416 [OcroBErR, 
This we may say is no description at all. But referring to the Museum regis 
Adolphi Friderici, we find the following : 
Crotalus horridus.—Caput ad latera postice gibbum. Frons tecta squammis 
obtusissimis, quarum elevatus margo. Palpebrz superiores plane, magne. He 
refers to Catesby for an aecount of its habits, who has described and figured a 
serpent with transverse bands on the back; and also toa figure in Seba’s Mu- 
seum, vol ii. tab. xcv., which represents one with rhombic spots. This shows 
how incorrectly references to figures can be made: ‘* Quando que bonus dor- 
mitat Homerus.”’ 
Gmelin, in his edition, adds to Linneus—Bodaert, Nov. Act. Acad. Cesar., 
vol. vii. p. 16—Crotalus ‘maculis trigonis fuscis. Caudisona terrifica Laurenti, 
p- 938. Michael. Gott. Mag. iv. 1, p. 90. 
This only tends to make the confusion greater. The animal which Bodaert 
described could not be one with diamond shaped spots on the back; there is no 
difficulty in distinguishing a triangle from a quadrilateral figure, it therefore 
could not have been a species with rhombic spots. In all the individuals of the 
species with transverse fascie, which I have ever examined, these bands were 
more or less broken up, especially in front, in which the marks formed more or 
less perfect chevrons, and might easily be called triangles. 
The Caudisona terrifica of Laurenti is our North American species with rhom- 
boidal spots, and is thus described by the illustrious Italian: ‘ Corpore ecarinis- 
squammarum exasperato (mari) cinereo-flavo (feminz) spadiceo, maculis dorsi 
rhomboidalibus, magnis, ex nigro fuscis, albo limbo cinctis, apicibus subcon- 
tiguis, per summum dorsi caudamque concatenatis. Had. In America infra 
gradum, elev. 45. 
The other species durissws is thus described by Linnzus : 
Croratvus purissus. Scuta 172, Scutellis 23. 
Amenitat. Acad., i. p. 500. Seba Mus., ii. tab. xcv. fig..2. Gronov. Mus., 
Lehpe 70: 
Albo flavoque varius, maculis rhombeis nigris disco albis. Gmelin adds to 
these references, Bodaert, 1. c. No. 2, Crotalus albus maculis rhombeis. Laurenti, 
p. 93, Caudisona durissus. Weigel, Act. Soc. Hal., i. p.7. Catesby, Carolina, 
ii. tab. xli., who figures a species with transverse bands, and not with rhom- 
boidal marks. Vosmaer Monog. Crotalus fasciis collique duabus nigris. Now, 
from all this we may collect that there are three species described, very distinct 
from each other, but strongly mixed together; one with rhombic spots, the dises 
of which are white ; one with rhombic spots, the limb or margins of which are 
white ; and one with triangular spots. I proceed now to show what the three 
species are, and shall commence with the first, of which we have a fair speci- 
men in our collection, which is named C. horridus, because it agrees with Seba’s 
figure as misquoted in the description of that species, but which agrees so well 
with the description of another, that one would think it never could have been 
mistaken. 
CroTauus purissus, Linn. 
Fusco et flavo varius maculis per dorsum magnis rhombeis nigris, disco flaves- 
centibus, non-concatenatis. Capite parte priore fascia-inter oculos transversa, 
summo et cervice lineis duabus longitudinalibus alteraque laterali nigris, spatiis 
intermediis flavescentibus. Scuta abdominalia 167, subcaudalia 21, primo bifido, 
scutellorumque ad basin crepitaculi paria tria. 
Hab. In America meridionali. Crotalus durissus Lin. Laurenti, p. 93. Id. 
Cuvier Regne animalii., p. 67." Id. Lacépéde, il. p. 423. Shaw, vol. iti. p. 333. 
C. horridus Daudin, vol. v. p. 311. Id. Latreille, vol. iil. p. 186. 
A very good figure of this species is found in Vosmaer, which has been copied 
by Shaw. 
ane with dark brown and yellowish, with a row of large black rhombic 
spots, the discs of which are yellowish, down the back, and which are not joined 
together or concatenated; these rhombs towards the tail gradually become less 
distinct, until at last they vanish, so that the hinder part of the body may be 
aid to be only varied with black and yellowish. The tail is perfectly black on 
