33. PITUOPHIS 733 



hit it with his fork. As soon as I saw what he was doing 

 I called him, but it was too late. I told him of the good 

 the snake was doing and as he questioned it, I took the 

 snake by the tail, made a whip cracker of it, [and killed it]. 

 We took 35 small mice from its body. It seemed to like the 

 very young mice best as nearly all of them were without 

 hair, although some were one-third grown. This snake was 

 five feet three inches long and was very large. 



"Just how many mice this snake was consuming daily 

 is difficult to state, as digestion in reptiles usually proceeds 

 more slowly than in the higher vertebrates. Nevertheless, 

 observations generally have proved the beneficial habits of 

 the Bull Snake, and every available source should be utilized 

 in acquainting the public with these facts, as well as in afford- 

 ing protection to this useful reptile." 



163. Pituophis catenifer rutilus Van Denburgh 



ARIZONA GOPHER SNAKE 



Plate 78 



Pityophis bellona COPE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1866, p. 305. 

 Pityophis sayi sayi YARROW, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 24, 1883, p. 



105 (part); COPE, Report U. S. Nat. Mus., for 1898, 1900, p. 870 



(part). 

 Pityophis sayi bellona COPE, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. I, 1875, p. 39 



(part); COUES, Surv. W. looth Merid., V, 1875, p. 617; YARROW, 



Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 24, 1883, p. 106 (part); COPE, Proc. 



U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. XIV, 1892, p. 641 (part); COPE, Report U. S. 



Nat. Mus., for 1898, 1900, p. 872 (part). 

 Pituophis sayi VAN DENBURGH, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., Ser. 2, Vol. VI, 



1896, p. 348. 

 Pityophis catenifer bellona BROWN, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1901, 



p. 54 (part). 

 Pituophis catenijer deserticola STEJNEGER, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. 



XXV, 1892, p. 153; RUTHVEN, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. 



XXIII, 1907, p. 584 (part); STONE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 



1911, p. 232; VAN DENBURGH & SLEVIN, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., 



Ser. 4, Vol. Ill, 1913, p. 418. 



