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Storeria dekayi

(Holbrook, 1842)

Dekay's Brownsnake

G5Secure Found in 32 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.893278
Element CodeARADB34010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyColubridae
GenusStoreria
Other Common Names
Couleuvre brune (FR) Dekay's brownsnake (EN) DeKay's Snake (EN)
Concept Reference
Crother, B. I. (editor). 2008. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Sixth edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular 37:1-84. Online with updates at: http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Index.php
Taxonomic Comments
Pyron et al. (2016) used high throughput molecular data to detect eight species-level clades within Storeria, but elected to recognize only four clades (three in the United States) that were corroborated by morphology. They concluded against the recognition of subspecies (Crother 2017).

Crother et al. (2000) and Crother (2008) cited Christman (1980) in listing Storeria victa as a species; generally it has been regarded as a subspecies of S. dekayi. Ernst and Ernst (2003) discussed Christman's conclusions but nevertheless maintained victa as a subspecies.

The Florida Keys population of S. dekayi may warrant recognition as a subspecies distinct from S. d. victa (Lazell 1989).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-02-02
Change Date1996-10-30
Edition Date2005-12-15
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Range Extent Comments
The range extends from southern Maine, southern Quebec, southern Ontario, Michigan, Minnesota, and northeastern South Dakota south to southern Florida (including the Lower Keys, Lazell 1989), the U.S. Gulf Coast, and through eastern and southern Mexico to Veracruz and Oaxaca and from Chiapas to Honduras (Christman 1982). Subspecies victa of peninsular Florida is treated as a species by some authors.
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a very large number (hundreds) of occurrences or subpopulations (see map in Christman 1982).
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats are known. This snake tolerates a high level of habitat disturbance.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This snake occurs in nearly all terrestrial and wetland habitat types in its range, including cities. Habitats in Mexico include cloud forest and tropical deciduous forest. Usually it inhabits moist situations, but it is not an aquatic species. It often occurs under debris or logs; frequently among water hyacinths in Florida. Hibernation sites (often communal) are underground or beneath buildings and other structures.

Reproduction

Gives birth to 3-31 young (usually about 10-15), generally in summer. Sexually mature in about 2 years. See J. Herpetol. 27:175-185 for information on determinants of offspring size and number.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodForest - ConiferForest - MixedWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedGrassland/herbaceousOld fieldCropland/hedgerowSuburban/orchard
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDSCRUB-SHRUB WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDBog/fenRiparian
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MaineS3Yes
TennesseeS5Yes
MarylandS5Yes
IllinoisS5Yes
DelawareS3Yes
New YorkS5Yes
KentuckyS5Yes
VirginiaS5Yes
North CarolinaS5Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
NebraskaS3Yes
West VirginiaS4Yes
VermontS4Yes
MichiganS5Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
ArkansasS5Yes
South DakotaSXYes
District of ColumbiaS4Yes
MississippiS5Yes
MinnesotaS4Yes
TexasS5Yes
FloridaS2Yes
AlabamaS5Yes
WisconsinS5Yes
OhioSNRYes
LouisianaS5Yes
Rhode IslandS4Yes
KansasS5Yes
IowaS5Yes
MissouriS5Yes
MassachusettsS5Yes
IndianaS4Yes
ConnecticutS5Yes
New HampshireS5Yes
New JerseyS5Yes
South CarolinaS5Yes
GeorgiaS5Yes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
QuebecS2Yes
OntarioS5Yes
Roadless Areas (32)
Alabama (1)
AreaForestAcres
Oakey MountainTalladega National Forest6,129
Arkansas (5)
AreaForestAcres
Blue MountainOuachita National Forest9,755
East ForkOzark-St. Francis National Forest13,037
Gee CreekOzark-St. Francis National Forest7,957
Pedestal RocksOzark-St. Francis National Forest21,957
Richland CreekOzark-St. Francis National Forest571
Georgia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Lance CreekChattahoochee National Forest9,025
Pink KnobChattahoochee National Forest12,127
Idaho (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekCaribou-Targhee National Forest118,582
Kentucky (1)
AreaForestAcres
WolfpenDaniel Boone National Forest2,835
Louisiana (1)
AreaForestAcres
Saline Bayou W & S River CorridorKisatchie National Forest5,355
Missouri (1)
AreaForestAcres
Irish Rare II Study AreaMark Twain National Forest1,226
North Carolina (11)
AreaForestAcres
Boteler PeakNantahala National Forest4,205
Catfish Lake NorthCroatan National Forest11,299
Cheoah BaldNantahala National Forest7,795
Craggy MountainPisgah National Forest2,657
Dobson KnobPisgah National Forest6,111
Harper CreekPisgah National Forest7,325
Jarrett CreekPisgah National Forest7,485
Laurel MountainPisgah National Forest5,683
Linville Gorge AdditionPisgah National Forest2,809
Tusquitee BaldNantahala National Forest13,670
Wesser BaldNantahala National Forest4,061
Pennsylvania (1)
AreaForestAcres
Allegheny FrontAllegheny National Forest7,430
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Upper Bald RiverCherokee National Forest9,202
Texas (3)
AreaForestAcres
Big CreekNational Forests in Texas1,447
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
Winters BayouNational Forests in Texas730
Vermont (1)
AreaForestAcres
Wilder Mountain 09082Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests8,759
Virginia (2)
AreaForestAcres
James River AdditionJefferson National Forest1,140
Three SistersGeorge Washington National Forest8,149
West Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little MountainMonongahela National Forest8,172
References (15)
  1. Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
  2. Christman, S. P. 1982. Storeria dekayi. Cat. Am. Amph. Rep. 306.1-306.4.
  3. Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
  4. Conant, R., and J. T. Collins. 1998. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 616 pp.
  5. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2008. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Sixth edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular 37:1-84. Online with updates at: http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Index.php
  6. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2012. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 7th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 39:1-92.
  7. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  8. DeGraaf, R. M., and D. D. Rudis. 1983a. Amphibians and reptiles of New England. Habitats and natural history. Univ. Massachusetts Press. vii + 83 pp.
  9. Fitch, H. S. 1999. A Kansas snake community: composition and changes over 50 years. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. 165 pp.
  10. Lazell, J. D., Jr. 1989. Wildlife of the Florida Keys: a natural history. Island Press, Washington, D.C.
  11. Minton, S. A., Jr. 1972. Amphibians and reptiles of Indiana. Indiana Academy Science Monographs 3. v + 346 pp.
  12. Mount, R. H. 1975. The reptiles and amphibians of Alabama. Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. vii + 347 pp.
  13. Pyron, R. A., F. W. Hsieh, A. R. Lemmon, E. M. Lemmon, and C. R. Hendry. 2016. Integrating phylogenomic and morphological data to assess candidate species-delimitation models in brown and red-bellied snakes (<i>Storeria</i>). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 177(4):937-949.
  14. Trapido, Harold. 1944. The snakes of the genus Storeria. Am. Midl. Nat. 31:1-84.
  15. Vogt, R. C. 1981c. Natural history of amphibians and reptiles of Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum. 205 pp.