144 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 
aa. Venomous; maxillary vertical; a deep pit on each side behind nostril 
partly occupying excavated maxillary; upper jaws in front with large 
erectile perforated fangs, not grooved in front. CROTALIDA 
Family COLUBRID. 
The Colubrine Snakes. 
Tail conical, tapering. No spur-like appendages to vent. Both 
jaws fully provided with teeth, which are conical and not 
grooved. No poison-fangs. Facial bones movable. Prefrontal 
not in contact with nasal. Transpalatine teeth present. Ptery- 
goid extending to mandible, or quadrate. Supratemporal pres- 
ent, attached scale-like to skull and suspending quadrate. Max- 
illary horizontal, not movable perpendicularly to transpalatine. 
Mandible without coronoid bone. Head covered with shields. 
Belly covered with broad band-like plates, ventrally as gas- 
trosteges, and sub-caudally as urosteges where they are arranged 
in pairs. 
A very large family of very many genera and species, dis- 
tributed over most of the globe, though most abundant in warm 
regions. 
Key to the genera. 
a. Conic head not distinct from cylindrical and rather rigid body. 
CARPHOPHIOPS 
aa. Head more or less distinct from body, which is not especially rigid. 
b. Rostral plate not recurved or keeled. — 
c. Anal plate divided. 
d. Dorsal scales more or less keeled. 
e. Nasal plates 2, with nostril between. 
f. Loreal plate present. 
g. Dorsal and lateral scales keeled; ventral plates 130 
to 170. 
h. Posterior teeth not the longer; scales transversely 
TOMtOn2ie REGINA 
hh. Posterior teeth the longer; scales transversely 
23° £0 3ie NATRIX 
gg. Lateral scales not keeled; keels of dorsal scales often 
obscure; ventral plates 200 to 270; scales trans- 
versely 25 to 29. ELAPHE 
