CROCODILIANS, LIZARDS, AND SNAKES. 



865 



twenty-seven rows of scales, and there is a row of three temporals 

 between the nsual 2-4 scaled rows. 



This species is restricted in its range to the Sonoran region. The 

 most southern locality yet known is nearthe city of Chiliuahua. The most 

 northern is north of the Cimarron River, probably in New Mexico. 



Mr. Bocourt objects to my placing this species in the genus BhiriecMSj 

 as he says that the 7^. scalaris has the anal plate divided. It is true 

 that Dum(^ril and Bibron state that this is the case, but on examining 

 four specimens from the Bonaparte collection in the Museum of the 

 Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, I find that the anal plate 

 is entire. 



Bhinechis elegans Kennicott. 



ri„j.„i Number 



Catelogue ^^.^p^^. 



1722 

 4266 



8408 

 8U02 

 1706 



14176 

 16848 



22036 



22371 



Locality. 



Lower Rio Grande 



Between Arkansas and 

 Cimarron, New Mexico. 



Southeastern Arizonit 



Camp Grant, Arizona 



Pecos and Rio Grande, 

 Te.xas. 



Mojave Desert, California. 



Pacific Beach, San Diego 

 County, California. 



Coast Range, West Slope 

 San Diego Wagon Road, 

 California. 



Mesilla Valley, New Mex- 

 ico. 



When 

 collected. 



Oct. — , 1873 



From whom receievd. 



A.Schott... 

 J. H. Clark 



H. W. Henshaw . 

 E. Palmer 



Oustav Sisen . 

 C. R.0rcutt ... 



Dr. E. A. Mearns . . 

 T. D. A. Cockerell . 



Nature of 

 specimen. 



Alcoholic, 

 do. 



do. 

 do. 



do. 



PITYOPHIS Holbrook. 



Pityophis Holbrook, North American Herpetology, IV, 1842, p. 7. — Baird and 

 GiRARD, Cat. N. Auier. Kept., Pt. 1, Serp., 1853, p. 64. — Dumi^ril, Prodrome 

 des Ophidieus, 185.S. — Dumeril and Bibrox, Erp. Gt^n., VII, 1854, p. 252. — 

 GiJNTHER, Cat. Col. Snakes Brit. Mus., 1858, p. 85. — Cope, Bull. U. S. Nat. 

 Mus., No. 32, 1887, p. 56. 



ChurchilUa Baird and Gikari>, Keptiles in Stan8l»ury'.s Expl. Gt. Salt Lake, 

 1852, p. 350. 



Teeth of equal length. A vertical laminiform ei)iglottis. Cephalic 

 scuta normal, except that each prefrontal is longitudinally divided into 

 two, producing four prefrontals. Rostral plate more or less prominent 

 and its superior angle produced backward. Scales more or less keeled 

 and with double apical pits. Anal scuta entire; subcaudals in two 

 series. Pupil round. 



This genus of Colubrine snakes includes rather large and robust 

 species. They are restricted exclusively to the Nearctic realm and the 

 Lower Califoruian district of the Neotropical. They are entirely ter- 

 restrial in their habits, ])referring dry and even sandy regions to any 

 other. They are of a harmless disposition as a general rule, but the P. 

 sayi bellona defends itself vigorously when attacked. The peculiar 

 epiglottis, first observed and described by Dr. C. A. White, of Wash- 

 ington, aids these snakes in emitting an unusually loud hiss on the 

 NAT MUS 98 55 



