THE REPTILES OF OHIO 7 



Ophisaurus venlralis (Linne), Glass Lizard. — A specimen preserved in the Ohio 

 State Museum (No. 163) was found by Dr. Townshend on September 17, 1891, on 

 the Ohio State University Farm adjacent to the university campus in Columbus. It 

 was killed in a hay field and the mark of the pitch-fork tine (?) which pierced it in 

 capture is quite evident. It is felt wisest to eliminate this species from the state list 

 on the supposition that this lone Ohio specimen, in such a locality, had a very good 

 chance of being introduced accidently. Search was made for the glass "snake" in 

 many places in western Ohio but without success. It is well known in northwestern 

 Indiana. 



Cnemidophorus sexUnealus sexlinenius (Linne), SiX-LlNED LiZARD. — There are no 

 Ohio records for this species but it occurs in western and southern Indiana (Burl, 1931, 

 86). It was sought in southern Ohio, particularly in some of the dry prairies. 



Eumeces anlhracinus (Baird), CoAL Skink. — There are no Ohio records, but this 

 lizard is known from the mountains in Pennsylvania. It may occur in eastern and 

 southern Ohio. 



Diadophis punclalus arn\)i (Kennicott), Arny's Ring-Necked Snake. — A single 

 individual preserved m the United States National Museum is catalogued as follows: 

 "No. 10086, Hughes, (Butler County), Ohio, April, 1879, by R. T. Shepherd." 

 There are two reasons, however, which make the presence in Ohio of this more western 

 race of Diadophis highly doubtful. The first of these is that none of the several 

 Diadophis seen from southern and southwestern Ohio show any evidence of approach 

 toward the well-spotted under surface of arnpi. 



The second reason is that other specimens with adjacent catalogue numbers, and 

 which were received from Shepheid at the same time as the specimen of arnvi, also 

 probably are from farther west than Ohio. These are Tropidoclonion lineaium 

 (USNM No. 10088) and Lampropeltis Iriangulum syspila (USNM No. 10084- 

 2 specimens). Mr. Shepherd, who recently died, was consulted in 1934 with a view to 

 shedding light upon the origin of these specimens. He failed to recall them but made 

 the general statement that "probably" any material he sent to the National Museum 

 came from the vicinity of Hughes, where he was schoolmaster in 1879. However, he 

 was unable to remember whether he received any specimens from the west which he 

 may have forwarded to V/ashington from Hughes. 



An inquiry was addressed to Dr. Doris M. Cochran at the National Museum and 

 she replied that specimens catalogued before and after the doubtful ones are all from 

 localities east of Ohio. TTiis eliminates the possibility that a collection from Hughes 

 and one from farther west arrived at the museum at the same time and the data for 

 the two were accidently transposed. However, since the specimens are all so obviously 

 of more western forms and since they constitute the only records of their kind for 

 either Ohio or southeastern Indiana, it is felt justifiable to presume that some error has 

 been made. They are thus removed from the Ohio list until such time as they may be 

 substantiated by additional records. Recent collecting in the vicinity of Hughes has 

 yielded only the forms known to be common in southwestern Ohio. 



Piiuophis savii savi (Schlegel), BuLL Snake. — The shed skin in the collection of 

 the United States National Museum (No. 12739) from Circleville probably is from 

 an escaped or captive specimen. 



Lampropeltis calligasier (Harlan), Prairie King Snake. — Smith (1882, 689) and 

 Morse (1904, 130) both included this species in their lists on the basis of a specimen 

 collected by Professor Tuttle at Lancaster in Fairfield County and which was deposited 

 in the Ohio State (University) Museum. The specimen is no longer extant, but 

 Blanchard (1921, 122) has called attention to the fact, that from the description given 

 by Smith, the identification is obviously incorrect. 



Lampropeltis triangiilum syspila (Cope), Red Milk Snake. — Recorded only from 

 the doubtful Hughes locality (see discussion of Diadophis punctatus arnvi above). 



Cemophora coccinea (Blumenbach), ScARLET Snake. — The locality "Ohio" on 

 U. S. National Museum specimen No. 9267 is probably in error. 



Natrix cxiclopion cvclopion (Dumeril and Bibron), Green Water Snake. — Two 

 specimens in the Museum of Comparative Zoology (No. 163) are catalogued as "Ohio." 



