BRANSON : SNAKES OF KANSAS. 367 



front, moderately broad behind. Angles of occipitals decided ; 

 occipitals broad. Prefrontals large, wider than long. Inter- 

 nasals large, triangular. Rostral large. Nasals two, narial 

 opening in anterior. Loreal large, lower margin longer than 

 upper. One preocular. Two to four postoculars. Temporals 

 1-3, 1-2, or 2-3. Seven, rarely eight, superior labials. Ten, 

 rarely nine or eleven, inferior labials. Gastrosteges 150-170. 

 Urosteges 60-80. Anal plate entire. 



Dorsal stripe red or yellow to bluish ; lateral stripe rarely 

 yellowish, often blending with the color of the belly; belly 

 greenish or bluish ; large and distinct spots near the tips of the 

 gastrosteges. Not infrequently these spots have almost en- 

 tirely disappeared. The head is brownish above ; superior 

 labials greenish, bordered with black posteriorly; under part 

 of head yellowish white. In some specimens the color between 

 the stripes is uniformly blackish. (See remarks on obscura.) 

 In the usual marking the superior row of spots has fused next 

 the dorsal stripe. Often the superior row appears as a plain 

 black stripe. The spots of the second row are separated by red 

 interspaces. Frequently the red has almost entirely disappeared. 

 In one living specimen now before me, only very small red spaces 

 are present anteriorly and none posteriorly. The row of scales 

 between the lateral stripe and the gastrosteges is sometimes 

 maculated with black spots and sometimes colored like the 

 belly. 



Although not a water snake, E. sirtalis parietalift is seldom 

 found far from water. It feeds upon small frogs, fish, and other 

 small land and water animals. E. sirtalis sirtalis, like all other 

 Eulaeniic, is ovoviviparous. It is quite abundant along streams 

 in the eastern part of the state but is rare in the western part. 

 I have examined specimens from Mitchell, Shawnee, Douglas, 

 Lyon, Franklin, Jefferson, Republic, Wallace and Riley coun- 

 ties. 



The accompanying drawings (figs. 6, 6a, 6/>) show some of 

 the variations in color of this subspecies. 



Cope (10. 1074) describes his E. sirtalis obscura as being uni- 

 formly blackish between the longitudinal stripes, the keels of 

 the scales being of a lighter brown than in E. sirtalis pariefalix, 

 the belly being grayish green, with black spots near the ends of 

 the gastrosteges, extending from the base. He says: "In no 



a-Bnll.. No. 13. 



