Northern Redbelly Snake (S.o. occipitomaculata)
Description: Adults and young of S. o. occipitomaculata have known dorsal colorations of solid olive-brown, tan-brown, chestnut-brown, grey-brown, grey or even black. They have three yellow spots posterior to the head shields, to which the specific name occipitomaculata (meaning spotted back of the head) refers. The underside is coral-red to brick-red. Coloration is usually made up of three different shades forming a striped pattern. Like all species of the genus Storeria, the northern redbelly snake has keeled dorsal scales and no loreal scale. Some specimens have been found with three black dots on the top of the head. Adults grow to 7.9–11.0 inches in total length.
Habitat: The northern redbelly snake lives in moist flowerbeds, gardens, and moist woodlands, such as borders between forest and wetlands. It often rests under logs and rocks near a woods or forest.
Range: S. o. occipitomaculata is found in the central and northeastern United States and in adjacent southeastern Canada.
Diet: S. o. occipitomaculata preys primarily on slugs and earthworms.
Reproduction: The northern redbelly snake gives birth to live young. Each newborn measures about 2.8 to 4.3 inches in total length.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
»» Order: Squamata - Scaled Reptiles
»» Suborder: Serpentes
»» Superfamily: Colubroidea
»» Family: Colubridae - Colubrids
»» Genus: Storeria
»» Species: Storeria occipitomaculata - Red-bellied Snakes
»» Subspecies: S.o. occipitomaculata - Northern Redbelly Snake
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Northern Redbelly Snake", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.
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