158 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [Mar., 



present; oculars 1-2, in No. 6,143 caudad of the lower postocular 

 is a small scale hardly a temporal; if this be not a temporal, the 

 temporal formula for all three is 1-2; infralabials 8, the fifth largest; 

 supralabials 8 in one specimen and 7 in the other two, eye resting on 

 the 3d and 4th supralabial; scales 17-17-15, the lower row smooth, 

 the second row very faintly keeled. 



Habits, Food. — In our experience this species is decidedly arboreal, 

 and Profs. Crosby and Bradley record the same habitat for it. The 

 specimens were taken from small bushes, and it is a close second 

 to Elaphe obsoletus and its allies in its tree-climbing proclivities as 

 the records and its long, slender body testify. This species is quite 

 thoroughly insectivorous, one specimen having undeterminable 

 insect remains in the rectum; another, a partly digested beetle larva, 

 and the largest, parts of a tree cricket and other orthopterous remains 

 with insect eggs presumably belonging to the prey captured. 



5. Coluber constrictor L.: Black Snake; Black Racer; Racer; Black Runner; Blue Racer; 

 White-throated Racer. Plate III, fig. 5; fig. 8. 



This slender snake was one of the most common species of the 

 islands, but only thirteen of them were captured because of their 

 speed. 



Coloration. — In coloration this smooth-scaled snake is shining 

 black above and slaty or plumbeous beneath; the white chin and 

 throat in most of the specimens occupy the mental, infralabials, 

 geneials, first 2-3 gular gastrosteges, the cephalic gulars and the 

 lower edges of the supralabials; two or three of the larger specimens 

 have slaty chins except for a small white spot, which in one case 

 covers parts of the mental, inner border of the 1st and 2d infralabials 

 and the anterior geneials, while in the other it occupies 1st gastro- 

 stege and two gulars. One medium-sized specimen (No. 6,152) 

 has more of a brown tinge, and the gastrosteges are slaty except for 

 the caudal borders which are distinctly white; another specimen 

 was decidedly whitish on the caudal ventral third of the body. A 

 young specimen taken June 23, 1912, had spots on the back vaguely 

 discernible and on the venter had a series of pink spots near the 

 ends of the gastrosteges. These spots were lost entirely in the 

 region of the 90th-100th gastrosteges. 



Dimensions and Variations. — These snakes vary in length from 

 71.4-127 cm.; the tail from 18.1-35.4 cm. or 3.4-3.8 times in the 

 total length; the gastrosteges are 176-189, average 182; the uro- 

 steges, 92-110, average 103; anal plate divided; in three specimens, 

 the gastrostege ahead of the anal plate is divided or a quarter gastro- 



