970 



REPORT OF NATIONAL- MUSEUM, 1898. 



General color dull brown, exhibiting narrow transverse bands of 

 lighter, margined with dark brown or black; these bands generally 

 about a half a scale in width and their margins more or less parallel 

 immediately on the back. This is especially the case posteriorly, where 

 they are usually at rigiit angles to the axis of the body, anteriorly they 

 are more or less oblique, and widen rapidly toward the abdomiual 

 scutelhx'. Sometimes the general brown line is so predominant as to 

 reuderthe transverse marks more or less obsolete, and the general tint 

 then appears uniform above. The abdomen is always dull yellowish, 

 each scutella with large blotches of light brown, margined with black. 



In young individuals and in those generally in which the epidermis 

 has been removed, the normal type of coloration is seen to consist of 

 three series of nearly quadrate dark brown spots, with still darker bor- 



Fig. 251. 



NATRIX FASCIATA SIPEDON LINNjEUS. 



= 1. 



Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 



Collection of K. D, Cope. 



der, one dorsal and one on each side. These are so disposed that the 

 two corresponding lateral spots are opposite the interval between the 

 two dorsal, and thus appear to be connected by a light line. The longi- 

 tudinal diameter of the dorsal spots, amounting to three or four scales, 

 is the greater; Just the reverse of what is the case with the lateral. Of 

 these lateral spots there are generally about thirty, two on each side 

 from the head to the anus, the spaces between to or less than the spots, 

 not greater, as in T.fasciata. While the pattern is generally quite dis- 

 tinguishable on the posterior half of the body, anteriorly it becomes 

 confused, the lateral blotches standing opposite to the dorsal and becom- 

 ing confluent, so that the back appears crossed by lozenge-shaped 

 blotches extending to the abdominal scutellfe, and this separated on 

 the sides by triangular intervals of a lighter color. 



Occasionally the color appears to be a dull and rather light brown, 



