15 



5. EuT^NiA siuTALis, B. ^ G. — Striped-Snake. Gartersnake. 



Spec. Chae. Body stout. Lateral stripe on the second and third lateral rows of 

 scales. Olivaceous brown above the lateral stripes, sometimes nearly black ; be- 

 neath these, greenish white. Dorsal stripe narrow, encroached upon by the spots. 

 Lateral stripes not conspicuous. Two or three rows of small indistinct spots, often 

 not perceptible, especially the lower : about 70 from head to anus. 151, 80, 

 19, 21, 5| (New-York). 



STNOTTTJIS. 



Coluber sirtalis, Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 1766, 383. — Gm. L. Syst. Nat. ed. xiii. I. iii. 



1788, 1107.— Haul. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. V. 1827, 352.— Stoeek, 



Rep. Kept. Mass. 1839, 221. 

 Tropidonotus bipunctatus, Schl. Ess. Physiogn. Serp. Part, descr. 1827, 320. 

 Tropidonotus sirtalis, Holbk. N. Amer. Herp. III. 1842, 41, pi. xi. 

 Tropidonotus taenia, Dekat, N.York Fauna, Kept. 1842, 43, pi. xiii. fig. 27. 

 Eutainia sirtalis, B. & G. Catal. N. Am. Serpents (1853), 30. 



The well known gartersnake is perhaps more abundant in New- York than 

 any other species. Its distribution is very extensive, embracing the whole of 

 the United States east of the Mississippi. It is especially common in the 

 Adirondack region, where other species, except those of Storeria, seldom 

 occur. It is generally found near the water. 



The gartersnake is ovo-viviparous, and gives birth to an almost incredible 

 number of young. Some years ago I killed a gravid female, on the Allegheny 

 river, at Foxburg ( Pa.), from which I took eighty-three young ones, six 

 inches in length each. 



