1853.] 5 | 417 
all sides; the body beneath is yellowish, varied and blotched with dusky more 
distinctly and closely on the hinder part and on the sides. Head very large, with 
a black stripe from the eye to the corner of the mouth, and a transverse bar of 
the same color across the head just in front of the eyes, and joining the former 
stripe at the eye. Top of the head and neck withtwo longitudinal, black stripes, 
and another likewise on the side of the neck, the intervening spaces being yel- 
lowish. Rostral plate triangular, the apex sharp, pale brown or yellowish; there 
are two roundish yellow plates on each side of this, and two likewise between 
them on the top of the head, which are brownish and triangular, the apices point- 
ing forward; behind them there is a narrow transverse bar of yellowish, and 
another of black, which is succeeded by a third one of yellow formed {of four 
roundish scales, those near the eyes very large, the other rather smaller; the 
head is otherwise covered with tolerably large scales. 
Length 4 feet 4 inches, with three rattles. Circumference of the body 8 inches. 
_In the description of Crotalus durissus, both Linnzus and Laurenti agree that 
the rhombs on the back have their discs white; and the former, in the Ameni- 
tates Academica, says, that the area between the eyes is blackish, and has a 
broad transverse white line. We ought not to hesitate one moment in declaring 
that this species is not the horrzdus. The ground color of all the specimens 
which have been examined in Europe appears to have faded, therefore, the parts 
of the descriptions relating to this are of little value. It may be observed of 
teptiles in general, that parts of the body which when living were black, fre- 
quently change to grey or even white, when kept for any length of time in al- 
cohol. The specimen from which the preceding description was taken, in parts 
which were originally black or dark brown, had become cinereous by the peeling 
off of the epidermis, and if this process had been carried on for the whole length 
of the body, scarcely any of the distinguishing characteristics would have been 
apparent. 
Having thus determined what the Crotalus durissus of Linnzus is, I proceed 
to describe the two species which we have in the Atlantic States, calling them 
by their vulgar names, and leaving it to each naturalist to determine by what 
names they ought to be distinguished. 
THE PINE BARREN RATTLE SNAKE. 
Pallide rufescente fuscus ad nigrum tendens. Dorso fasciis transversis, ir- 
regularibus, serratis, nigrise Cauda nigra. Corpore subtus albescens maculis 
minimis nigrascentibus. 
Hab. Per totum Americam borealem, provinciis atlanticis. Crot. horridus 
Cuvier, Regne Animale. Id. Shaw, vol. iii. p. 317. Id. Pennant, Arct. Zool. 
Suppl., p. 87. Id. Bodaert, Nov. Act. Acad. Ces., vol. vii p. 16. C. atricau- 
datus Daudin, vol. v. p. 316. Id. Latreille, vol. iii. p. 209. C. durissus Daudin, 
l. c. p. 304. Id. Latreille, vol. iv. p. 322. Id. Holbrook, Herp. ili. p.9. Id. 
Dekay, Zool. N. Y. vol. il. p. 55 and 56. C. boiquira and horridus, Palisot de 
Beauvois,,.Trans. Am. Phil. Society, vol. iv. p. 368. Catesby, ii. tab. 41. 
A very excellent figure, shewing the animal in its highest state of perfection. 
Above pale reddish brown, somewhat duskyish, frequently with a yellowish or 
reddish vertebral line. Body with numerous transverse, irregular, serrate fascie 
of dusky or black, more or less interruptedly bordered with whitish. These 
fascie gradually diminish in distinctness towards the tail ; as the color becomes 
darker or more dusky the bands become entire. ‘Tail black on all sides, barred 
with paler. Body beneath whitish, thinly speckled with dusky. Head witha 
broad, dark brown line extending from the eye along the cheek to the corner of 
the mouth; often, however, it is almost entirely black; eyes red; neck very 
slender, most frequently with two short longitudinal black lines on the top. 
Rostral plate triangular ; supernasals, one on each side, externally rounded; or- 
bital and antocular plates large. Scales of the head small, resembling coarse 
shagreen. Body beneath whitish, thinly speckled with dusky. Abdominal scuta 
170 to 178; subcaudal 18 to 25, with two pair of scales at the base of the rattle. 
The male is generally to be distinguished by a black spot behind the occiput, 
