Storeria occipitomaculata

Storeria occipitomaculata
File:Redbelly snake (Storeria occipitomaculata).jpg
Conservation status
Least Concern Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Storeria
Species:	S. occipitomaculata
Binomial name
Storeria occipitomaculata (Storer, 1839)
Synonyms
Coluber occipito-maculatus Storer, 1839 Tropidonotus occipito-maculatus — Holbrook, 1842 Storeria occipitomaculata — Baird & Girard, 1853 Ischnognathus occipitomaculatus — Günther, 1858 Storeria occipitomaculata — Yarrow, 1883

Storeria occipitomaculata, commonly known as the redbelly snake or the red-bellied snake, is a species of harmless snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to North America (Canada and the United States).

Description

Storeria occipitomaculata is a small woodland species that usually measures 4–10 in (10–25 cm) in total length (including tail). Its dorsal color ranges from orange to gray, black, or brown. It can be distinguished from other species by its bright red or orange underbelly. Many individuals have a light brown ring behind the head.

Habitat

Storeria occipitomaculata prefers warmer habitats, and in the more northern limits of its range will inhabit abandoned ant mounds. These mounds absorb solar radiation and are insulated which allows for a longer active season. This species, with large eyes and a kinetic skull, is not able to burrow on its own effectively, and abandoned ant mounds allow it access to a warm retreat. Individuals of this species can be found under logs and leafy debris due to its secretive nature.

Reproduction

Storeria occipitomaculata bears live young by ovoviviparity. Studies of the redbelly snake have determined that it reproduces annually, and females have been found to be gravid during spring and early summer. While body size varies throughout the redbelly snake's geographic range, the average litter size tends to remain the same with an average of 7–9 young per litter. The redbelly snake begins mating at around two years of age and must be a minimum of 22 centimetres (8.7 in) in order to reach sexual maturity.

Diet

The red-bellied snake, like other members of its genus, preys primarily on slugs. Its teeth are slender and distally curved to better catch slimy prey.

Behavior

Storeria occipitomaculata exhibits a distinctive behavior of lip-curling. The purposes of this behavior are still being studied, but are hypothesized to aid in prey capture and handling, and in predator deterrence. The redbelly snake has also exhibited death-feigning behavior to possible predators, in which it laterally compresses parts of its body to mimic the appearance of injuries. It can also mock the posture of venomous snakes by flattening its body, raising its head, and flexing its neck.

Etymology

The specific name, occipitomaculata, is derived from the Latin words occiput which means "the back part of the head" and maculata meaning "spotted". The generic name, Storeria, of the monophyletic clade honors zoologist David Humphreys Storer.

Subspecies

Three subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, are recognized as being valid:

• Florida redbelly snake – Storeria occipitomaculata obscura Trapido, 1944
• Northern redbelly snake – Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata (Storer, 1839)
• Black Hills redbelly snake – Storeria occipitomaculata pahasapae H.M. Smith, 1963

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Storeria.

Further reading

• 743 pp. (Storeria occipitomaculata, pp. 655–656 + Plates 501, 505–506).
• xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I–XXVIII. (Ischnognathus occipitomaculatus, pp. 287–288).
• xiv + 494 pp., 47 color plates, 207 figures. (Storeria occipitomaculata, pp. 424-426, Figure 194 + Plate 42).
• 365 pp., 34 plates, 103 figures. (Storeria occipitomaculata, pp. 229-230, Figure 74).
• (Storeria occipitomaculata, pp. 160–161).
• Storer, D.H. (1839). Reports on the Fishes, Reptiles and Birds of Massachusetts. Boston: Commissioners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of the State. (Dutton and Wentworth, State Printers). xii + 426 pp. ("C[oluber]. occipito-maculatus", new species, p. 230).
• 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). (Storeria occipitomaculata, pp. 714–721, Figures 210–211, Map 54).

External links

• Redbelly Snake, Reptiles and Amphibians of Iowa
• Red-bellied Snake, Illinois Natural History Survey
• Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to at Wikimedia Commons