The Hog-nosed Snakes 



naming varieties from difTerence of colour alone, the total absence 

 of pattern from large numbers of specimens which are black or 

 very dark gray, pcjints to a character that should be recognised 

 for the guidance of the popular student and the beginner in 

 this branch of zoology. 



Colouration. — Above, the body is very dark gray, or slaty 

 black, with no trace of pattern. 



The top of the head is black, but the upper lip plates {supe- 

 rior labials) are white, with a tinge of black at their borders or 

 sprinkled with black dots. The flat portion of the upturned 

 snout is also white, as is the chin and throat; farther down the 

 undersurface the white fades into gray. 



Dimensions. — In size, this variety agrees with the typical 

 form. The largest specimen examined showed the following 

 measurements: 



Total Length 36 inches. 



Length of fail 5^ 



Greatest Diameter i i " 



Length of Head 1 1 " 



Width of Head ij " 



This specimen was captured in Sullivan County, New York. 

 Distribution. — The Black Hog-nosed Snake is distributed 

 over the same area as given for the typical form. 



THE SOUTHERN HOG-NOSED SNAKE 

 Heierodon sinius, (Linn.) 



Considerably smaller than the preceding species — attaining 

 a length of about twenty inches — and stouter in form. The 

 shovel-like rostral plate (on the snout) is more prominent and 

 very sharply upturned. 



Colouration. — Pale brownish-gray above; with a series of 

 large, rather irregular patches of blackish-brown on the back; 

 between these blotches the body-colour is slightly paler than on 

 the sides. Beneath these spots, on each side of the reptile, is 

 a row of smaller spots, in alternation with those above. 



IViih the exception 0} this smaller row of spots on the sides the 

 ground-colour presents a plain, unspotted surface, and the abdomen 

 is likewise immaculate. This is in contrast to the preceding and 

 more generally distributed species, with which the sides of the reptile 



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