108 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



and situated directly below the overhanging supraocular; pupil vertical and 

 ellipticaL Two nasals, the nostril largely in the prenasal. Loreal present and 

 forming a part of the upper border of a deep facial pit. Rostral roughly bell- 

 shaped when viewed from in front and forming the terminus of the blunt 

 snout. Parietals not large and marked with a dark spot near their common 

 suture. Body stout; tail short (14.7% to 17.1% in juveniles and 12.4% to 

 14.7% in adults) and terminating in a small stout spine. 



Dorsal scale rows normally 23-21-19 but sometimes 25 or 24 for a short 

 distance immediately behind the head; occasionally not reduced below 20 pos- 

 teriorly; the formula 23-21 seen in two specimens. Scales keeled except for 

 the first two rows. Upper labials 8 or 7, rarely 6; lower labials 9 or 10, 

 rarely 11. Preoculars 3, the lowermost very small; postoculars 3, occasionally 

 2 or 4. A subocular present. In about 75% of the specimens one or two 

 (rarely three) small scales are interpolated between the scales bordering the 

 eye and the upper labials. Ventrals are 148 to 157, average 152. Anteriorly 

 the subcaudals are single, posteriorly many are divided. The total number 

 in males varies from 44 to 51, average 47.5; in females from 40 to 47, average 

 43.7. The number of divided scales in males varies from 1 to 19, average 

 9.8; in females from 2 to 23, average 1 1 .2. The anal plate is single. 



The pattern consists of a series of dark blotches on a lighter ground. 

 When viewed from the side these appear roughly as isosceles or equilateral 

 triangles bearing an upward extension at the apex which usually meets a sim- 

 ilar extension from a blotch on the opposite side. Counting from the head to 

 the middle of the tail, where they become indistinct, the total of such mark- 

 ings is found to be 15 to 21, average 18.3. The upward extensions involve 

 about 3 or 4 scales in a longitudinal direction at their narrowest point and the 

 bases of the triangles involve 5 to 10 scales at their widest point. 



The general coloration above is pinkish or reddish brown to chestnut, 

 being darkest on the upper edges of the triangles and their extensions, less 

 dark on their bases and centers and palest in the ground color between them. 

 Very frequently small round or irregular dark areas are present between or 

 within the markings. The darker specimens may be stippled with greyish 

 dots, usually densest posteriorly. Top of head coppery red. Commissure 

 margined with pinkish. 



Belly yellowish or cream colored and marked laterally with dark subround 

 blotches. The largest of these lie on the ends of the ventrals and the first 

 row of scales, and are normally so arranged that . there is one beneath the 

 center of each triangle and another at the point where downward extensions 

 of the sides of two adjacent triangles would cross. Occasionally specimens 

 exhibit dark blotches lying midway between those just described. 



Juveniles are similar to the adults but are paler and have the posterior 

 portion of the tail yellow or greenish. 



Specimens examined, 105; specimens preserved, 95; specimens studied, 59. 



Range. — Massachusetts to northern Florida and westward through south- 

 ern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois to east central Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern 

 Texas. 



