THE REPTILES OF OHIO 213 



habitat, states, "The trunk was between the creek and a mucky, black seepage 

 area. The woods here and along the creek might be considered 'moist,' 

 and the entire valley is well shaded by tall trees. Much of the undergrowth 

 is paw-paw (Asimina) . The steep sides of the valley seem well-drained and 

 quite dry, however." 



Carphophis amoenus helenae (Kennicott) 

 Central Worm Snake 



(Page 34; maps 6 and 43: plate 5, fig. 1) 

 New records for this small secretive snake are: 



Adams County: Buzzard's Roost Rock, Jefferson Twp. (UMMZ 95934): Green 

 Twp. (SL 418); 3 mi. S of Locust Grove (OSM 759); Smoky Creek, Green Twp. 



(UMMZ 95932). Athens County: Buffalo Beat, near Buchtel (OUVC 2174): 

 Stroud's Run, 3 mi. NE of Athens (OUVC 1869). Fairfield County: "Wahkeena, " 

 Berne Twp. (OSM 831). Highland County: 1 mi. SW of Cynthiana (OSM 515). 

 Hocking County: "Neotoma." Good Hope Twp. (OSM 742, 746, 832, 863.1-2). 

 Meigs Counts- : 4 ml. SW of Darwin (OUVC 605). Montgomery County: North- 

 rid"e, Harrison Twp. (DPLM 65.44). PiKE CouNT^': Old Baldy, Greenbier Ridge 

 (DPLM 154-7.42); Pike Lake (DPLM); Pike State Forest (WED 28. 136-7, 184, 

 311, 357); Ricfiardson and Egyptian Hollows (USNM 128923). Ross County: Tar 

 Hollow Slate Forest (WED 188). SciOTO CoUNTY: Friendship (SL 464); Shawne; 

 State Forest (WED 190, 205, 261). ViNTON CoUNTY: Lake Hope (OUVC 2062). 

 Wa'^Hington County-: Little Hocking (OUVC 2417); 5 mi. NW of Marietta 



(OSM 864). 



As may be seen by comparing maps 6 and 43, most of these new records 

 fall well within the distributional pattern previously plotted. The new locali- 

 ties for Athens and Washington counties help to bridge the gap between the 

 previous concentration of collecting stations and the lone record from Monroe 

 County. Walker, however, has called my attention to the possibility that this 

 easternmost Ohio locality may be in error. It is based upon a specimen in the 

 National Museum (USNM 8853) that was catalogued on March 29, 1877, 

 and credited as having come from Morton, Ohio. A. H. Tuttle is recorded 

 as the collector. Smith included Carphophis in his Report on the Reptiles and 

 Amphibians of Ohio (1882, 699) "upon the authority of Dr. J. M. Wheaton, 

 of Columbus, [who informed him] that some years ago a specimen was cap- 

 tured by Prof. Tuttle, at Ironton, on the bank of th» Ohio River. The 

 animal was sent to the Smithsonian Institution. . . ." Since Professor Tuttle's 

 specimen doubtless was accompanied by data written in longhand, it is highly 

 conceivable that his ''Ironton" was inadvertently changed to "Morton." The 

 National Museum no longer has the correspondence pertaining to this matter, 

 so it cannot be proved irrefutably that a mistake was made. Nonetheless, the 

 Monroe County record should be questioned. Evidence of the presence of 

 Carphophis in that county eventually may be found; there are now two records 

 for the neighboring county to the west (Washington), although both of them 

 are from west of the Muskingum River. The Carnegie Museum has "reports" 

 for the worm snake from Greene County, Pennsylvania, and from. Marion 

 County, West Virginia, both of which are relatively near Morton, Ohio. The 

 same institution has specimens from Calhoun, Gilmer, and Lewis counties. 

 West Virginia, which are at no great distance from the Ohio River. It is of 



