THE SNAKES 263 



In Europe, the most familiar Coluber is the ^Esculap 

 Snake, C. cesculapii, a brownish or blackish, glossy ser- 

 pent common in southern France, in Italy and south- 

 eastern Europe generally. Northward, it occurs in well- 

 separated, restricted areas, which freak distribution is 

 alleged to have been caused by the Romans introducing 

 these snakes as inmates of the temples erected to iEscu- 

 lapius. 



The most attractive of the European Colubers is the 

 Leopard Snake, C. leoi)ardinus, a small and slender 

 species of southern Italj% southeastern Europe and 

 Asia Minor. Yellowish-brown is the body-color, dec- 

 orated with reddish, black-edged blotches — one series on 

 the back and a smaller, alternating row on each side. 

 The abdomen is tessellated with black. Mice form the 

 greater part of the food. Another European Coluber 

 is the Four-Rayed Snake, C. quatuorlineatus. South- 

 ern Europe is the habitat. This is one of the largest of 

 the European snakes, reaching a length of six feet. A 

 yellowish ground color with a black band on each side 

 of the back and a similar band beneath it on each side, 

 make this reptile look quite like the American C. obso- 

 letus quadrivittatus — the Chicken Snake. From the eye 

 to the angle of the mouth is a black bar. The young 

 are blotched. 



We must necessarily skip many genera of the Colu- 

 brine snakes, containing a great assortment of species — 

 some stout, others excessively slender, terrestrial, 

 arboreal, subterraneous in habits, their patterns embrac- 

 ing an amazing display of design and hues. We pick 

 our next genus as representative of Colubrine forms 

 living entirely upon the ground, lacking any constrictive 

 powers, while they are so stout of body as to look really 

 formidable; at times they assume threatening attitudes. 



