388 PBOCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1895. 



have no correlation with faunal or geographic conditions, but are the 

 result of individual variation, of age, and, in some instances, of sex 

 and season. No specimens of "variety" erythrogaster were taken 

 but the same remarks are undoubtedly applicable to that phase also. 

 Strictly speaking, these names have no place in nomenclature save as 

 pure synonyms of sipedon, the first name applied by Linnaeus to this 

 species. As trinomials they are inapplicable, for the same reason, 

 and the sooner herpetologists are willing to confine the use of trino- 

 mials to geographic races of constant and definable characters the 

 better it will be for that branch of science. In the case of N. sipedon 

 the use of these varietal names even in the liberal sense of a color 

 phase is objectionable, as there are innumerable intermediate varia- 

 tions between the forms so designated which defy classification and 

 which are as fully entitled to varietal rank as those already pro- 

 posed. An instance of this is exhibited by one of the Samburg 

 specimens which so closely resembled a blacksnake that I had origi- 

 nally put it in the same jar with a Bascanion from that locality. This 

 specimen, apart from its color, is a typical N. sipedon. In life it 

 was dull black over the whole upper surface, below clear white with 

 fine mottling and shading of steel blue across the bases of the 

 gastrosteges. There are no traces of spots or bands above, either on 

 the outer dermal covering or on the portions of the underlying skin 

 which have been exposed by handling. Prof. Garman mentions that 

 sometimes the upper colors are uniform, from which I infer he means 

 without spots, but Prof. Cope 1 makes no mention of such a phase. 

 The whiteness of the lower parts in the Samburg specimen seems in- 

 inconsistent with the idea suggested to me by Mr. A. E. Brown, that 

 it is an example of melanism. It may be stated in this connection that 

 Mr. Brown, who has perhaps seen and handled more of these snakes 

 than any one in America, had never seen a black one before. See, 

 however, Tropidonotus niger of Holbrook. 



Of the specimens from middle and east Tennessee all belong to the 

 sipedon- fasciatus types, some with the dorsal bauds continuous on the 

 sides. In one from Walden's Ridge some of the dorsal bands are 

 continuous, interspersed by large quadrate lateral blotches alter- 

 nately distributed on either side with their upper corners meeting 

 along the vertebral line. 



1 Chars. & Vars. Snakes N. A., Proc. N. Mus., XIV, 1892. 



