1901.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 75 



Ophibolus doliatus gentilis 15- and G. 



Ophiboliis gentilis B. and G., I. c, 90 ; 0. d. annnlatus, 0. d. syspibis 

 (part), 0. a. gentili.^ anil O. multistratus Cope, I. c, 609, Gil; Coro- 

 nella geniiiis (part) and G. micro})hoUs (part) Boul., I. e., 11,201, 

 203 ; LampropcUis innltistr<(tus and L. annulaius Stej., Proc. U. S. 

 Nat. Mus., 1891, 502, 503 ; Osceola doliata gentilis, ((unulatris, sys- 

 piliis (part) and Ophibolus multistratus Cope, liep. Nat. Mus., 894, 

 895, 909. 



Body rather short iiud stout; temporals 2-2 (8); scales in 21 

 rows (occasionally 23); ventrals 184-200; subcaudals 42-50; 

 length about 700 mm. 



The black rings usually extend around the body as in 0. d. 

 coccineus, and the colors are very similar, but the spaces between 

 adjacent pairs of rings on the belly, opposite the red dorsal tracts, 

 are more or less filled up by black ; the whole top of the head is 

 usually black except the end of the snout, which is red. Some- 

 times the scales in the yellow rings are marked with black, and 

 often the black of the rings extends slong the dorsal line, forming 

 a dusky band on the red spaces; when the black suffusion is want- 

 ing we have anmdatm Kenn., but it exists in all degrees. 



A small specimen from Fort Harker, Kaus. , in the Cope col- 

 lection, referred by him to sypilm,-^ is .simply an immature gentilis. 



0. multistratus Kenn. was founded on an individual from Ne- 

 braska having 8 upper labials; 2.3 rows of scales; three temporals in 

 the second row, dorsal spots with borders uniting on the flanks, and 

 no rings nor spots on the belly. Mr. Stejneger reports a second 

 specimen^ ^ with but seven labials. Twenty-three rows of scales; 

 temporals 2-3; with a greater or less number of dorsal spots are 

 not without precedent in 0. doliatus ; indeed, three out of five 0. d. 

 gentilis which I have examined have three temporals in the second 

 row. No. 3,613 Academy coll., from western Louisiana, is in com- 

 pany with a gentilis lacking the dorsal suff^usion of black, and is 

 exactly like it in all other respects, except that the belly is immacu- 

 late and the dorsal spots close on the outer row of scales; cor. 

 responding very closely to Kennicott's description of multiMratus, 

 with the scutellation of gentilis. I see no reason, therefore, why 

 the first should not be included within the range of this variable 

 form; the same may be said of annulatus Kenn., the diflfereuces 

 of which are trivial. 



-" Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1888, p. 385. 

 2 1 Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1891, p. 502. 



