THE RATTLESNAKES 



351 



is derived from the broad bands of brown color 

 which encircle the light-colored specimens. Of- 

 ten the hinder half of an adult or old specimen 



PRAIRIE RATTLESNAKE. 



has a black-velvet appearance. The length of 

 a large specimen is 4J feet. 



This Rattlesnake has suffered more from civ- 

 ilization than any other species. Throughout 

 many vast areas of rich and closely cultivated 

 agricultural regions, it is now totally extinct. 

 Although it is believed to exist within fifty miles 

 of New York City, a living specimen would be 

 about as difficult to find as a mastodon. 



Originally the home of this species embraced 

 the entire territory from the Atlantic coast to 

 western Iowa, Kansas, and into Texas. In 

 many portions of this region it still exists in 

 small numbers, and is said to be "fairly common 

 in the Allegheny Mountains," from Pennsylvania 

 southward. 



The Horned Rattlesnake, or Side-Win- 

 der, 1 of the far Southwest is a creature of the 

 deserts, and the oddest member of this group. It 

 has a small horn over each eye, and in crawling 

 it moves sidewise, in very deep curves, totally 

 different from the straightforward course of 

 most rattlesnakes when on the war-path. This 

 is the smallest of our rattlers. Its general color 

 is yellowish-gray, marked by small round spots, 

 and its home is in southern Arizona, California, 

 Nevada, and probably Sonora, Mexico. 



The Massasauga 2 is the type of a genus of 

 rattlesnakes containing only three species, dis- 

 tinguished by various anatomical characters, but 

 from neck to tail well marked, for the general 

 student, by a succession of very dark brown sad- 

 dle-bag patches of color laid upon lighter brown. 



1 Cro'ta-lus ce-ras'tes. 



2 Sis-tru'rus cat-e-na'tiis. 



The joints of the rattles never exceed ten in num- 

 ber. This species is found at long intervals from 

 the swamps of western New York to Nebraska, 

 but it is so rare that living specimens arc difficult 

 to obtain. 



The Copperhead 3 is a rather short and small 

 serpent, seldom exceeding three feet in length. 

 Its colors look like two shades of copper — broad 

 bands of old copper laid on a background of new 

 copper. When the skin is new and fresh, or 

 when a specimen has been reared in the shadows 

 of captivity, this serpent is beautiful. Strangely 

 enough, it is in some respects the direct opposite 

 of its nearest relative, the water-moccasin. 



The Copperhead is a serpent of the woods and 

 rocks, and is not found in open grass lands. It 

 is found from Indiana eastward (but not north- 

 ward) to the Atlantic coast, and well up into 

 New England. It ranges southwestward to 





BANDED RATTLESNAKE. (YELLOW PHASE. 



BANDED RATTLESNAKE. (DARK PHASE.) 



Texas, and in different portions of its home it is 



known as the Pilot-Snake, Upland "Moccasin" 



3 An-cis'tro-don con-tor'trix. 



