CLASS REP TI LI A 



397 



possess a series of hollow epidermal buttons linked together and forming 

 a rattle attached to the tip of the tail, which is itself flattened, hardened, 



Fig. 280. — A copperhead, Agkistrodon 77iokasc>i Beauvois, ranging from Massachusetts 

 southward to Florida and westward into Texas and the Great Plains as far north as southern 

 Nebraska. A very poisonous snake. {From Ditmars, "Snakes of the World," by courtesy 

 of The Macmillan Company.) 



and constricted to receive the anterior margin of the basal rattle. A new 

 button is added to the series of rattles every time the skin is shed. 



fc . - ■ ■ - ■-. - - -'• 



Fig. 287. — Coral snake; harlequin snake, Micrurus fuhius Linnaeus, of southeastern 

 United States. A poisonous snake. {From Ditmars, "Snakes of the World," by courtesy of 

 The Macmillan Company.) 



Since this may occur several times a year, and since rattles may be lost, 

 the number possessed by an individual is no precise indication of the age 

 of the snake. 



