Storeria occipitomaculata

Storeria occipitomaculata
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific 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 [2]
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). ^{[1] [2]}

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. ^[3]

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. ^[4] Individuals of this species can be found under logs and leafy debris due to its secretive nature. ^[3]

Reproduction

Storeria occipitomaculata bears live young by ovoviviparity. ^[2] Studies of the redbelly snake have determined that it reproduces annually, and females have been found to be gravid during spring and early summer. ^[5] 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. ^[4] 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. ^[5]

Diet

The red-bellied snake, like other members of its genus, preys primarily on slugs. ^{[4] [6]} Its teeth are slender and distally curved to better catch slimy prey. ^[6]

Behavior

Storeria occipitomaculata exhibits a distinctive behavior of lip-curling. ^[6] The purposes of this behavior are still being studied, but are hypothesized to aid in prey capture and handling, and in predator deterrence. ^[6] 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. ^[7] It can also mock the posture of venomous snakes by flattening its body, raising its head, and flexing its neck. ^[7]

Etymology

The specific name, occipitomaculata, is derived from the Latin words occiput which means "the back part of the head" and maculata meaning "spotted". ^[8] The generic name, Storeria, of the monophyletic clade ^[9] honors zoologist David Humphreys Storer. ^{[10] : 255}

Subspecies

Three subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, are recognized as being valid: ^[2]

• 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 .

References

1. Hammerson, G.A. (2007). "Storeria occipitomaculata ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007 e.T63930A12729296. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63930A12729296.en . Retrieved 30 January 2022.
2. Storeria occipitomaculata at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 30 January 2022.
3. "Species Profile: Redbellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) | SREL Herpetology". srelherp.uga.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
4. Cairns, Nicholas A.; Rutherford, Pamela L.; Hoysak, Drew J. (2018). "Morphology, reproduction, habitat use, and hibernation of Red-bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) near its northern range limit". The Canadian Field-Naturalist. 132 (2): 150–162. doi: 10.22621/cfn.v132i2.2054 . ISSN   0008-3550. S2CID   92805723.
5. Semlitsch, Raymond D.; Moran, Gary B. (1984). "Ecology of the Redbelly Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) Using Mesic Habitats in South Carolina". The American Midland Naturalist. 111 (1): 33–40. doi:10.2307/2425539. ISSN   0003-0031. JSTOR   2425539.
6. Do Amaral, José Pedro Sousa (1999). "Lip-curling in redbelly snakes (Storeria occipitomaculata): Functional morphology and ecological significance". Journal of Zoology248 (3): 289–293.
7. Jordan, Ralph Jr. (1970). "Death-Feigning in a Captive Red-Bellied Snake, Storeria occipitomaculata (Storer)". Herpetologica. 26 (4): 466–468. ISSN   0018-0831. JSTOR   3890772.
8. Beltz, Ellin. "Biographies of People Honored in the Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America". ebeltz.net. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
9. Pyron RA, Hsieh FW, Lemmon AR, Lemmon EM, Hendry CR (2016). "Integrating phylogenomic and morphological data to assess candidate species-delimitation models in brown and red-bellied snakes (Storeria)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society177 (4): 937–949. doi:10.1111/zoj.12392
10. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. xiii + 296 pp.

Further reading

• Behler, J.L.; King, F.W. (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN   0-394-50824-6. 743 pp. (Storeria occipitomaculata, pp. 655–656 + Plates 501, 505–506).
• Boulenger, G.A. (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 occipitomaculatus, pp. 287–288).
• Powell, R.; Conant, R.; Collins, J.T. (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   978-0-544-12997-9. xiv + 494 pp., 47 color plates, 207 figures. (Storeria occipitomaculata, pp. 424-426, Figure 194 + Plate 42).
• Schmidt, K.P.; Davis, D.D. (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp., 34 plates, 103 figures. (Storeria occipitomaculata, pp. 229-230, Figure 74).
• Smith, H.M.; Brodie, E.D. Jr. (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. ISBN   0-307-13666-3. (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).
• Wright, A.H.; Wright, A.A. (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 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
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   Media related to Storeria occipitomaculata at Wikimedia Commons