1174 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 



not roustitiite a liappy family. The owls, though they generally occupy an abau- 

 douecl hole or burrow, destroy the young dogs. Nor do the eggs and nestlings of 

 the owls faro with any better treatment from tlie snakes; between these exists much 

 enmity. One afternoon, while passing through one of these dog towns in Wallace 

 County, Kansas, we heard a most unusual noise and stir (in the town), as though 

 they were holding a bellicose council. They were collected around a hill, into 

 which they were scraping dirt vigorously. On examining the burrow it wns found 

 to contain a large rattlesnake that the dogs were trying to entomb. I noticed this 

 several times, as did other members of our party. To leave no doubt upon the sub- 

 ject, we dug out the snakes after shooting them. 



CROTALUS CONFLUENTUS PULVERULENTUS Cope. 



Crotahis confiuentus pulverulentus Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1883, p. 11; 

 Proc. U.\s. Nat. Mus., XIV, 1892, y. 692. 



Fig. 337. 



CHOTALUS CONFLUENTUS PULVEEULENTUS COPE. 



=: 1. 



Type. 

 Lake Valley, New Mexico. 



Collection of E. D. Cope. 



Cephalic scales intermediate; six rows between superciliaries ; three 

 rows below orbit (probably sometimes four); dorsal spots square, with 

 the headbands, not light edged; posterior cross bands more numerous; 

 colors dotted with brown specks. The ground is a yellowish brown, 

 and the belly is light yellow. The dorsal spots are a darker brown, 

 and are composed of dense punctulations of uniform tint throughout. 

 Bands on head indistinct. 



The C. c. pulverulenttis at first sight resembles the Grotalus mitchelli, 

 having much the same coloration, but the head scales and plates are 

 quite different. It gives out a powerful musky odor when excited, 

 which I have not noticed in the typical form of the species. 



I have two specimens in my collection which I took near Lake Val- 

 ley, Sierra County, New Mexico, about 60 miles north of the border of 

 Mexico. I nearly stepped on one of them on a hot day, and' he vio- 

 lently resented the intrusion. At a safe distance I annoyed him by 

 tossing pebbles, sticks, etc., at him, and he made unsuccessful eftbrts to 

 reach me. As he lay with head erect and mouth open, the poison 



