8 BARBOUR — HERPETOLOGICAL NOTES Pv^i^iaP 



This Southern race may be distinguished from the Northern by several 

 characters. First, fewer ventral and subcaudal scales — the condition is 

 best expressed by taking the sum of the two counts; second, a usually 

 interrupted neck ring; third, a row of heavy half-moon-shaped blotches on 

 the ventral scales, in addition to the two lines of large black lateral spots; 

 and fourth, a very different coloration. 



Thus the living colors of specimens from Florida were observed to be: — 



Upper surfaces rich brown, each scale finely but very distinctly punctate; 

 lower surfaces orange yellow (cadmium orange), fading to lighter yellow 

 anteriorly and becoming richer and darker posteriorly, so that the region of 

 the vent and under surface of the tail is rich deep orange, almost vermilion 

 (orange chrome); collar light orange (cadmium orange). The colors in 

 parentheses are from Stcjneger's notes on a Hallandale, Florida, specimen, in 

 the terms of Ridgway's Manual. 



In eleven specimens from Florida, in the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology, the average sum of ventral and subcaudal counts is 184.4; in four 

 from Georgia (Dr. Jones, probably from Savannah), 192.4. Specimens of 

 the Southern race usually show less than 200 ventrals and subcaudals 

 together. In forty-three examples in the Museum of Comparative Zoology 

 and the U. S. National Museum, from Florida, the number of ventral scales 

 varies from 129 to 145. In six from Mississippi, from 131 to 142. In six 

 from lowland Georgia, from 136 to 152; while one from Roswell, in moun- 

 tainous Cobb County in northwestern Georgia, approaches closely the 

 Northern form. Three from South Carolina range from 141 to 155; ten 

 from North Carolina range from 141 to 159. 



All of the Florida specimens, in both the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology and the National Museum, have heavy or moderately large median 

 spots on the belly. In the National Museum one specimen from Mississippi 

 lacks spots. All of the Georgia examples from the coastal plain, in both 

 museums, have the heavy spots; the example from Roswell (M. C. Z., no. 

 258) already mentioned, has only a few fine dots. Two examples from 

 North Carolina in the National Museum have immaculate bellies, but have 

 the low scale formula of the Southern form. 



The distribution of D. p. punctatus may then be said to extend 

 from the region of New Orleans along the Gulf lowlands to 

 Florida, to include the entire State of Florida, and to extend 

 northward to northern North Carolina from sea-level to 2500 

 feet altitude, and possibly higher in the mountains of South 

 Carohna and Georgia. 



