196 REPTILIA : OPHIDIA. XXVIII. 



olive, with rhomboid black blotches ; body slender ; eye very large. 

 Scales 17 (rarely 19). V. P. 170 to 190. L. 50 to 60. E. U. S., 

 common E. and S. (Lat., one that hugs.) 



283. PITUOPHIS Holbrook. (TTLTVS, pine-tree ; o$t?, snake.) 



565. P. melanoleucua (Daudin). PINE SNAKE. BULL SNAKE. 

 Whitish, with chestnut brown blotches which are margined with 

 black, besides 3 series of lateral blotches. Scales 29. V. P. 220 to 

 230. L. 60. Pine woods ; N. J. to Mich, and S. (peXas, black ; 

 XevKos, white.) 



566. P. sayi (Schlegel). WESTERN PINE SNAKE. Chestnut 

 brown with many orange cross-blotches and spots ; sides mottled 

 with black and orange. Scales 25 to 29. V. P. 220 to 245. L. 

 40 to 70. 111. to Kan. and N. W. (To Thomas Say.) 



284. DIADOPHIS Baird and Girard. (did, through; 

 o<tr, snake.) 



567. D. punctatus (L.). RING-NECKED SNAKE. Eye rather 

 large. Blue-black above, bright pale orange below (yellowish in 

 spirits) ; each plate usually with a black spot on each side and 

 sometimes a median one ; a very conspicuous yellowish ring about 

 neck, 2 scales wide. Scales 15. V. P. 140 to 160. L. 15. E. 

 U. S. W. to Kan. Represented W. by var. amabilis Baird & Girard, 

 slender, with V. P. 180 to 185 ; below darker and more spotted; 

 scales on sides considerably larger than those on back. W. U. S., 

 E. to Ohio. 



568. D. arnyi Kennicott. Lead black; belly spotted and mottled 

 with black ; occipital ring narrow, 1 \ scales wide. Scales 1 7. 111. 

 to Ariz. 



285. OPHIBOLUS Baird & Girard. (o$is, snake ; jSoXk, dart.) 



a. Dorsal scales in 21 rows. 

 b. Color chiefly black. 



569. O. getulus (L.). CHAIN SNAKE. THUNDER SNAKE. 

 Black with narrow yellowish lines forking on the flanks, each fork 

 embracing a large black spot ; belly checkered. Scales 21. V. P. 

 210 to 240. L. 50. Va. to La., E. of the mountains ; variable. 

 Represented westward by var. sayi (Holbrook). KING SNAKE. 

 Lustrous black, many scales with a yellow spot in the centre, these 

 sometimes forming cross-lines on back ; belly blotched. Alleghany 

 to Rocky Mts., abundant, N. to Ills. ; a handsome snake, said to 

 be an enemy of the rattlesnake. 



bb. Color red or grayish, with dark markings. 



570. O. doliatus (L.). RED SNAKE. CORN SNAKE. Red, 

 with twenty to twenty-five pairs of black rings, each set enclosing 



