300 
ZOOLOGY. 
Dorsal rows, 25, the central distinctly carinated. Abdominal scutellae about 203. Light yellowish brown, with a dorsal 
and two lateral series of chocolate brown blotches. No suffusion of black in old specimens as in S. alleghaniensis. A frontal 
brown bar and a post-ocular vitta ; obsolete in old specimens.— Kennicott. 
Fort Snelling, Minnesota. 
A full grown specimen of this serpent was brought to me alive, at Lake Amelia, near Fort 
Snelling, Minnesota. When provoked it expressed its irritation by vibrating the tip of its 
slender tail, which, when striking a crumbled dead leaf or any other small object, would pro¬ 
duce a w T ell-marked rattling noise, very similar to that made by the rattlesnake under the 
same circumstances.—S. 
PITUOPHIS WILKESII, Baird & Girard. 
The Oregon Bull Snake. 
Pituophis wilkesii , B. & G. Cat. N. A. Reptiles, I, 1853, 71.— Girard, U. S. Expl. Exped. Herpetology, 137 ; pi. ix, 
figs. 1-7. 
Pitnupliis catenifer, B. & G. ? P. auncctens, B. & G. ? op. cit. 
Sp. Ch.— Two pairs of post-frontal plates. Dorsal scales in 29 to 31 scries ; the three outer series smooth. Tail about 
a sixth of the total length. Post-ocular vitta running over the last labial to the angle of the mouth. Ground color 
(yellowish,) with a dorsal series of sub-quadrate, and two lateral series of sub-circular blotches. 
From a large number of specimens in the Smithsonian Institution, lately examined, it appears 
probable that the two latter names quoted as supposed species will become synonyms, in which 
case P. catenifer will be the name of the species. The Californian specimens, on which they 
were founded, differ chiefly in the proportions of the cephalic scales, and the size of their spots, 
which are largest in catenifer. 
A specimen caught in the Yakima valley, on August 28, differed from the description above 
given only in the ground color, which was pale gray instead of yellowish—a tint doubtless 
caused by the alcohol. 
This large snake, sometimes three or four feet long, is, like the others of the genus commonly 
called “Bull” and “Pine snake,” quite harmless, and must destroy a great many mice, gophers, 
and other vermin. Not found west of the Coast range.—C. 
The ground color gray, sometimes tinted with brownish or yellowish. Spots brown, most 
dark posteriorly, sometimes margined with black. Ground color of belly yellow; spots black. 
Found sparingl 3 r at Puget Sound, but common at the Dalles and up Snake river to Fort Boise. 
It is.- in fact, mostly confined to the open country. The length of the adult rarely exceeds 
three feet.—S. 
PITUOPHIS SAYI, Baird & Girard. 
Prairie Bull Snake. 
Plate XXII. 
Coluber sayi, Schleqel, (non Holbr.)—Essai Phys. Serp. Part, descr. 1837, 157. 
“ Coluber mellanoleucus, var. Say.”—Hard. Jour. Acad. Sc. Philad. Y, 1827,360.—Ib. Med. and Phys. Researches, 
1835,123. 
Pituophis sayi, B. & G. Catal. N. Am. Serpents, 1853, p. 152, (under Coluber sayi.) 
Sp. Ch. —Head proportionately small, crown rounded throughout, snout very pointed. Rostral very narrow, projecting, the 
apex elongated and pointed, extending far back between the prefrontals. Verticals short, hroad, nearly as wide anteriorly as 
long. Nasals and loral large. One ante-orbital, rarely two ; three post-orbitals, rarely four. Dorsal scales shorter and more 
rounded than in bdlona. Ground color whitish or reddish yellow, a dorsal series of sub-quandrangular blotches, with 3 or 4 
