STORERIA. 135 



Genus STOREMIA, Baird & Girard. 



Gen. Char. Head subelliptica], distinct from the body. Oephalic 

 plates normal. Loral plate absent. Orbitals, two posterior; one or 

 two anterior. Nasals two, rather large. Body small, scarcely ex- 

 ceeding a foot in length, subcylindrical ; tail comparatively short, 

 tapering. Dorsal scales 15-17 rows, all carinated. Abdominal 

 scutellEe 120-140 ; posterior one bifid. Subcaudal, all divided, from 

 41 to 51 in number. Color brown, with two dorsal dotted lines. 



1. Storeria Dekayi, B. & G. — One anterior and two posterior 

 orbitals. Dorsal rows 17. Gray or cliestuut-brown above, with a clay- 

 colored dorsal band, margined by dotted lines. A dark patch on each side 

 of the occipital ; a dark bar between this and the eye, and two below the 

 orbit. 



Syn. Tropidonotus Dekayi, Holbr. N. Amer. Herp. Ill, 1842, 53. PI. xiv. 

 — Dekat, N. York Fauna. Kept. 1842, 46. PI. xiv, tig. 30. 

 Tropidonotus ordinatus, Stoker, Eep. Eept. Mass. 1839, 223. 



Body rather thick in the middle, tapering to the tail and head, 

 both of which are small and slender. Eyes small. Nostril princi- 

 pally in the prenasal. Seven upper labials on each side. Lower 

 labials seven, of which the 4th and 5th are very large, extending 

 quite to the mental. A second plate parallel with the 6th, rather 

 longer. Exterior dorsal row of scales largest, rest diminishing gra- 

 dually to the back. 



Color grayish brown, sometimes chestnut-brown above and on the 

 sides, with a dorsal stripe extending from occiput to the end of the 

 tail, of a decidedly lighter tint, and about three and two half-scales 

 in width. This is bordered along each outer edge by a .series of 

 rounded brown dots, occurring at intervals of about two scales ; of 

 these there are about 70 pairs from occiput to anus. Each dot occu- 

 pies generally a single scale, but is sometimes seen on the skin on 

 each side. On separating the scales, the skin on each side of the 

 4th lateral row of scales exhibits a second series, similar to and 



