AMPHIBIA AND REPTILIA OF COLORADO 10 1 



Chionactis episcopus isozonus Cope 



Black-Banded Ground Snake 



Contia isozona Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 304, 1866. 

 Chionactis episcopus isozonus Cope, Kept. US. Nat. Mus., p. 939, 1898. 



Dorsal scales smooth, in 15 rows; superior labials, 7; ventrals, 

 140 to 160; loreal small; tail about one-fifth of the total length; size 

 small to medium, length under 18 inches. 



General color brownish or grayish with a reddish cast to quite red ; 

 back crossed by about 20 black bands separated by equal bands of the 

 ground color, these bands completely encircUng the tail, but not quite 

 reaching the ventrals over the body; ventral parts pinkish. 



Range, Colorado and Utah south into Mexico. 



Colorado specimen. — State Teachers^ College Museum: Las Animas County, 

 Corrizo Canyon, A. E. Beardsley. 



Genus DIADOPHIS Baird and Girard 

 Diadophis Baird and Girard, Cat. N. Am. Reptiles, Pt. I, p. 112, 1853. 



Anal plate divided; scales smooth, in 15 or 17 rows; superior labials, 

 7 or 8; inferior labials, 7 or 8; preoculars, 2, rarely i; maxillary teeth 

 equal; color uniform brownish black, gray or blue above, red or yellow 

 below, usually with a yellow collar; size small, length under two feet. 



The Ring-necked Snakes, as those of this genus are called, are 

 small active snakes, which because of their habit of hiding away under 

 stones and bark are not often seen. Their food consists of the small 

 animals which they find in these places, insects, salamanders, earth- 

 worms and other smaller snakes. They are oviparous or ovovivi- 

 parous. 



The four species of this genus and their varieties are restricted to 

 North America and the Bahama Islands. 



Diadophis regalis Baird and Girard 

 SoNORAN Ring-Necked Snake {Figures 21 and 22) 



Diadophis regalis Baird and Girard, Cat. N. Am. Reptiles, Pt. I, p. 115, 1853. 

 Diadophis regalis arnyi — Cope, Rept. U.S.N.M., p. 746, 1898 (mouth of 

 Cache Creek, Colo.). 



