STORERIA. 135 



Genus STOKERIA, Baird & Girard. 



Gen. Char. Head subelliptical, distinct from the body. Cephalic 

 plates normal. Loral plate absent. Orbitals, two posterior; one or 

 two anterior. Nasals two, rather large. Body small, scarcely ex- 

 ceeding a foot in length, subcylindrical ; tail comparatively short, 

 tapering. Dorsal scales 15-17 rows, all carinated. Abdominal 

 scutellae 120-140 ; posterior one bifid. Subcaudal, all divided, from 

 41 to 51 in number. Color brown, with two dorsal dotted lines. 



1. Storeria Ueiiayi, B. & G. — One anterior and two posterior 

 orbitals. Dorsal rows 17. Gray or chestnut-brown above, with a clay- 

 colored dorsal band, margined by dotted lines. A dark patch on each side 

 of the occipital ; a dark bar between this and the eye, and two below the 

 orbit. 



Syn. Tropidonotus Dekayi, Holer. N. Amer. Herp. Ill, 1842, 53. PI. xiv. 

 — Dekay, N. York Fauna. Kept. 1842, 46. PI. xiv, fig. 30. 

 Tropidonotus ordinatus* ^to'rer, Rep. Rept. Mass. 1839, 223, 



Body rather thick in the middle, tapering to the tail and head, 

 both of which are small and slender. Eyes small. Nostril princi- 

 pally in the prenasal. Seven upper labials on each side. Lower 

 labials seven, of which the 4th and 5th are very large, extending 

 quite to the mental. A second plate parallel with the 6th, rather 

 longer. Exterior dorsal row of scales largest, rest diminishing gra- 

 dually to the back. 



Color grayish brown, sometimes chestnut-brown above and on the 

 sides, with a dorsal stripe extending from occiput to the end of the 

 tail, of a decidedly lighter tint, and about three and two half-scales 

 in width. This is bordered along each outer edge by a series of 

 rounded brown dots, occurring at intervals of about two scales ; of 

 these there are about 70 pairs from occiput to anus. Each dot occu- 

 pies generally a single scale, but is sometimes seen on the skin on 

 each side. On separating the scales, the skin on each side of the 

 4th lateral row of scales exhibits a second series, similar to and 



