CROCODILIANS, LIZARDS, AND SNAKES. 825 



COLUBER Linnaeus. 



Coluhrr LiNN^US, Systema Natiine, I2tli ed., p. 375. — BoiE, Isis von Oken, 1827, 



p. 209.— GuNTHER, Cat. Snakes Brit. Mu8., 1858, p. 87.— Cope, Check-list N. 



Aiuer. Batr. Kept., 1875, p. 39; Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1888, p. 390.— Boulenger, 



Cat. Snakes Brit. Mas., II, 1894, p. 24. 

 CalojjeJtis Boxapakte, Mem. Keal. Acad. Torino (2), II, 1840, p. 431. 

 Scotophis Baird and Girard, Cat. N. Amer. Kept., Pt. 1, Serpents, 1853, p. 73. 

 Xatrix Cope from Laurenti, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1862, p. 338; Cat. Batr. 



Kept. Centr.-Amer. Mex., 1887, pp. 56-71. 



Colubrid suakes with equal teeth, subcyliudric body, and two rows 

 of caudal scutelhe. The pupil round; the rostral and nine suijerior 

 cephalic shields normal; two nasals and one preocular plates. Two 

 pairs of geneials; scales of the body with two apical pits, keeled or 

 rarely, smooth. Preanal sbield divided. 



This genus embraces a number of species of the northern temperate 

 regions of the world. Six species belong to Eurasia and ten to North 

 America. Three others extend to within the tropics of Mexico and 

 Central America. 



The proper application of the Linnaean generic name Coluber only 

 ai)pears after considerable criticism of the work of the earlier writers 

 on reptiles. The first author to use the name after Linnseus was Lau- 

 renti, in 17G8, in his Specimen Synopsis Eeptilium, published at Vienna. 

 He includes in it ten species, of which eight can be determined. Of 

 these, three are Viperida?, one is a crotalid, and four are harmless snakes. 

 All of the venomous and three of the harmless species bear Linnjiean 

 names, and all of them are members of the Linnfean genus Coluber. It 

 remains to be determined for which of these types the name Coluber of 

 Laurenti must be retained. The evidence is furnished by the author in 

 the following foot-note attached to the generic character: 



Colubri venenati absque iilla injuria accepta ferocissime irruunt in hominem. 



In the opinion of Laurenti the Colubri were poisonous, and this was 

 probably due to the fact that the only species of his list with which he 

 was acquainted by actual observation were the European vipers he in- 

 cluded in it. The poisonous species are then the types of the Coluber 

 of Laurenti. 



The next author to use the name Coluber was Treviranus.' He indi- 

 cated but one species, C. nafri.v. As this species is the type of the 

 Nntrix of Laurenti of 1798, it can not be used in that connection. 



Oppel, in his work on Ee])tilia published in 1811, gave the following 

 species under the genus Coluber: 



C. melanocejihala Linna-us. C. natrix Linnreus. 



C. cursor. C. mycierizans Liuna'us. 



C. (vsculapii Gmolin, Linntuus, 1788. C. ihiboea. 



C. caniis Linnaius. C. cyaueits Linnteus. 



C. rijyeriniis Linna'us. C. carinatus Linnaus. 



Biologic ad Philosophie d. Natur, Giittingen, 1802. 



