50 BULLETIN 114, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



1875. Ophibolus getulus getulus Cope, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., no. 1, p. 37. — 

 Yarrow, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., no, 24, 1882, p. 91.— Davis and Kice, 

 Bull. Illinois State Lab. Nat. Hist., no. 5, 1883, p. 33.— Cope, Eep. U. S. 

 Nat. Mus. for 1898, 1900, p. 914, fig. 227.— Eckel, Amer. Nat., vol. 35, 

 1901, p. 153.— Brown, Proc, Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1901, p. 77.— 

 EcEiEL and Paulmier, Bull. New York State Mus., no. 51, 1902, p. 375. — 

 Henshaw, Occ. Pap. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 7, 1904, p. 9. — Drowne, 

 Mon. Roger Williams Park Mus., no. 15, 1905, p. 12. — Lampropeltis 

 getuliis getulus Hay, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 15, 1902, p. 139. — 

 Wright, Proc, Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1915, pp. 139 et seq., 168, 

 fig. 10. 



Description. — ^The eastern representative of this group is well 

 known and easily recognized. The scutellation as determined from 

 134 specimens is as follows: Ventral plates, 203 to 224; caudals, 38 

 to 58; supralabials, 7 (rarely, 6 or 8); infralabials, 9 (rarely, 8 or 10); 

 oculars, 1 and 2 ; temporals, 2 + 3 + 4 ; posterior chin shields about 

 equal in length to the anterior, and parallel; loreal as high as, or 

 higher than, long; dorsal scale rows commonly 21-23-21-19 or 21-19, 

 the higher formula being characteristic of the southern portion of the 

 range and the lower of the northern; rarely as high as 23-21 and 

 sometimes as low as 19-21-19-17. 



This snake is somewhat stouter than the western representatives 

 of the group, and the head is distinctly narrower and higher. This is 

 reflected in the broader dorsal scales, the higher labials and loreal, 

 and narrower rostral. The tail varies from 0.100 to 0.155 of the total 

 length (males, 0.104 to 0.155, average, 0.127; females, 0.103 to 0,134, 

 average, 0,119). The largest specimen examined was from Gaines- 

 ville, Florida, and measured 1,752 mm,; the largest specimen from 

 the northern part of the range measured 1,434 mm,, and was taken 

 in Caroline County, Virginia. 



The pattern (fig. 35) is formed of a series of narrow white or yellow 

 bands, 23 to 52 in number that cross the back transversely or ob- 

 liquely, bifurcate on the sides, and there join a series of quadrate 

 light spots. The latter overlap a little on the ventral plates, and 

 alternate with the dorsal bands. The belly is checked with a light 

 brown, and white or yellow, with a tendency for the dark to be 

 mostly opposite to the light areas on the sides. 



The ground color of the head is dark. The rostral is white with a 

 black posterior border. The internasals, prefontals, and frontal 

 are dark, with each a transverse light bar anteriorly. There is a 

 medial light spot on each supraocular near the frontal suture. Each 

 parietal has a round light spot medially, near the common suture, 

 and an elongate light spot on the anterior-lateral border. There is a 

 light spot near the center of the nasals, loreals, oculars, and temporals. 

 The labials are white, with dark posterior borders; the chin and gular 

 shields are white. Close behind the head is a light spot about three 



