THE SNAKES 311 



But two species of Elaps occur in the United States. 

 Their red, yellow and black-ringed coloration causing 

 them to look rather alike. There is also a strong resem- 

 blance to several harmless snakes, particularly the follow- 

 ing species: Arizona King Snake, Ophibolus zonatus; 

 Western Milk Snake, O. doliatus gentilis; Scarlet King 

 Snake, O. doliatus and the Scarlet Snake, Cemophora 

 coccinea. Careful examination will demonstrate a val- 

 uable character that may be generally employed in dis- 

 tinguishing the venomous from the harmless reptiles. 

 It will be noted in the case of the poisonous snake that 

 the black rings are single and bordered with a pair of 

 yellow rings. With the harmless species the yellow 

 rings are single and bordered with a pair of black rings. 



The species of Coral Snakes found in the United 

 States may be easily separated, as follows: — 



Snout black; a yellow band across the head, followed by a black ring. 

 Harlequin Snake; Coral Snake, Elaps fulvius. 



Habitat: Southeastern United States into Mexico. 

 Snout black ; a yellow band across head, followed by a red ring. Sonor an 

 Coral Snake, Elaps euryxanthus. 



Habitat: Arizona and northern Mexico. 



The Harlequin Snake or Coral Snake, of the 

 southeastern part of the United States, is a common 

 reptile in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, where 

 it is dug up in sweet potato fields during ploughing. 

 Specimens are found wandering about, after heavy rains. 

 The scales are highly-polished and opalescent; the pat- 

 tern consists of regularly-disposed, broad scarlet and 

 black rings, separated by narrow rings of yellow. The 

 snout is black ; a wide orange band crosses the head. It 

 is not unusual to find specimens with the scarlet much 

 obscured by a scattering of black spots; on the abdomen 

 the coloration is more brilliant. A big example is a yard 

 long and three-quarters of an inch in diameter at the 



