222 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



but a number of others would not. Conversely, the large majority of locali- 

 ties for specimens with low (vernatis) counts would fall upon spots that once 

 were wooded. The almost complete lack of habitat data makes correlations 

 difficult. Certainly naturalists who collect any smooth green snakes in Ohio 

 in the future should make every effort to obtain complete and detailed ecologi- 

 cal notes on the localities in which they find them. 



The destruction of the prairie areas may partially account for the scarcity 

 of records for blanchardi. Many other plants and animals that apparently 

 entered Ohio from the western prairies after the retreat of the ice in post- 

 Pleistocene times, survive today only in isolated swales, along railroad rights 

 of way, or in other localities that have been little disturbed by man. Tham- 

 iiophis radix in Ohio is an excellent example of a prairie-relict form; Opheo- 

 drys vcrnalis blanchardi possibly may be another. 



Coluber constrictor constrictor Linnaeus 

 Black Racer 



(Page 49; maps II and -18; plate 6, fig. 2) 



Dunn and Wood (1939) have d:scribed a Floridian subspecies (pnapus) 

 on the basis of hemipenial characters in male specimens. Living individuals 

 of that race have reddish eyes, and juveniles (in life) also may be extinguished 

 by the general reddish tone of their markings (Conant, 1942, 194) . The 

 range of the form has not been accurately defined, but it evidently occurs 

 throughout most of Florida; the general range map on page 50 requires alter- 

 ation accordingly. 



Attention should be called to the fact that the Ohio racers listed on pages 

 50, 51, 52 and 55 were identified solely on the basis of morphological charac- 

 ters, and each individual snake was designated as Coluber constrictor constric- 

 toi , Coluber constrictor flaviventrts, or an intergrade between them. Hence, 

 in some instances, ail three were listed as occurring together in the same locali- 

 ty. This method of studying intergradation between subspecies, which oftan 

 has resulted in confusion in the past, is falling more and more into disfavor. 

 In accordance with the "new systernatics," names should be applied to popula- 

 tions and not to individual animals. Intcrgrading poculaticns may be assigned 

 a. combination of the names of the two subspecies involved, in this case Colu- 

 ber constrictor constrictor X flaviventris. All racers occurring within the 

 stippled area (map 48) should be so designated. They are members of a 

 (presumably) freely interbreeding population that may produce individuah 

 morphologically indistinguishable from specimens of either constrictor or flavi- 

 ventris, or may produce snakes combining the characteristics of both these 

 subspecies. The area of intergradation can only be approximated, for it obvi- 

 ously would require large series of specimens from a great many localities to 

 outline it with any degree of accuracy; the ranges indicated upon th? map are 

 based upon the material now available. 



New records for Coluber constrictor constrictor are: 



Adams County: 5 mi. SW of Mancliester (CM 17557); Near Stouts (WED 

 201). Athens County: Athens (OUVC 376, 880-1, 2063, 2367); 6 mi. W of 

 Athens (OUVC 1372); Lodi Twp., 7 mi. SE of Athens (OUVC 1377); SE of 



