THE REPTILES OF OHIO 217 



All of these records fit the distributional pattern previously plotted (see 

 map 8) with the possible exception of the specimen from Paulding County. 

 Ehrhart states, however, that there are a number of small sandy areas in that 

 county, including the locality near Charloe. The beach ridge of former Lake 

 Whittlesey passes through Paulding County, and the small "pockets" of sand 

 probably were deposited by stream action after the waters of the lake had 

 receded. Here may be another instance of Heterodon finding a suitable habi- 

 tat m or near fossil beaches (see p. 43). 



Several hog-nosed snakes exhibiting a jet black dorsum, comoletely without 

 pattern, have been collected recently in Pike, Ross, and Hocking counties. 

 Some of these were taken in the same localities where normally-patterned speci- 

 mens have been found, but the melanistic ones, in most instances, have been 

 comparative rarities. Wood reports, however, that, in his field experience in 

 Pike and Ross counties, he encountered about the same number of black indi- 

 viduals as spotted ones. 



A series of four large dark specimens in the collection of the Dayton 

 Public Library Museum shows some interesting variations. The bigg:st of 

 the lot (DPLM 88.42 from Montgomery County) is a female measuring 914 

 mm. (approx. 36 in.) in length that shows strong evidences of pattern pven 

 though its general appearance is quite dark. The other three snakes (DPLM 

 687.44, cf, 830 mm.; 385.44, cT, 710 mm.; 647.44, $, 645 mm.) are com- 

 pletely melanistic above, but their bellies are brownish- or yellowish-grey 

 clouded with a somewhat darker color. The underside of the tail in platy- 

 rhinos normally is distinctly lighter in coloration than the bellv, but in the 

 larger male and in the female the under surface of the tail is black; in the 

 smaller male it is light yellow with a few dark spots. In the large partly- 

 patterned specimen (DPLM 88.42), the underside of the tail is pink but 

 heavilv marked with dark grey; the ground color is lighter than the belly 

 whereas the markings are distinctly darker. Attention should be called to the 

 fact that these melanistic snakes are quite different from the almost uniformly- 

 colored specimens that are found in several Ohio localities, notably in the 

 "Oak Openings" west of Toledo. The latter are nearly plain o'ive grey (in 

 life), but the d:;rk bands extending backward from the h^ad to the sides of 

 the neck are almost always in evidence. 



A melanistic female from Hocking County (OSM 833.1), measuring 

 695 mm. in length and which was collected on May 15, 1948, laid 23 eggs on 

 June 25th or 26th, 1948. Another, well-patterned female from Ross County 

 (OSM 881), measuring 808 mm. and collected May 7, 1949, laid 9 eggs on 

 July 11, 1949. This is an unusually small number for so large a snake; actu- 

 ally it does not represent the full complement, for there are several fairly 

 large eggs still present in the body cavity of the preserved specimen. 



Opheodrys aestivtis (Linnaeus) 

 Keeled Green Snake 



(Page 45; maps 9 and 46; plate 5, fig. 3) 



Two more counties may be added to the list. New Ohio records are: 

 Adams County: Mineral Springs (OSM 615). Athens County: The Plains 



