38 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



6, 7. Elaphis guttatus var. vulpimis 

 Garman (Scotophis vulpinus B. and G.). 

 This form, the Fox Snake, has not been 

 recorded in Rhode Island, nor has its con- 

 gener, the Alleghan}' Bhxck Snake Elaphis 

 alleghaniensis. This latter form has re- 

 ceived considerable attention from its dis- 

 tribution. It was first detected in New 

 England along the Connecticut Valley, 

 where it attracted attention as a black 

 snake having the scales keeled, the ordi- 

 nar3' Coluber constrictor having the scales 

 smooth. Both representatives of Elaphis 

 have been captured in Massachusetts. 



8. Coluber constrictor ^.j^jje, or the 

 Black Snake, is too well known to need 

 specific description. It is found all over the 

 Eastern United States, ranging from Nova 

 Scotia to Texas, and most often found in the 

 neighborhood of water, being particularly 

 partial to thickets of alders, where it can 

 find toads, mice, and birds. As it is an 

 excellent climber, it is often seen among 

 the branches of small trees and bushes, 

 hunting for young birds " in the nest." 

 While on these plundering expeditions the 

 reptile is often followed by a troop of small 

 birds in the greatest flutter of excitement. 

 The Black Snake does not always remain in 

 unfrequented localities, however, but is 

 often surprised in old fields, by the road- 

 side, and will even enter barns and seize 

 chickens. At these times the rapidity with 

 which it retreats on being disturbed has 

 given the animal the name of " Racer." As 

 long as retreat is offered there is no resist- 

 ance, though if cornered, or during the 

 breeding season, the usual mild temper gives 

 place to a most irascible disposition, which 

 is very characteristic of the animal when 

 in confinement, as it is alwaj's quarreling 

 and biting its fellow-prisoners as' often as 

 the opportunit}' presents itself. That he 

 is a constricting^snake, as the name would 

 imply, is extremely doubtful, as no repre- 

 sentative has ever been observed to kill its 

 prey by pressure of the encircled folds of 

 the body. 



The young of this species are peculiar ; 

 instead of being black as the parent, thej' 

 are an olivaceous color, ornamented with a 

 dorsal series of dark-edged brown pots, 

 with lateral rows of spots of still darker 

 shade. The head is dark chestnut mottled 

 with brown. 



The Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Rhode 

 Island. 



BY HORACE F. CARPENTER. 



Chapter XVI. 



Not 



Family 33. Pyramidellidse, Gra}^ 

 represented in New England. 



Family 34. . Littorinidfe, Troschel, con- 

 sists of eight living and two fossil genera. 

 The littorinas or periwinkles are mostly lit- 

 toral shells, feeding upon sea-weed, and 

 are found on the sea shore in all parts of 

 the world. Two genera, Littorina and 

 Lacuna, are found in Rhode Island. 



Genus Littorina, Ferussac. . 



Distribution, 175 species, four of which 

 inhabit Rhode Island. Shell turbinated, 

 thick, pointed, few whorled ; aperture 

 rounded, outer lip acute, columella flat- 

 tened, imperforate ; operculum pancispiral. 

 Animal edible. 



43. LiTT.lRINA PALLIATA, SaY. 



Shell globular, solid, smooth and shining, 

 color extremely variable, from pure white, 

 through yellow, orange, reddish, slate and 

 brown to nearly black ; sometimes banded, 

 striped or spotted with light and dark 

 shades, but generally of some uniform color ; 

 whorls four, the body whorl ver^' large, the 

 others small and scarcely rising above it ; 

 spire depressed ; apex obtuse ; suture very 

 faintly marked ; aperture nearly circular ; 

 outer lip beveled within to a point, inner 

 lip broadly flattened, white. This shell 

 rejoices in some eight or more synon3'ms. 

 It was described b}' Sa}', Joxtrn. Ac. Nat. 

 Set., Phila., ii., 240, 1822, under the name 

 of Turbo palliatus, and has been found 

 from New Jersey to the Arctic Ocean ; 

 Greenland, Spitzbergen, Finmark and Nor- 

 waj', also in the British Isles. In Europe, 

 it is known under several names, b}^ au- 

 thors who do not recognize Say as its dis- 

 coverer. Gould gives its length as eight- 

 tenths of an inch, breadth, nine-tenths. 

 Thei'e can be no locality where the}' are- 

 more abundant than in Rhode Island, but 

 they never grow here to near the size men- 

 tioned. They are found at Rocky Point 

 abundantly, and in all other places in our 

 bay where there are rocks, feeding upon 

 the rock weed. They are equally abundant 



