Hurler — Herpetology of Missouri. 211 



separating the post-nasal from the preocular. Eyes separated from 

 the upper labials by one or two series of plates. Temporal scales 

 keeled. Nine to eleven upper labials. Smaller and more slender than 

 8. catenatus. Rattle very small. Snout with a sharp canthus. Dorsal 

 scales in 21 or 23 rows, all keeled, the two outer rows slightly. Ven- 

 trals 127-140. Anal entire. Subcaudals 25 to 36, on the terminal fifth 

 of the tail they are divided. 



Color. — Gray, yellowish to dark brown, the vertebral line often orange. 

 One or two dorsal series of large, dark black-edged spots or a series of 

 narrow cross bars and one or two lateral series of smaller spots, two 

 undulating dark stripes from between the eyes to the occiput, the space 

 between them usually orange. A dark temporal streak with a light 

 streak below, extends from below the center of the eye to the angle 

 of the mouth, whitish yellowish beneath, speckled and spotted with 

 dark brown. A light stripe over the superciliaries and frontal from 

 eye to eye. 



Size. — Total length 550 mm.; tail between one-seventh and one-eighth 

 of that length. Another specimen total length 520 mm.; tail 70 mm. 



Habitat. — From South Carolina south to Georgia and 

 Florida, west through Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, up 

 the Mississippi Valley through Mississippi, Arkansas and 

 southern Missouri. Missouri localities: — Stone, Oregon, 

 and Shannon Counties. 



Habits. — I have never found one of these Pigmy Eattle- 

 snakes myself. One specimen in my collection cam.e from 

 Mitch, Oregon County, sent to me by my friend, Mr. Eob- 

 ert Lotze, who had a farm in that neighborhood. He 

 found it in clearing away the debris in a shanty on the 

 farm. Those from Stone County were collected by Mr. 

 Lee Earll, guide at Marble Cave. From one he had taken 

 seven embryos, August 19th, each about 165 mm. long. 



Mr. E. L. Ditmars in his Eeptile Book gives the fol- 

 lowing: — ** Owing to its diminutive size, this species is 

 the least formidable of the North American Crotaline 

 Snakes. By many, however, it has been argued that the 

 Coral Snake, {Flaps fulvius) should be placed last on the 

 list as regards the virulency of the bites of venomous ser- 

 pents inhabiting the United States. The writer cannot 

 agree with this contention. Although the fangs of the 

 Coral Snake may be smaller than the weapons of the 



