CLASS III. REPTILIA: ORDER 4. OPlIIDIA. 



399 



THE HERPETON TENTACULATUS. 



long, with an elongated snout, and a head much larger than the body ; found both in India 

 and Africa. 



Genus HERPETON : Herpeton. — This includes a very curious species, H. tentaculatus, the 



muzzle of which is furnished with two 

 soft prominences, covered with scales, the 

 use of wliieh is not ascertained. The tail 

 s long and pointed; little is known of 

 the habits of this species. 



PINE-SNAKE, COACH-WHIP SNAKE, &c. 



Genus PITUOPHIS : Pituophis.— This 

 includes the Pine or Bull-Snake, F. me- 

 lanoleucus, seven to eight feet long ; body 

 milky white, clouded with black oblong 

 blotches ; abdomen pale cream-color ; feeds 

 on rabbits, squirrels, and birds ; common 

 from Maryland to Florida. It is the largest 

 species in the United States, except the 

 Gopher-Snake. 



Genus PSAMMOPHIS: FsammopMs. 

 — To this belongs the Coach- Whip Snake, 

 F. Jlagelliformis, five to seven feet long ; 

 glossy black above, bluish-slate beneath. 

 It is remarkable for the swiftness of its 

 motions ; feeds on young birds, and de- 

 rives its name from the formation of the tail, which resembles whip-cord ; found in South Caro- 

 lina, Georgia, and Florida. 



Genus CORONELLA : Coronella. — This includes several species. The Chain-Snake, C. 

 getula, is three and a half to four feet long ; the ground color rich raven-black, beautifully marked 

 with twenty-two white transverse bars. It lives in moist places, and feeds on moles, small birds, 

 and lizards ; common in the Carolinas. 



The Coronella Sayi, color bluish-black, tinged with violet above, has each plate and scale 

 marked with a milk-white spot ; length four feet ; is found along the valley of the Mississippi. 



The C. rhombo-maculata, of a chestnut-brown above, salmon-color beneath, is thirty inches 

 long, and found in Georgia and Alabama. 



The C. doliafa is a very small but brilliantly colored species, fifteen inches long; scarlet, 

 marked with black rings, above ; beneath white ; found in Carolina and Georgia. 



Genus HELICOPS : Melicoj^s. — This includes two species, the H. erythrogrammus and H. 

 abacurus, both beautiful species, and found in the Southern States. 



Genus BRACIIYORRHOS : Brachyorrhos. — This includes the B. amcenus, ten to twelve 

 inches long; light chestnut-brown above, salmon-color below; found in the Atlantic States from 

 New Hampshire to Florida ; also in Mississippi and Louisiana. 



Genus RHINOSTOMA : Rhinostoma. — This includes the Scarlet Snake, R. coccinea, eighteen 

 inches long ; body bright vermilion, marked with black bands ; found in the Atlantic Southern States. 

 Genus HETERODON : Heierodon. — The animals of this genus have the power of fiattening 

 the head and body even more than those of the genus Tropidinotus, and in which respect they 

 approach the Cobra di capello. To this belongs the Hog-Nose Snake, H. simus, fourteen to 

 fifteen inches long; the nostrils lateral, and near the snout ; color light gray, with a triple series 

 of dusky or black spots, varying in form and size ; found about the sea islands of Georgia and 

 South Carolina. 



The Black Viper, II. niger, has nostrils like the preceding; eighteen inches long; color black 

 above ; beneath bluish-slate color ; lives in pine-barrens, and is harmless, but its hiss is said to 

 be frightful ; is found in the Southern States. 



