say's chain snake. 689 



Genus OPHIBOLUS Baird and Qirard. 



Body moderately elongated ; head slightly, if at all, separable from the neck ; ceph- 

 alic plates normal ; vertical very hroad ; snperciliaries narrow ; postfrontals and prefron- 

 tals, each a pair, of moderate size; ocoipitals large ; postorbitals two ; anteorbitals one; 

 nasal one, with an indented line giving it the appearance of two; labials and infra- 

 maxillaries rather large; dorsal scales in 21-25 rows, smooth, not imbricated; gas- 

 trosteges, 180-220 ; urosteges, 44-65 ; post-abdominal scutella entire or bifid. 



+ Dorsal scales in 21 or 23 rows ; anal plate entire, a, 



t Dorsal scales in 25 rows ; anal plate bifid O. calligastbb. 



a. Gastrosteges, 180-210. 6. 



a. Gastrosteges, 210-225; extralimital, Maryland to Louisiana; east of AUeghanies. 



O. GETULUS. 



6. Bed, with black rings ; head red O. doliatus. 



6. Gray, with brown blotches margined with dark ; head gray and black. 



O. TRIANGULTJS. 



Ophibolus oAiiLiGASTER Say. 



Say's Cliaiii 8nake. 



Coluber ealUgaaier, Sat, Hablan. 



Allabea triangulum, var. oalligaster; Ophiiolus evansii, Kknnicott. 



Ophiholus calligasier, Cope, Jordan. 



General color above grayish-brown, with a vertebral series of from forty to sixty 

 chocolate to black sub-quadrangular, emarginate blotches, margined with still darker ; 

 head greenish-brown, with darker spots; upper labials yellow; lateral blotches alter- 

 nating with the vertebral series, often not very distinct ; abdomen maculated with 

 approximately quadrilateral dark blotches ; vertical plate pentagonal, nearly as long 

 as commissural line of occipital 8 ; upper labials, 7 8, lower, 9-11 ; dorsal scales in 25 rows ; 

 anal plate Ufid ; gastrosteges, 232 ; urosteges, 60-70. Length, 3J feet ; head, 10 lines ; 

 tail, 5 inches ; transverse diameter of head, 8 lines ; of neck, 7 lines ; circumference of 

 body, 3 inches. 



Habitat, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio. 



I am indebted to Prof. Tuttle, of the Ohio State University for the 

 single specimen of this species which I have seen from the State. It came 

 from Lancaster, in Fairfield county. 



Ophibolus teiangulus Boie. 



milk Snake. 



Coluber triangulum,, Bois, 



Coluber eximius, DbKat, Haelan, Holbrook, Kirtland, Storer, Gcnthbr. 



Coluber guttatus, Schlkgel. 



Ophibolus eximius, et cloricus, Baird and Giraed. 



Ablabes triangulum, Dumeril and Bibron, var. elericus, et eximius, Hallowbll. 



Lampropeltis triangula, et OpMbolua doliatus, sub-species triangulus. Cope. 



Lampropeltis triangula, Verbiix. 



44 



