44 NEW- YORK FAUNA. 



spots more obvious, and the two large black ovate spots behind the occipital plates ; the tail 

 more slender than in the adult, but its relative proportions are the same. We reduce all the 

 various appearances presented by different individuals observed in this State, to the following 

 varieties, but doubtless many others may be observed : 



Var. a. Reddish above ; spotted between the scales with dusky ; the dorsal stripe bright red, 



the lateral ones yellowish. 

 Var. b. Light-colored above, with a row of dark spots in place of dorsal and lateral stripes. 



We suppose this may have been possibly intended for the triple rang of Lacepede, cited 



above. 

 Var. c. The dorsal stripe alone visible, with two series of alternate black spots on each side. 



It is this variety which we have selected, as it has often been confounded with another 



species not found in these latitudes. 

 Var. d. The whole under surface of a deep mahogany color. 



Abdominal plates, . . 145-155. Length, 42"0. 



Caudal plates, 55- 65. Ditto of tail, 7 - 0. 



The short linnean description of C. sirtalis, from a specimen furnished by Kalm, may pos- 

 sibly have been intended for this species ; but the characters are too insufficient and too in- 

 accurate to authorize the adoption of that name. 



On the authority of my lamented friend, the late Mr. Say, (in letters to me,) I had been 

 disposed to refer the species under consideration to the ordinatus. Linneus, however, had 

 evidently some small southern species in view ; and this is evident from his reference to the 

 52d plate of Catesby, which is entirely inapplicable to our species. The accompanying text 

 of Catesby, throws no light on the subject : " Green spotted plate ; these grow to four times 

 " the bigness of the figure. I would willingly avoid mistakes by describing the same serpent 

 " twice, and multiplying this kind to more than there are ; and I am diffident in determinating 

 " whether this be a different species from the spotted ribbon snake (pi. 51), which somewhat 

 " resembles it, though of a different color." It is remarkable that Linneus no where cites 

 this plate 51, which Catesby accompanies with the following text : "A slender snake ; the 

 " upper part brown, spotted with black ; belly white ; on the ridge of the back, extends a list 

 " (band) of white the whole length of it." 



In the Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles (Edition de Levrault), the sirtalis is arranged 

 among the species which are too little known to merit transcribing, or which have been con- 

 founded with others, and the ordinatus is passed over in silence. We leave it to our southern 

 naturalists to determine what species was intended by ordinatus, or whether that and sirtalis 

 should not be expunged from the systems.* 



* Since writing the above, I perceive that the true ordinatus has been re-discovered by Dr. Holbrook. 



