106 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 
When repeatedly annoyed, this snake will feign death and 
may then be roughly handled without its displaying signs of life. 
Its food consists principally of toads. The species is oviparous, 
depositing about two dozen eggs. A large specimen will measure 
three feet in length and one and a half inches in diameter. 
Range: The United States east of the Rocky Mountains. 
Local distribution: Found in nearly all the sandy localities 
adjacent to New York City. Common on Long Island and the 
Bayonne peninsula, New Jersey. 
FIG. 12. RIBBON SNAKE 
The Ribbon Snake, Thamnophis saurita (Fig. 12), is a species 
which might be easily confounded with the Garter Snake, owing 
Ribbon to the similarity of markings. The body color is dark 
Snake. brown or black, with a bright and very clearly-defined 
stripe of yellow down the back and a similar stripe on each side. 
The body is very slender and the scales are distinctly keeled. 
When the skin is distended the sides of the body show small, 
white spots. 
The chief differences between this species and the Garter 
