SNAKES OF THE GENUS PITUOPHIS 67 



Pityophis melanoleucus Cope, Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc, vol. 17, p. 64, 1877. — Gar- 

 man, Mem. Mus. Comp. ZooL, vol. 8, No. 3, p. 51, 1883 (part).— Yarrow, 

 U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 24, pp. 16, 105, 1883 (part).— Garman, Bull. Essex Inst., 

 vol. 16, p. 27, 1S84 (part).— Cope, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 11, pp. 391, 394, 

 1888; vol. 14, p. 640, 1892 (part); Amer. Nat., vol. 30, pp. 1008, 1011, 1896 

 (part); Rept. U. S. Nat. Mus. for 1898, p. 867, 1900 (part).— Brown, Proc. 

 Acad. Nat. Scl. Philadelphia, 1901, p. 55 (part).— Brimley, Proc. Biol. Soc. 

 Washington, vol. 23, p. 14, 1910. 



Original description. — Barbour (1921, p. 117) gives the following 



description of this form: 



Similar to P. m. melanoleucus, but heavily washed and pied with rusty brown, 

 not black. Ventrals and subcaudals of Florida examples average about 280, as 

 against 267 for specimens from Carolina and New Jersey. The scale rows about 

 the middle of the body are 31-33 (usually 33), on the neck 29-31, and anterior to 

 the vent 22, 23, or 24. In the northern specimens examined the midbody rows 

 were 27, neck 25, and anterior to the vent 21 or 22. 



This description is prefaced by the following discussion: 



An examination of the pine snakes from the eastern seaboard states reveals the 

 fact that Daudin's old name Coluber melanoleucus based on the pine snake of 

 Bartram, which he speaks of as being "pied black and white," includes two differ- 

 ent forms at least. Bartram travelled in both Carolina and Florida, and these 

 regions constitute the type locality for the species. Bartram, however, makes no 

 mention of actually having seen pine snakes in both of the regions he visited, and 

 as the pine snakes which I have seen from South Carolina and New Jersey are 

 "pied black and white," I propose to restrict Daudin's name to this black form, to 

 stand as Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus Daudin, with the type locality 

 Carolina. 



Florida specimens are brown-pied, not black-, and have a larger number of 

 scale rows and on the average a higher number of combined ventrals and sub- 

 caudals. 



Diagnosis. — From the three forms of the deppei group this form 

 may bo distinguished at a glance by the presence of four, rather than 

 two, prefrontals, the entrance of a single supralabial into the eye on 

 each side, instead of two, and the shape of the rostral, which is always 

 at least twice as long as broad m mugitus, and never so long as broad 

 in the forms of the deppei group. From the other three subspecies 

 of melanoleucus, mugitus may be separated by the pattern. Thus, in 

 mugitus the dorsum is pied rusty brown or reddish, and white, and the 

 anterior spots are distinct ordy in young specimens; in melanoleucus 

 the pattern consists of distinct black spots on a white ground throughout 

 the length; in lodingi the dorsum is uniformly black; and in ruthveni 

 the spots are chocolate-brown on a hghter brown ground, with the 

 anterior ones more or less distinct. From all other forms of the 

 genus mugitus may be distinguished by the longer rostral, since it is 

 never twice as long as broad in these forms, and by the coloration. 

 Thus, in mugitus the anterior spots are usually so blended with the 

 ground color as to produce an almost uniform rusty brown, but if the 

 spots are all distinguishable the number never exceeds 40, while in 



