The King Snakes 



Total Length 36 inches. 



Length of Fail 5 



Greatest Diameter J " 



Width of Head f " 



Length of Head 1 



Distribution. — ^The distribution of this phase of the Mexican 

 King Snake is the extreme southern portions of Arizona and 

 New Mexico and northern Mexico generally. The species to 

 which it belongs extends southward throughout Qntral America. 

 The varieties have not been systematically treated by technical 

 workers. 



THE BROWN KING SNAKE 

 Ophibolus rhombomaculaius, (Holbrook) 



Moderate in size — attaining a length of about a yard. The 

 body is fairly stout and cylindrical. The head is small and 

 scarcely distinct from the neck. 



Colouration. — Light brown above, becoming paler (yellowish) 

 toward the abdomen and with about fifty-five rather obscure, 

 reddish-brown blotches on the back. These blotches are irreg- 

 ular and wavy in outline and narrowly bordered with black; 

 they are from 6 to 7 scales wide and from 2 to 3 scales long. On 

 some specimens there is an indication of a smaller series of alter- 

 nating blotches on the sides. The pattern is not distinct, and 

 from a short distance the snake appears to be of a uniform, pale 

 brown. 



The abdomen is yellowish-white, often showing patches of 

 pale salmon-red, arranged in tessellated fashion — and the entire 

 surface sprinkled over with gray or black dots. 



Dimensions. — Constituting one of the smaller species of 

 the genus, this reptile seldom attains a length exceeding a yard. 

 Its general proportions are much like those of a full-grown spec- 

 imen of the Northern Milk Snake or House Snake — 0. doliatus 

 iriangulus. The measurements of a specimen captured near 

 Groveton, Virginia, are given: 



Total Length • • • 34 inches. 



Length of Tail 4} 



Greatest Diameter x\ 



Width of Head i " 



Length of Head | " 



354 



