384 KANSAS UNIVERSITY SCIENCE BULLETIN. 



ternal band of dull blue extending on the abdominal scutellsB. 

 Body beneath (in alcohol) uniform dull yellow, tail bluish. 



The head is proportionally narrow and elongated, flattened 

 above and convex on the snout. The frontal plate is elongated 

 and subpentagonal, broader anteriorly than posteriorly, with 

 the sides slightly concave. The postorbital plates proportion- 

 ally small are three in number. Loreal large and polygonal, 

 higher than long. There are three or four temporal shields 

 very much developed, but one in contact with postorbitals. 

 Dorsal rows of scales twenty-three or twenty-four in number, 

 strongly carinated with the keels on the posterior third of the 

 body, constituting very conspicuous and continuous ridges, the 

 immediate depressions or furrows giving to the body and tail a 

 canaliculated appearance. The lateral or outer row, however, 

 is but slightly carinated. The tail itself is subconical, very 

 much tapering, forming one-fourth of the entire length. 



COLUBER LiNN^us, 

 Coluber LinoEeus, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., p. 216 (1758). 

 Calopeltis Bonaparte, Mem, Real. Acad., Torino II, 1810, p. 431. 

 Scotophis Baird and Girard, Cat. N. Amer. Rept., Pt. I, Serp., 1853, p. 73. 

 Natrix Cope from Laurenti, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1862, p. 338, 



Scales in 19-35 rows ; more or less keeled. Loreal one. Two 

 nasals. One preocular. Anal divided. Maxillary teeth equal. 

 Head distinct. 



KEY TO KANSAS SPECIES. 



One or two plates in the first row of temporals. 



About nine rows of indistinctly keeled scales. Scales in 25-29 rows. Brown 



spots above C spiloides. 



Keeled rows 13-21. Black above or with red or yellowish between large spots. 



C. obsoletus. 

 Keeled rows 9-11. Scales in 25-27 rows. Yellow, with distinct rounded dark 



spots C vidpinus. 



Three plates in the first row of temporals. Seven to thirteen rows of keeled 

 scales. Light gray with brown spots C. emoryi. 



Coluber spiloides Dumeril and Bibron. 



Red-headed Coluber. 



Cohiber sjiiloides Dumeril and Bibron, Erp. Gen., VII, 1854, p. 269. 

 Coluber obsoletus confinis Cope, Check-list N. Amer. Batr. Rept., 1875, p. 39 

 Coluber obsoletus Boulenger, part, Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus., II, 1894, p. 50. 



Scales in twenty-seven rows; 5-11 rows very faintly keeled 

 Occipitals long, broad anteriorly. Superciliaries twice as wide 



