2()S Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History. 



marked along the lateral stripes, between head and tail, with 

 obscure red spots; and the skin, when the dorsal scales are 

 drawn apart, shows short whitish marks in about three series 

 on each side, the two lower in pairs, and the upper composed 

 of single spots at the margin of the dorsal stripe. 



The species is extremely common everywhere, and with the 

 other striped species is known as the garter snake. It is not 

 so strictly terrestrial as is supposed, being most commonly 

 found near water in the dry part of summer; and in spring, 

 when just awakened from hibernation, it may occasionally be 

 seen lying in the water as if trying to moisten the dried-out 

 skin. It feeds on fishes and insects, and, when it can get them, 

 gorges itself with tadpoles. 



Eutainia vagrans, Bd. and Gir. Larre-headed Striped 



Snake. 



Eti.tainia taynins, Bd. and Gir., Cat. N. A. Rept., Pt. 1., 1853, 

 p35. 



Evtctnia vayn/iis. Baird., U.S. Pac. R. R. Expl., 1859. X., Reptiles 

 p. 19, pi. 17.— Cooper, IT. S. Pac. R. R. Expl., 1860, XII., Rep- 

 tiles, p. 297.— Davis and Rice, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. 

 Hist., I., No. 5, 1883, p. 39; Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1883. 



Tropidonot'NS sirta/is, var. vaffrans. S. Garman, Mem. Mus. 

 Comp. Zool., 1883, p. 139. 



Body long and slender. Head short and broad. Dorsal 

 scales all carinated. Supralabials eight; sixth and seventh 

 largest. Twenty or twenty-one rows of dorsal scales. Ven- 

 trals 161-179. Anal entire. Subcaudals in 70-90 pairs. 



Color above light olive-brown, with two series of blackish 

 brown spots on each side, the spots of the upper series encroach- 

 ing on the dorsal stripe. Lateral stripes on the second and third 

 rows of dorsal scales of each side. Beneath slate color, 



A single specimen of this species collected near Chicago by 

 Mr. E. W. Nelson is the only one known to have been found 

 in the State. 



Nerodia, Bd. and Gir. 



Bd. and Gir., Cat. N. A. Rept., Pt. I., 1853, p. 38. 



Dorsal scales carinated, in from twenty-three to thirty- 

 three rows. Rostral normal. Two internasals. Two pre- 

 frontals. Loreal present. Two nasals. One or two anteor- 



