190 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



state. Of the two specimens which I have one was cap- 

 tured by Dr. Anton Schaffranek in his garden in St. 

 Charles, and the other by Mr. E. M. Parker of Mont- 

 gomery City. About thirty-five years ago I picked from 

 a ditch in Madison County, 111., a dozen specimens. About 

 fifteen years later I returned to the place but did not find 

 any. A farmer, who had been living in that vicinity 

 during the time told me that he had not seen Grass Snakes 

 for many years, although they had been quite common at 

 one time. Grass Snakes feed on insects and caterpillars, 

 but only on the hairless kind. They are oviparous. 



Dates of capture. — August 4. 



Genus opheodrys. 



Maxillary teeth smooth, equal. Cephalic plates normal. One nasal. 

 One loral. One anteorbital. Scales keeled, with two pits. Anal divided; 

 Head distinct from the body. Color green. Tail long. 



74. Opheodrys aestivus Linnaeus. Green Bush Snake. 

 Rough-scaled Green Snake. 



Vyclophis aestivus, Phyllophilophis aestivus, Leptophis aestivus, Lepto- 

 phis majalis, Liopeltis aestivus, Herpetodryas aestivus, Contia aes- 

 tiva. Coluber aestivus, Green Snake, Anguis viridis, Anguis gror 

 cilis coeruleo viridis. 



Description. — Rostral broader than high, well visible from above. Me- 

 dian suture of internasals shorter than between prefrontals; frontal 

 elongate, one and a half times as long as broad, longer as its distance 

 from the end of the snout, shorter than the parietals. Nasal one, with 

 nostril in the center. Loral longer than deep. Anteorbital one; post- 

 orbitals two, the lower one small. Temporal 1-2. Upper labials seven, 

 sixth the largest, third and fourth entering the eye. Lower labials 

 eight, fifth the largest, four in contact with the anterior chin shields, 

 which are shorter than the posterior. Head elongate, neck contracted. 

 Snout projecting considerably over the lower jaw. Eyes large. Mouth 

 cleft, large and bent. Body slender, tail whip-like, being usually 

 oaore than one-third of the total length. Dorsal scales in 17 rows, all 

 Keeled except the two outer rows on each side, which are smooth. The 

 scales of the outer rows are also perceptibly wider than the rest. 

 Ventrals 150-165. Anal divided. Subcaudals 111-135 pairs. 



Color. — Green above (pea green). The green of the back fades to- 



