The King Snakes 



(owing to the widening of the yellow) and are very narrow or 

 sometimes broken into blotches on the abdomen. On the ab- 

 domen, some of the yellow rings enclose spots. There is a yellow 

 ring around the neck immediately behind the head; in front of it 

 is a patch or band of black confined to the top of the head; the 

 snout is red. 



{Variations. — Young specimens differ from the adults in 

 possessing white rings in place of the yellow. On some adult 

 specimens the red and yellow do not completely encircle the ab- 

 domen, which is white in the centre, irregularly blotched with 

 black. The sides, however, present a perfectly ringed pattern 

 which distinguishes such individuals from the typical form. 



Dimensions. — This variety is of small size and slender of 

 body, with a narrow head, not distinct from the neck and sharp 

 and conical at the snout. The measurements are of a fully 

 adult specimen from Marion County, Florida: 



Total Length 14 inches. 



Length of Tail 2j 



Greatest Diameter { 



Length of Head i " 



Distribution. — The southeastern United States, from central 

 North Carolina, through Florida and westward to the Mississippi. 



"Mimicry:" The Scarlet King Snake and another serpent 

 of an entirely different genus — the Scarlet Snake {Cemophora 

 coccinea) are quite similar in their colours and pattern to a poison- 

 ous reptile, the Coral Snake (Elaps julvius), that inhabits the 

 same areas as each of the former reptiles. As a consequence 

 they are sometimes mistaken for the venomous snake and vice 

 versa. A brief key, with a few words of explanation, will enable 

 the student to easily separate these specimens. 



The distinctive differences may be thus outlined: 



Red and yellow 

 rings broad; the yel- 

 low bordered with nar- 

 rower rings of black. 



Snout red ;pointed. 



Ringed, with yellow,^ 

 red and black 



SCARLET KING 

 SNAKE 



Red and black 

 rings broad ; the black 

 bordered with very 

 narrow rings of yellow; 

 snout black, blunt 

 and rounded. 



351 



CORAL SNAKE 



