That’s a pretty rare species from what I’ve read! And endangered. Y’all should definitely report finding it and your pic to your local wildlife service department. Very cool!
Very cool find! It would be cool to report it to your local USGS or fish and wildlife. They can add it to their range database. Also, damn! That male is very.... long.
I too, was looking forward to words of wisdom from the BOT. I had to settle for googlefoo.
This is the only species in this genus.
And (my favorite) "*No person on record has ever been bitten by a Kirtland's snake. This species prefers intimidation, hiding, and fleeing rather than any form of fighting.*"
Truly !harmless
Like many other animals with mouths and teeth, many non-venomous snakes bite in self defense. These animals are referred to as 'not medically significant' or traditionally, 'harmless'. Bites from these snakes benefit from being washed and kept clean like any other skin damage, but aren't often cause for anything other than basic first aid treatment. Here's where it get slightly complicated - some snakes use venom from front or rear fangs as part of prey capture and defense. This venom is not always produced or administered by the snake in ways dangerous to human health, so many species are venomous in that they produce and use venom, but considered harmless to humans in most cases because the venom is of low potency, and/or otherwise administered through grooved rear teeth or simply oozed from ducts at the rear of the mouth. Species like Ringneck Snakes *Diadophis* are a good example of mildly venomous rear fanged dipsadine snakes that are traditionally considered harmless or not medically significant. Many rear-fanged snake species are harmless as long as they do not have a chance to secrete a medically significant amount of venom into a bite; [severe envenomation can occur](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23800999) if some species are [allowed to chew on a human](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004101011831016X) for as little as 30-60 seconds. It is best not to fear snakes, but use common sense and do not let any animals chew on exposed parts of your body. Similarly, but without specialized rear fangs, gartersnakes *Thamnophis* ooze low pressure venom from the rear of their mouth that helps in prey handling, and are also [considered harmless](https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/theres-no-need-to-fear-that-garter-snake/). [Check out this book on the subject](https://shop.elsevier.com/books/venomous-bites-from-non-venomous-snakes/weinstein/978-0-12-822786-2). Even large species like Reticulated Pythons *Malayopython reticulatus* [rarely obtain a size large enough to endanger humans](https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/108/52/E1470.full.pdf) so are usually categorized as harmless.
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and u/CapableSecret2586 Totally my fault. I forgot the account isn't live yet. Got hung up in batch we were working on about six months ago. I'll copy/paste it into my earlier reply.
Brownsnakes *Storeria dekayi* are small (20.0-40.0cm record 52.77cm) natricine snakes often found in disturbed habitats like urban and suburban yards. They are one of the most commonly encountered snakes in eastern North America and make good pest control as they feast on small, soft-bodied invertebrates.
A separate but distinct species, *Storeria victa* occupies peninsular Florida. It has two fewer midbody scales (15) than *Storeria dekayi* and is more likely to have yellow collar markings on the neck.
*Storeria* brown and redbelly snakes are not considered medically significant to humans in terms of venom and are usually reluctant to bite, but all animals with a mouth can use it in self-defense.
[Relevant/Recent Phylogeography](http://www.cnah.org/pdf/88517.pdf)
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That’s a pretty rare species from what I’ve read! And endangered. Y’all should definitely report finding it and your pic to your local wildlife service department. Very cool!
Very cool find! It would be cool to report it to your local USGS or fish and wildlife. They can add it to their range database. Also, damn! That male is very.... long.
~~Brownsnake, *Storeria dekayi*~~ Kirtland's Snake, *Clonophis kirtlandii*. Harmless.
Kirtland's Snakes *Clonophis kirtlandii* are small (36.0-45.7 cm, record 66.2 cm), nonvenomous, New World natricine snakes. Their current distribution is fragmented and scattered across the Ohio River Valley. Their natural habitat includes open wetlands and the edges of forested wetlands, but they now appear to be most common in open, disturbed areas in or near urban centers, including moist, grassy sections of parks, cemeteries, and vacant lots. Habitat loss and fragmentation pose significant problems to this species, which is now absent from large portions of their historic range. They are also considered threatened or endangered over most of their current range. Semi-aquatic and highly fossorial, *C. kirtlandii* are also nocturnal and secretive in habit. They are most frequently observed under natural or artificial cover and often use crayfish burrows for sheltering and overwintering. When captured, they are not known to bite defensively. Rather, they will flatten their bodies or move erratically in an attempt to escape. Prey consists primarily of earthworms and slugs. Minnows, salamanders, frogs, juvenile crayfish, and leeches round out their diets. Kirtland's Snakes have a proportionally small head with small eyes, a short muzzle, and blunt, rounded snout. The dorsal scales are strongly keeled and usually arranged in 19 (17-21) rows anteriorly, 19 (17-19) rows at midbody, and 15 (14-17) rows posteriorly. There are usually six (4-7) supralabial scales with the third and fourth contacting the eye, and usually seven (6-9) infralabials. A loreal scale is present between the two nasals and one preocular scale. The anal plate is divided. The dorsum is grey-brown to reddish brown with four rows of alternating dark spots. The venter is red or pink medially with a row of prominent black spots extending down either side. The head is brownish or black with a whitish chin, throat, and labials. Few snakes are likely to be confused with *C. kirtlandii*. Among these, the *Storeria* brown and red-bellied snakes are more slender in build, do not have large spots along the side of the belly and, where they overlap with *C. kirtlandii*, do not have a loreal scale. *Thamnophis* gartersnakes usually do not have dark dorsal spots as large as those of *C. kirtlandii* and they also have an undivided anal plate. *Nerodia* watersnakes which overlap with *C. kirtlandii* have proportionally larger heads, grow to much larger adult sizes, do not have a pattern which consists of rounded dorsal spots, usually have eight supralabials (7-11), and have at least 23 dorsal scale rows at midbody. [Range Map - © Rune Midtgaard](http://repfocus.dk/maps1/TAX/Serpentes/Colubridae/Clonophis_kirtlandii_map.html) | [Reptile Database Account](https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Clonophis&species=kirtlandii) | [Additional Information](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105161/Clonophis_kirtlandii) This short account was written by /u/abks
No bot? Was looking fwd to it coz I've never even heard of this!
