SNAKES OF THE GENUS PITUOPHIS 79 



PITCOPHIS MELANOLEUCUS LODINGI Blanchard 



Pituophis lodingi Blanchard, Pap. Michigan Acad. Sci. Arts Lett.; vol. 4, pt. 1, 



p. 531, 1924 (type, U. Mich. No. 58800; cotype, U.S.N.M. No. 62340; type 



locality. Mobile County, Ala.); vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 16, 1924. 

 Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi Stull, Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, No. 



250, p. 3, 1932.— Burt, Journ. Washington Acad. Sci., vol. 25, No. 8, p. 383, 



1935. 

 Pituophis melanoleucus Blanchard, Copeia, No. 81, p. 30, 1920. — Loding, Geol. 



Surv. Alabama, Mus. Pap. No. 5, p. 30, 1922. 



Original description. — Blanchard (1924a, p. 531) describes the type 

 specimen of this form as follows: 



Ventrals 215; anal, single and entire; 65 divided caudals; upper labials, 8 on 

 each side; lower labials 15 on each side; one preocular on each side; 4 postoculars 

 on each side; 4 temporals in the first row; rostral dividing the internasals for % of 

 their length; maximum number of scale rows, 29 (27 rows for a short distance 

 anteriorly, and 21 rows at the posterior end); keels on dorsal scales prominent 

 above, progressively fainter on the sides, descending as low as the sixth row 

 anteriorly, and the third row posteriorly. Total length, 1,563 mm.; tail length, 

 261 mm. Sex, male. 



The color (by reference to Ridgway's "Color Standards and Nomenclature") 

 is as follows: Above, a glossy black; below slate color; most of the gular and 

 lower labial scales somewhat flecked with a dark shade of cinnamon. 



Diagnosis. — This form may be distinguished readily from all other 

 forms of the genus by its very distinctive coloration, which in this 

 form alone is uniformly black above and slate-gray below. 



Description. — The body is rather stout, and the snout is pointed 

 and protrudes somewhat beyond the lower jaw. The tail length 

 varies from 0.132 to 0.160 (average 0.146) of the total length, a 

 proportion that is greater than in any of the other subspecies of 

 melanoleucus. The longest specimen examined was 1,800 mm. long. 



As a very limited number of specimens of this form were available, 

 the study of a larger series of specimens will undoubtedly greatly 

 extend the range of variation in the scale characters. The scutella- 

 tion, as based on the specimens examined, may be described as follows: 

 Dorsal scale formula varying from 27-29-20 to 29-31-21; number of 

 rows at the neck 27 to 29, usually 27; maximum number of rows in the 

 middle of the body, usually 29, occasionally 31; number of rows 

 anterior to the vent 20 to 22, usually 21 ; ventrals 214 to 224 (average 

 218.4); caudals 58 to 66 (average 62.8); supralabials 7 or 8, the thu-d 

 or fourth entering the eye ; inf ralabials 13 to 15, usually 13; preoculars 

 single; postoculars 3 or 4; loreal present; azygos lacking between 

 frontal and prefrontals and between prefrontal and preocular of either 

 side; rostral long and narrow, at least twice as long as broad, and 

 penetrating at least one-half, and usually more, of the distance be- 

 tween the internasals; frontal usually undivided but occasionally 

 split for a small part of its length. 



