78 



Genus CARPHOPHIS, Gervais. 



CarphojyJm, Gervais, 1843, 72, iii, 191; Garman, 1883, 13, 99; 

 €elvia, Baird and Girard, 1853, 6, 120. 



Small snakes with little heads and short tails. Head not distinct from 

 the neck. Crown shields 7 or 9, there being in some cases but a single 

 pair of frontals. Vertical broad. Loral present. No anteorbital. 

 Nasals single. Scales smooth and glossy, arranged in 13 rows. Anal 

 plates divided, 

 a. Color of the back descending below third row of scales. 



amcena. p. 78. 

 aa. Color of the back not descending below third row of scales. 



vermis. Appendix. 



Carchophis amoena, (Say). 

 Ground-snake. 



Coluber ammnus. Say, 1825, 2, 237; Celuta amcena, Baird and Girard, 

 1853, 6, 129; Cooper, 1860, 20, xii, pt. ii, 302, pi. 19, fig. 2; Garpho- 

 phis amana, Gervais, 1843, 72, iii, 191 ; Garman, 1883, 13, 100, pi. vii, 

 fig. 1 ; Garphophiops amcenus. Cope, 1892, 3, xiv, 596. 



Celuta helence, Kennicott, 1859, 1, 100; Carphophlops lielence. Cope, 

 1875, 12, 34; Carphophis helence, Smith, 1882, 18, 699. 



Head small, the snout moderately elongated and rounded. Vertical 

 hexagonal. Rostral convex. Postfrontals entering into the orbits, the 

 prefrontals small or absent. Postorbital single. Upper labials 5 ; . eye 

 over third and fourth. Lower labials 6. Ventral plates 112 to 131; 

 subcaudals 24 to 36 pair?. Scales smooth and glossy, arranged in 13 

 rows. 



Color above, rich chestnut brown, below yellow to salmon. Length not 

 exceeding one foot. The specimens without prefrontals have been re- 

 garded as belonging to a distinct species helence. Prof. Cope has shown 

 recently, however (3, 1892, 596), that this is an inconstant character, 

 and that the forms must be united. 



The species is distributed from Massachusetts to Georgia, and west to 

 Central Arkansas. Indiana localities are : Wheatland (Ridgway) ; New 

 Harmony (Sampson's coll.) ; Monroe County (C. H. Bollman) ; Brown 

 County (Chas. Jameson) ; Crawford County (Hay) , where in the vicinity 

 of Wyandotte Cave several specimens were found hiding under stones 

 and logs; Terre Haute (Blatchley). Some of the specimens from New 

 Harmony and those from Wheatland belonged to the form with pre- 

 frontals ; all the others were without prefrontals. 



