REVISION OF THE KING SNAKES. 209 



bearing short fringes, followedTay slender, closely set spines, extending 

 distinctly more than half way to the base of the orgsiii. 



Habitat and habits. — The best account of its habits is given by 

 Ditmars (1907, 352): 



The Scarlet King Snake is a burrowing species, thus demonstrating in habits, as 

 well as in form, its degenerate character as compared with the other snakes of the 

 genus Ophibolus. Specimens may be most commonly foimd under the loose bark 

 of fallen and decaying trees. Here they prey upon the smaller species of snakes, 

 lizards, or upon very young mice that are yet in the nest. It is probable that this 

 little snake issues at night from its lair and searches in crevices in the bark for 

 various lizards that crawl into such places to sleep. This theory appears logical 

 after an examination of a series of preserved specimens, in wHch the stomachs of 

 several contained the remains of swifts (Sceloporus) and "blue- tail" lizards (Eumeces). 



In captivity this snake evinces a very gentle disposition, seldom offering to bite. 

 However, it invariably burrows into the soil of its cage or hides under loose objects, 

 such as pieces of bark or fiat stones. Thus it constitutes a very indifferent object 

 for observation and study. While displaying a very indifferent appetite as a captive, 

 it may be occasionally induced to take verj' young mice. Although diminutive in 

 make-up, the reptile constricts its prey in exactly the same fashion as its larger and 

 more powerful allies. 



Wright says (from observations in the Okelinokee Swamp, 1915, 

 167): 



In food habits this species is more or less of a constrictor. It feeds on gi'ound 

 lizards, skinks, swifts, and other snakes and insects. In the stomach of No. 6242 

 we found an angle worm and the remains of two killifishes, suggesting more of an 

 aquatic nature tlian usually ascribed, but after every rain Billy's Island is covered 

 with little water pools containing fish which as evaporation goes on become stranded. 

 Such would be easy of capture. Our specimens jdelded no clue to the oviparity or 

 breeding of this species. 



Suggesting its probable climbing abihty, Wright records the cap- 

 ture of a specimen "on one of the frames of an old building, the 

 snake being 3^ to 4 feet above the ground." 



Range. — Tliis form is known to occur from New Orleans east to 

 Mobile, thence north as far as central Kentucky, Blnoxville, Ten- 

 nessee, and Raleigh, North Carolina, and south throughout Florida. 



Besides the localities represented by the list of specimens examined, 

 this species is recorded by Loennburg (1894, 325) from Toronto, 

 Orange County, and Key West, Florida, and by Brimley (1905, 146) 

 from Tarpon Springs, Florida, and (1920, 108) from Rutherfordton, 

 North Carolina. 



Variation and affinities. — It takes no great familiarity with the 

 snakes of the triangulum group to become aware that in elapsoides 

 we have a form that occupies a distinctly isolated position, struc- 

 turally, from all the others. Specimens from the most diverse 

 localities — New Orleans, Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina — pre- 

 serve the distinctive characters of the species with the greatest 

 fidelity. It apparently does not intergrade with any other member 

 of the group (except perhaps with its own derivative, virginianxi, in 



