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Texas Brown Snake
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- Order: Squamata (scaled reptiles)
- Suborder: Serpentes (=Ophidia) (snakes)
- Family: Colubridae (typical snakes)
- Subfamily: Natricinae (water, garter, and
related snakes)
- Genus: Storeria (brown and redbelly
snakes)
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| Also Known As: DeKay's
snake |
Scientific Name: Storeria dekayi
texana Trapido, 1944 |
| Habitat: A variety of
terrain from prairie to woodland, and often near human habitation. |
Storeria in honor of Dr. David H. Storer, dekayi
in
honor of zoologist James E. DeKay, texana="from
Texas"
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| Length: To 21 inches total. |
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| Food: Slugs and
earthworms; occasionally insects. |
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| Although this subspecies is
called "Texas" Brown Snake, I assure you these
individuals have never been that far south. The Texas Brown
Snake is found from Texas north into Wisconsin. Other
subspecies are found further east. |
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| I found these two snakes in a pile
of old, well-worn lumber. This first picture is of the
larger of the two snakes I found. It appeared a little
bruised and had remnants of an incomplete skin shed on parts of
its body. Perhaps it had a run-in with a predator. |
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| The second picture is of a
smaller specimen. It's still a pretty good size for a brown
snake--they usually don't get bigger than a foot and a half
long. After taking pictures I put the snakes back where I
found them. Most people don't even realize these snakes
exist. They spend much of their lives in hiding, but are
sometimes found after rains and while people are mowing their
lawns.
See also the brown snakes I found in Oklahoma,
Texas
and Arkansas.
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