2l6 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 



Georgia, Michigan and Texas; very rare and local in northeast; common 

 in south and west. 



.V. rhombifera (Hallowell). Length i,ooo mm.; tail 240 mm.; color 

 brownish, with a series of about 50 dorsal rhomboidal blotches; scales in 

 27 rows: southern Indiana and Illinois to Louisiana and Texas. 



N. cyclopion (Dumeril & Bibron) . Length i ,000 mm. ; tail 260 mm. ; 

 color dark greenish with many dorsal transverse black bands; eye sur- 

 rounded by a ring of scales; scales in 29 rows: Florida to Louisiana 

 and up the Mississippi Valley to southern Illinois. 



N. taxis pilota (Holbrook) Water-pilot. Length 1,300 mm.; tail 

 300 mm.; color rusty brown, with a series dark blotches on the back 

 alternating with a similar series on each side; scales in 29 to 33 rows: 

 Atlantic and Gulf States; northward to North Carolina; the largest 

 American water snake. 



27. Seminatrix Cope. Small snakes living in or near the water, 

 with smooth scales in 17 rows; scales on the tail 



^;0^3c£^ weakly keeled; upper-labials usually 8: i species. 



5. pygcea (Cope). Length 420 mm.; tail 70 mm.; 

 Fig. 122.— storeria color black, with a faint pale line running along the 

 dekayi (from Cope), center of cach scale; belly red, crossed on the body 

 with narrow black bars; and plate divided: South Carolina to Florida. 



28. Storeria Baird and Girard. Small snakes with head distinct 

 from the neck and with scales in 15 to 17 rows; ventrals about 135; 

 loreal plate absent: 4 species, all American and viviparous; 3 species 

 in the United States. 



5. dekayi (Holbrook), Dekay's snake; brown snake (Fig. 122). 

 Length 300 mm.; tail 60 mm.; color chestnut or grayish brown, with a 

 lighter middorsal stripe bordered with black dots; belly whitish; upper 

 labials 7; scales in 17 rows: eastern and central States; westward to 

 Kansas; southward into Mexico; terrestrial, secretive, living under 

 stones and logs, often in towns, feeding on insects, worms, etc. ; common. 



S. occipito-maculata (Storer) . Red-bellied snake. Length 2 50 mm. ; 

 tail 60 mm. ; color chestnut brown or grayish with a lighter middorsal 

 stripe bordered with dark dots; belly red; upper labials 5 or 6; scales 

 in 15 rows: eastern and central States; westward to Kansas; south- 

 ward into Mexico. 



29. Potamophis Fitzinger {Haldea Baird & Girard). Small snakes 

 with keeled scales in 17 rows; head distinct from the neck and very 

 narrow and pointed: i species. 



P. striatiilus (L.) Length 280 mm.; tail 40 mm.; color grayish or 

 reddish brown; belly red; ventrals 119 to 130; upper labials 5: southern 



