THE REPTILES OF OHIO 117 



Head broad and flat and much wider than the neck. Eye medium and 

 lying directly below the overhanging supraocular; pupil vertically elliptical. 

 Top of head, with the exception of the supraocular, canthals and internasals, 

 covered with small scales. Two nasals, the nostril in the postnasal. Loreals 

 usually 2, rarely 1. Usually 1 canthal; occasionally 2, rarely 3 or 4. Three 

 rows of scales separating the upper labials from the eye. Upper labials most 

 often 14, frequently 13 or 15, rarely 12 or 16. Lower labials usually 14, 15 

 or 16, often 17, rarely 13, 18 or 19. A deep pit in the loreal region. Body 

 stout; tail short and stout and terminating in a jointed rattle. 



Dorsal scale rows most commonly 25-23-21-19, occasionally 23, and rarely 

 27 anteriorly; occasionally 18 posteriorly. Scales keeled. Ventrals in males 

 158 to 172, average 166; in females 166 to 176, average 169. Subcaudals 

 (single except for one or two anterior to the rattle in some specimens) in 

 males from 21 to 25, average 24; in females 19 to 22, average 20. Anal plate 

 single. 



There is a pattern of 18 to 27 (average 21) dark chevron-shaped cross- 

 bands on a lighter ground color. The crossbands, which originate on the first 

 row of scales or the ends of the ventrals, are 2 to 6 scales in width and vary 

 in color from tan to light olive brown or black. They frequently are outlined 

 with a shade somewhat lighter than the adjacent ground color. The latter 

 contains at least some yellow pigment, but may vary from a uniform light 

 sulphur in some specimens to a grey brown or olive brown in others. Indi- 

 viduals with the lightest ground color have the lightest crossbands and vice 

 versa. The darker coloration of many specimens appears to be due to a more 

 or less extensive stippling of black uniformly distributed over the light and 

 dark areas alike. The top of the head is yellow in light specimens and black 

 in dark ones. 



Occasionally, and especially on the anterior portion of the body, the 

 ground color may cut off a small lateral portion of the crossbands from the 

 main dorsal portion. A yellowish, brownish or russet stripe, occupying the 

 middorsal row of scales and the 1 to 3 rows on either side, is strongly evident 

 in many specimens but less so in others. It may or may not obscure or inter- 

 rupt the crossbands. The tail is crossed by 3 or 4 dark crossbands in the 

 lighter specimens but is uniform black in the darker. The belly varies from 

 nearly uniform yellowish to heavily stippled with black. Newly born juve- 

 niles have the future rattle represented by a horny "button." 



Specimens examined, 42; specimens preserved, 39; specimens studied, 36. 



Range. — Southern Maine to northeastern Alabama, and southeastern Min- 

 nesota to northeastern Texas. 



The timber rattlesnake occurs in Ohio on the peninsulas of Ottawa County 



and on some of the islands in Lake Erie. It is also found in the southern 



part of the unglaciated area (Map 28). Specific localities are: 



Adams County: Green Twp. (OSM 123). Athens County: Mineral (OU). 

 Jackson County: Near Vigo, but in Jackson Twp. (OSM 122). Ottawa County: 

 Catawba Island (OSM 223.1 -.2; SHS; TZS 796, 1703-11, 1972); Put-in-Bay 

 (SHS: TZS 1977-89). Ross County: S side of Pott's Hill, Paxton Twp. (TZS 



