The Opisthoglyph Snakes of North America 



Colouration. — Greenish-gray or yellowish above with large, 

 black or brown blotches — six or eight scales long and extending 

 downward nearly to the edges of the abdominal plates. Ab- 

 domen yellowish. 



Across the rear part of the head is an obscure, pale band. 



Dimensions. — Total length, 30 inches; tail about one-fifth 

 the total length. The head is fully twice as wide as the diam- 

 eter of the neck. 



Distribution. — Southern portions of Texas, New Mexico and 

 Arizona. Mexico generally and southward to Panama. 



Habits. — A captive specimen, now living for several years, 

 is persistently secretive, though it feeds readily. It spends 

 most of the time in hiding under a flat stone in the cage or in a 

 hollow it scoops in the gravel beneath the drinking pan. About 

 the food, it is not particular, eating snakes, lizards, young mice 

 and frogs. Among these creatures it takes the young snakes 

 and frogs most readily. The species seems to be oviparous, as 

 this snake laid a dozen eggs a few days after her arrival. They 

 were deposited in a hollow she had scooped in the sand, under a 

 flat stone. 



The Genus Erythrolamprus: The species are smaller than 

 those of the preceding genera; the body is rather slender and the 

 head but slightly distinct. Eyes with a round pupil. 



Six species are recognised. With the exception of one, 

 they are confined to Mexico and Central America. 



THE BLACK-BANDED SNAKE 

 Erythrolamprus imperial is, (Baird) 



Small in size and with a rather slender body. The head is 

 but slightly distinct from the neck. Ventral plate divided. 



Colouration. — Pale brown; a black band on the back and 

 a similar band on each side. Abdomen reddish; sometimes 

 spotted. 



A black-bordered, yellow line from the snout to the temple. 



Dimensions. — Total length, 14 inches; tail, 6 inches. 



Distribution. — Central America and Mexico, northward into 

 southern Texas. 



The Genus Tantilla — the Black-headed Snakes: In the 

 number of species, Tantilla is a fairly large genus, but all of the 



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