A'i'KiNsoN' : Rkptilks ok Ai,lf.(;hknv County. 153 



mice, have been found in their stomachs, and one specimen contained 

 five larv;^ of a species of cicada. A female kept in the laboratory of 

 the Museum gave birth to six young, August 28, 1900. 'Ihe young 

 are poisonous at an early age. One of these young, when eight days 

 old, bit tlic writer on the finger and caused a painful inflammation 

 which persisted for four days. The copperhead probably never exceeds 

 three feet in length. The longest specimen in the collection of the 

 Museum measures thirty-four inches. 



Genus Sistrurus Garman. 



21. Sistn/n/s ciiffiia/iis (Rafinesque). Prairie-rattlesnake. 



This species is extinct within the limits of the county. Mr. Samuel 

 F. Watson has the skin of one of these rattlesnakes, which he killed at 

 Bakerstown during the summer of 1866. Two specimens of this 

 species were collected near Butler, Butler County, Pennsylvania, Sep- 

 tember 2, 1899. It is a small, dark-colored snake, not over three feet 

 in length, of a sluggish disposition, and not nearly so dangerous as the 

 banded rattlesnake. 



Genus Crotalus Linnaeus. 



22. Crotalus horridns lAxxn^ns. Banded, or Mountain-rattlesnake. 

 This species is also extinct within the limits of the county. There 



is no positive proof that this species ever existed here. However, 

 many years ago, rattlesnakes were not rare in this locality ; they are 

 also reported as being large and brightly colored. The prairie rattle- 

 snakes, Sistrurus catenatus, could never have been common here, 

 owing to the absence of large swamps and lowlands. Moreover, it is 

 neither large nor brightly colored. For the above reasons the banded 

 rattlesnake is admitted to this list. Crotalus horridus is found com- 

 monly in many parts of Westmoreland County. It attains a length 

 of five feet, and its bite is very dangerous. A specimen in the col- 

 lection of the Museum has a young rabbit in its stomach. 



Order Lacertilia. 



Key to the Local Families of Lacektilia. 



Tongue covered with close set papillae ; no bony plates underlying the 



epidermal scales. Iguafiidir. 



Tongue covered with scale-like papillce ; bony plates supporting the epider- 

 mal scales. Scincidce. 



