1868.] 173 [Allen. 



legislature on these animals, which was published in 1839, since which 

 time no special treatise respecting them has been published. In 

 the meantime, however, laborers in this field have extended our 

 information, till now probibly few, if any species, yet remain to 

 be discovered, and our knowledge of their habits has been nuich in- 

 creased; though as yet we know but poorly the history of the most 

 common species, and of some scarcely anything. In these respects 

 there still remains an ample and inviting field for investigation. Dr. 

 Storer's Report, as he states, was prepared under many difficulties, the 

 Report on the Fishes, in preparation at the same time, receiving the 

 greater part of his leisure, as " being the more extended and far more 

 important branch." He states, referring to Dr. Smith's list, that 

 having erased the several species he had previously specified,"and in- 

 troduced three Tortoises, two Colubers, one Heterodon, one Rana, 

 one Hylodes, four Salamanders and one Scincns, which were not 

 noticed in the catalogue above referred to, the Herpetology of our 

 State, as far as I have been able to learn, is composed of fourteen 

 genera and thirty-nine species ;" and adds that "more extended inves- 

 tigation will undoubtedly ascertain the existence here of new species, 

 as well as of many already described by naturalists." When we con- 

 sider the large number of nominal species usually embraced, or 

 described as new, in the writings of even our (reputedly) highest 

 authorities, it seems a sufficient encomium upon Dr. Storer's work 

 to state that all the species described by him in this report are valid. 

 One only, and that really undescribed, was given by him as new. 



A comparison of the present list with Dr. Storer's (see the " Tab- 

 ular List " and " Summary " at the end of this paper) shows that in 

 the thirty intervening years the number of species of Reptiles and 

 Batrachians known to inhabit the State, has been increased from 

 thirty-nine to forty-five, an addition of six species only, four of which 

 were undescribed at the time of the report. Others known then as 

 inhabitants of our State from but one or two specimens, have since 

 been ascertained to be more or less common, while one (Hylodes 

 Pickcrlncjii) has proved to be one of the most abundant. It is proba- 

 ble that two or three of the species given here may yet prove to be 

 merely nominal, as one or two of the salamanders, and possibly the 

 Bufo Fowleri; one other of the added species ( Scotophis vul.pinwj 

 seems likely to be of only casual occurrence, judging from its present 

 known distribution, its existence here resting, as far as I can learn, 

 on the single instance of its capture at Wenham by Mr. James 

 Bartlett. Tlie specimen was identified by Mr. F. W. Putnam, and 



