The Elapine Poisonous Snakes 



Mexican specimens display marked variations of pattern. 

 The black rings are rather narrow and the red rings very wide — 

 from two to three times the width of the black rings. With such 

 specimens the yellow rings are merely represented by a tinge of 

 that colour upon the tips of single scales bordering the black 

 areas. It is quite possible that a large series of Mexican specimens 

 would prove these reptiles to be worthy of a distinct, varietal 

 name. An illustration is presented of a typical specimen from 

 Marion County, Florida. 



Colours of Young Specimens. — The pattern of the young is 

 precisely like that of the parent, though the colours are paler. 

 The red rings are represented by a pale brick colour. (Illus- 

 trated.) 



Dimensions. — The largest specimen examined, from the 

 United States, was 37 inches in length. This is considerably 

 above the average for specimens north of Mexico. The measure- 

 ments of an average-sized adult from Gainesville, Florida, are 

 given: 



Total Length 28^ inches. 



Length of Tail 2^ 



Greatest Diameter | " 



Width of Head -j\ " 



Length of Head } " 



A freshly hatched specimen measured 7J inches in length 

 and one-eighth of an inch in diameter at the thickest part of the 

 body. 



Distribution. — The species ranges from northern North 

 Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico, westward through Texas, thence 

 southward into Central America. It has extended its distribution 

 up the Mississippi Valley as far north as southern Ohio, where 

 occasional specimens are found. 



Habits 0} the Coral Snake 



Much has been written about the alleged inoffensive habits 

 of this snake. By some writers it is described as mildly poisonous, 

 and quoting Prof. E. D. Cope, "innocuous to man and the larger 

 animals," which information is intended to convey the impres- 

 sion that the Coral Snake is too small to be deadly to anything 

 but the small creatures that constitute its food. 



Slender and brightly coloured, with a small, harmless 



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