164 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



[Mar., 



supraocular; supralabials 8, except in one specimen where 8 on the 

 left side and 9 on the right side; eye resting on the -ith and 5th 

 supralabials; infralabials 11 or 12; temporals variable, in three 

 specimens 2-3 as in C. spiloides Dum. and Bib., in one 2-3 on one 

 side and 2-1 on the other, in another 2-3 and 2-4, in a sixth 2-3 and 

 3-4, the last a duplicate of Cope's figure 196, p. 851, for C. laclus 

 B. and G., and, strangely enough, the 2-3 condition barely escapes 

 being 1-2; in fact, in just these six specimens on one side or on the 

 other we practically have duplicates of the temporal scutellations 

 of Cope's figures 191-196, namely, for C. rosaceus, quadriviUatus, 

 spiloides, obsoletus obsoletus, ohsoletus lemniscatiis, and ketus — rather 

 too strong an individualistic a variation in a localized collection of 

 six to make it a stable and cardinal character of primary dictinction. 



Fig. 9. — Elaphe obsoletus (Say). 



The scale formulas are 29-29-19 for two specimens, 29-27-19, 

 27-27-19, 26-29-19, 25-27-17; from 9-23 keeled rows of scales; 

 anterior chin shields touching 4th and 5th infralabials. 



Our specimens agree best with Coluber spiloides Dum. and Bib., 

 although equally well with C. obsoletus confinis if Cope's first temporal 

 scale be considered abnormal for this form. One specimen seems a 

 good C. obsoletus lemniscatus, if not more than an incipent C. quad- 

 riviUatus. All in all, if the supposed diagnostic characters of these 

 four break down in a collection of six snakes from one isolated envi- 

 ronment, one must question the weight to be attached to such dis- 

 tinctions. 



Habits. — This agile and slender snake is the most arboreal snake 

 of the swamp. Its compressed body with the gastrostegal keels on 

 either side where the sides abruptly meet the venter suggests an 

 arboreal form and its habits confirm the belief. This species was 



