COLUBER GUTTATUS. 



67 



body, 39 inches; length of tail, 7 inches; greatest circumference of body, 3 inches 

 11 lines: total length, 47 inches 9 lines. They sometimes grow to a greater size 

 than this — I have seen one nearly six feet in length. 



Habits. The Coluber guttatus is very commonly observed about the road side 

 early in the morning or at the dusk of evening: unlike most snakes, concealing 

 itself during the day. It is very gentle and familiar, frequenting the neighbour- 

 hood of settlements, and at times entering houses; and is, according to Catesb}', 

 "a great robber of hen-roosts." 



Geographical Distribution. At present I can only give North Carolina as the 

 northern boundary of the Coluber guttatus; beyond this its place is supplied by 

 the Coluber eximius of Dekay, which it much resembles. 



General Remarks. The Coluber guttatus seems to have been a great stum- 

 bling-block to herpetologists, as may be seen by the great number of its 

 synonyraes. It is clearly described in the twelfth edition of the Systema Naturae, 

 and no mention is made of it in any of the previous editions. Linnaeus described 

 it from a specimen furnished him by Dr. Garden, and at the same time refers to 

 Plate Ix. of Catesby, though with doubt. What he did doubtingly, others have 

 done boldly. Plate Ix. of Catesby is the Bead-snake, and not the Coluber 

 guttatus of Linnaeus; but his Plate Iv. is the Corn-snake, and agrees with the 

 Coluber guttatus in every respect. 



We next find this animal described by Lacepede, under the name la Mouchetee; 

 his description is good, and there can be no doubt of his meaning, for he refers 

 to the Coluber guttatus of Linnaeus; but he again errs in supposing the Bead- 

 snake of Catesby to be identical with it. Lacepede again describes the same 

 animal under the name Coluber maculatus, (la Tachetee,) from a specimen 

 procured in Louisiana; the description of the colours agree perfectly well with 

 the Coluber guttatus, but its abdominal plates are less numerous. Lacepede 



