420 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [Sept., 



In the American Naturalist, Vol. XII, 1878, p. 470, Mr. H. C. Yarrow 

 stated that there was ' ' but one two-headed snake in the enormously 

 large collection of reptiles in the Smithsonian Institution. ' ' This was 

 a specimen of Ophibolus getulus (L.), the common chain or king snake, 

 from Port Tobacco, Maryland. 



In the same volume, page 694, Dr. J. S. Kingsley mentioned a two- 

 headed snake, species not given, as being in the collection of Williams 

 College, Massachusetts. 



In his "Report on the Reptiles and Batrachians of Ohio,"^ Dr. W. H. 

 Smith stated that the Museum of Michigan University contains a 

 double-headed milk snake, Ophibolus doliatus triangulus (Boie). He 

 added: "Cases of monstrosities among serpents have been observed 

 by various parties from the time of Aristotle and Redi to the present, 

 and they, as well as the occurrence of monsters in general, may be due 

 to shock." 



Concerning two-headed turtles I can find but one reference, viz., Dr. 

 Mitchill, loc. cit., says : " I have heard of a two-headed tortoise (Testudo) 

 that lived to accfuire a considerable size, by having taken food at both 

 mouths." 



But two notes regarding malformation among batrachians are at 

 hand. One of these is by Dr. Kingsley, loc. cit., in which he records 

 a specimen of a five-legged frog, Rana palustris, from Rochester, New 

 York. The other, by Smith, loc. cit., refers to a mention by Ryder •* 

 of another five-legged frog of the same species. 



During the past fifteen years examples of four two-headed snakes, 

 one two-headed turtle, one five-legged frog and one two-tailed sala- 

 mander from Indiana have come to my notice. While I have seen but 

 two of the individuals, the records of the others can be relied upon. 



Two-headed Snakes, a. Of the snakes, one at hand as I write is a 

 specimen of the spreading viper, Heterodon platyrhinus Latr., six and a 

 half inches in length, taken near Manilla, Rush county, by S. C. Peck 

 in August, 1904, and by him presented to the State Museum. It has 

 two perfect heads, both possessing the scale formula of the species. 

 Each head stands out at nearly right angles to the median line of the 

 front extremity of the body, the center or keel of the two rostral plates 

 being 22 mm. apart. The two heads unite just back of the hindmost 

 of the inner lower labials, there being three rows of small scales between 

 the inner upper labials. Viewed from above, the right head appears 



Geol. Surv. of Ohio, IV, 18S2, 690. 

 ' Science News, December 15, 1878, p. 69 