I too, was looking forward to words of wisdom from the BOT. I had to settle for googlefoo. This is the only species in this genus. And (my favorite) "*No person on record has ever been bitten by a Kirtland's snake. This species prefers intimidation, hiding, and fleeing rather than any form of fighting.*" Truly !harmless
Hahaha!, tyty!! That's a gem, and more proof, snakes>humans!
Like many other animals with mouths and teeth, many non-venomous snakes bite in self defense. These animals are referred to as 'not medically significant' or traditionally, 'harmless'. Bites from these snakes benefit from being washed and kept clean like any other skin damage, but aren't often cause for anything other than basic first aid treatment. Here's where it get slightly complicated - some snakes use venom from front or rear fangs as part of prey capture and defense. This venom is not always produced or administered by the snake in ways dangerous to human health, so many species are venomous in that they produce and use venom, but considered harmless to humans in most cases because the venom is of low potency, and/or otherwise administered through grooved rear teeth or simply oozed from ducts at the rear of the mouth. Species like Ringneck Snakes *Diadophis* are a good example of mildly venomous rear fanged dipsadine snakes that are traditionally considered harmless or not medically significant. Many rear-fanged snake species are harmless as long as they do not have a chance to secrete a medically significant amount of venom into a bite; [severe envenomation can occur](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23800999) if some species are [allowed to chew on a human](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004101011831016X) for as little as 30-60 seconds. It is best not to fear snakes, but use common sense and do not let any animals chew on exposed parts of your body. Similarly, but without specialized rear fangs, gartersnakes *Thamnophis* ooze low pressure venom from the rear of their mouth that helps in prey handling, and are also [considered harmless](https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/theres-no-need-to-fear-that-garter-snake/). [Check out this book on the subject](https://shop.elsevier.com/books/venomous-bites-from-non-venomous-snakes/weinstein/978-0-12-822786-2). Even large species like Reticulated Pythons *Malayopython reticulatus* [rarely obtain a size large enough to endanger humans](https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/108/52/E1470.full.pdf) so are usually categorized as harmless. -------------------------------------------------------- *I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthissnake/comments/flh548/phylobot_v07_information_and_patch_notes_bot_info/) report problems [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Phylogenizer) and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that [here](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SEBPhyloBotWTS). Made possible by Snake Evolution and Biogeography - [Merch Available Now](https://snakeevolution.org/donate.html)*
and u/CapableSecret2586 Totally my fault. I forgot the account isn't live yet. Got hung up in batch we were working on about six months ago. I'll copy/paste it into my earlier reply.
Ty, and np, the fact that you were able to ID it is impressive enough! Beautiful snake!
Brownsnakes *Storeria dekayi* are small (20.0-40.0cm record 52.77cm) natricine snakes often found in disturbed habitats like urban and suburban yards. They are one of the most commonly encountered snakes in eastern North America and make good pest control as they feast on small, soft-bodied invertebrates. A separate but distinct species, *Storeria victa* occupies peninsular Florida. It has two fewer midbody scales (15) than *Storeria dekayi* and is more likely to have yellow collar markings on the neck. *Storeria* brown and redbelly snakes are not considered medically significant to humans in terms of venom and are usually reluctant to bite, but all animals with a mouth can use it in self-defense. [Relevant/Recent Phylogeography](http://www.cnah.org/pdf/88517.pdf) -------------------------------------------------------- *I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthissnake/comments/flh548/phylobot_v07_information_and_patch_notes_bot_info/) report problems [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Phylogenizer) and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that [here](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SEBPhyloBotWTS). Made possible by Snake Evolution and Biogeography - [Merch Available Now](https://snakeevolution.org/donate.html)*
Snake be thinking - “WTF!!! Human in my Apartment!!! I’m packing me bags!!!😤”
There goes the neighborhood! 😂
👍😂😂😂
That is a good wiggly boi
Gorgeous!
Looks like some kind of garter snake to me. A nice fat one.