The King Snakes 



(owing to the widening of the yellow) and are very narrow or 

 sometimes broken into blotches on the abdomen. On the ab- 

 domen, some of the yellow rings enclose spots. There is a yellow 

 ring around the neck immediately behind the head; in front of it 

 is a patch or band of black confined to the top of the head; the 

 snout is red. 



Variations. Young specimens differ from the adults in 

 possessing white rings in place of the yellow. On some adult 

 specimens the red and yellow do not completely encircle the ab- 

 domen, which is white in the centre, irregularly blotched with 

 black. The sides, however, present a perfectly ringed pattern 

 which distinguishes such individuals from the typical form. 



Dimensions. This variety is of small size and slender of 

 body, with a narrow head, not distinct from the neck and sharp 

 and conical at the snout. The measurements are of a fully 

 adult specimen from Marion County, Florida: 



Total Length 14 inches. 



Length of Tail 2j 



Greatest Diameter \ 



Length of Head \ 



Distribution. The southeastern United States, from central 

 North Carolina, through Florida and westward to the Mississippi. 



" Mimicry:" The Scarlet King Snake and another serpent 

 of an entirely different genus the Scarlet Snake (Cemophora 

 coccinea) are quite similar in their colours and pattern to a poison- 

 ous reptile, the Coral Snake (Elaps fulvius), that inhabits the 

 same areas as each of the former reptiles. As a consequence 

 they are sometimes mistaken for the venomous snake and vice 

 versa. A brief key, with a few words of explanation, will enable 

 the student to easily separate these specimens. 



The distinctive differences may be thus outlined: 



Red and yellow 

 rings broad; we yel- 

 low bordered with nar- 

 rower rings of black. 



Snout red ; pointed. 



Ringed, with yellow, 

 red and black 



SCARLET KING 

 SNAKE 



Red and black 

 rings broad ; the black 

 bordered with very 

 narrow rings of yellow; 

 snout black, blunt 

 and rounded. 



CORAL SNAKE 



