Reptiles and Amphibians of Illinois. :}():} 



Var, niger. 



Heterodon niij'^r, Troost, Ann. L3'c. Nat. Hist. N. Y., III., 1833, 

 p. 186. 



Body stout. Head larg^e. Snout recurved. Tail short 

 and tapering. Dorsal scales, with the exception of the outer 

 row of each side, carinate. Rostral plate produced forward, 

 slightly recurved, anterior margins sharp, keeled above. Azy- 

 gos plate elongate, bounded anteriorly by the rostral, at the 

 sides by the internasals and prefrontals, and posteriorly by the 

 prefrontals. Vertical longer than wide, hexagonal. Nine or ten 

 anteorbitals, postorbitals, and suborbitals, with the supraciliary 

 completely encircling the eye. Nostril valvular, situated in the 

 posterior part of the nasal. A single loreal. Siipralabials eight, 

 increasing in size from first to seventh, eighth equal to fifth. 

 Nine or ten infralabials. Dorsal rows of scales twenty-five. 

 Ventrals about 140. Subcaudals 37-60. 



Color above from grayish brown to black, in the lighter- 

 colored examples with about thirty brown or black dorsal spots, 

 with one or more series of smaller spots on each side, or with 

 a series of squarish pale dorsal spots, margined before and be- 

 hind with black and with a round black spot at each side. 

 Often uniform brown above, sometimes blue-black. Beneath 

 uniform whitish in adults, in young blackish or nearly uniform 

 black. A dark bar, including the anterior margins of the 

 supraorbitals and frontal and the posterior half of the pre- 

 frontals, extends from orbit to orbit. A bar on the head, be- 

 hind the orbit, is continuous with a black bar which extends 

 backward upon the neck. A short black vitta extends from 

 the eye to the angle of the mouth. 



Total length, 27.37: tail, 3.62. 



Throughout the State; common south. Cook Co. (Kenni- 

 cott), Peoria (Brendel), Tazewell Co., Belleville, Mt. Carmel, 

 Union Co. 



Variety platyrhinus. 

 Color above grayish to reddish brown, with dark bands. 



