234 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



swimming in the stream; one or two were basking on the bank. Most were of 

 "good" size; not more than six were juveniles. Other sizable collections 

 of queen snakes were taken along the same stream — about 40 on October 4, 

 1947; 15 on March 25, 1948; and more than 25 on September 9, 1948. 



The above notes may or may not indicate that Natrix septemvittata assem- 

 bles in groups for hibernation as do snakes of other species. Quite probably 

 it does, but it would be of interest to know whether anything else may have 

 been involved, such as a high concentration of crayfish. As mentioned on page 

 80, another collector and I obtained twenty-six specimens under rocks along 

 the Huron River, at Monroeville, on August 29, 1932. The weather was quite 

 warm and it probably was too early in the season for impending hibernation 

 to be a factor. I believe that we might have doubled or even tripled our catch 

 on that day if the necessary effort had been expended. 



The paper by Wood and Duellman (1949) is concerned with size and 

 scutellation as revealed by a study of 188 individuals from the southwestern 

 counties, chiefly Brown and Montgom.ery. Their 5cale counts are quite similar 

 to those reported upon page 77, but the range of variation is greater, because 

 of the larger population sample. Their largest specimens were females, and 

 that sex averaged more than two inches longer than males. They present a 

 histogram showing that juveniles fall into two size groups: young of the year, 

 measuring from 166 to 255 mm., and snakes that are presumably in their 

 .^econd year, measuring from 286 to 375 mm. 



Natrix sipedon sipedon (Linnaeus) 



Northern Water Snake 



(Page 81; maps 19 and 56; plate 11, fig. 1) 



This abundant water snake is well represented in recent collections, and 

 large series of specimens from virtually all parts of the state are now available 

 for study. A few individuals from the most southwestern counties have well- 

 separated dorsal m.irkings, low dorsal blotch count.*, and a tendency for the 

 dark "half-moons" on the belly to be in pairs. These are characteristics of 

 Natrix sipedon pleuralis which subspecies Mittleman (1947, 481) has reported 

 from south central Indiana (northward as far as Brown, Monroe, and Owen 

 counties). Studies in which I am currently engaged upon North American 

 Natrix may eventually demonstrate that the water snakes occurring in south- 

 western Ohio are members of an intergrading population between sipcdcn and 

 pleuralis. From the evidence currently at hand, however, the influence of 

 pleuralis appears to be slight in Ohio, and, for the sake of expediency, all 

 water snakes (of this species) from the state may be considered for the present 

 as Natrix sipedon sipedon. New Ohio records are: 



Adams County: Peach Mountain. Meigs Twp. (UC 10). Allen County: 

 Richland Twp. (OSM 840, 845); Riley Creek, Bluffton (O.SM 711); Riley Creek, 

 S of Bluffton (OSM 749). Athens County: Athens (OUVC 121, 342); 6 mi. 

 SW of Athens rOUVC 830): Beaumont (OUVC 2323). Brown County: Center 

 Point (WED 301-2); 8 mi. N of Georgetown (USNM 129C44-55) ; I mi. SW of 

 Georgetown (WED 383); NW of St. Martin (WED 107): Saltlick Creek, Chase- 



