 286–287). Clausen, H.J. (1936). "Observations on the Brown Snake Storeria dekayi (Holbrook), with especial Reference to the Habits and Birth of Young". Copeia 1936: 98-102. Conant, Roger; Bridges, William (1939). What Snake is That? A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains. (With 108 drawings by Edmond Malnate). New York and London: D. Appleton-Century. Frontispiece map + viii + 163 pp. + Plates A-C, 1-32. (Storeria dekayi, pp. 108–110 + Plate C, Figure 14; Plate 21, Figure 60). Goin, Coleman J.; Goin, Olive B.; Zug, George R. (1978). Introduction to Herpetology: Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. xi + 378 pp. . (Storeria dekayi, p. 117). Gray, Brian S. (2014). "Natural history of Dekay's Brownsnake, Storeria dekayi (Holbrook 1836) at a site in northwestern Pennsylvania". Journal of North American Herpetology 2014 (1): 28–39. Holbrook JE (1842). North American Herpetology; or, a Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Vol. IV. Philadelphia: J. Dobson. 136 pp. (Tropidonotus dekayi, new combination, pp. 53–55 & Plate XIV opposite p. 53). Morris, Percy A. (1948). Boy's Book of Snakes: How to Recognize and Understand Them. (A volume of the Humanizing Science Series, edited by Jaques Cattell). New York: Ronald Press. viii + 185 pp. (Storeria dekayi dekayi, pp. 26–28, 180). Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp. . (Storeria dekayi, pp. 423–424, Figures 192-193 + Plate 42). Zim HS, Smith HM (1956). Reptiles and Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American Species. A Golden Nature Guide. New York: Simon and Schuster. 160 pp. (Storeria dekayi, pp. 106, 156).

External links

Brown Snake, Reptiles and Amphibians of Iowa.