690 REPTILES—COLUBRID A. 
General color grayish-white; a vertebral series of transversely ellipitical, brown margined 
with black blotches extends from the neck to the tail, each blotch covering from four 
to five scales in length and fifteen to twenty in width; lateral spots of the same color in 
two rows on each side, each spot from three to feur scales in width and two to three in 
length, with smaller spots between ; ventral spots quadrangular on one, two, and some- 
times three seutellx, longest transversely ; the white upon the back arranged somewhatin 
transverse bands about one and a half to two scales in width; head with two 
elliptical blotches reaching from the occipitals backwards, that on the left side the 
larger, causing the white or creamy-white on the neck above to appear as 2 longitudinal 
band between the blotches, and this band bifurcates just behind the occipitals; a dingy 
white spot on the anterior of the occipitals surrounded by a sub-quadrangular spot of 
black or brown; a transverse dark band crossing the vertical and postfrontals just in 
front of the eye; a longitudinal brown blotch running from the eye backward and 
forward ; eyes moderate; pupils black; irides red; vertical plate nearly an equilateral 
triangle ; occipitals rather large, truncate behind; upper labials, 7, lower, 8; infra- 
maxillaries reaching to posterior end of fifth lower labial; dorsal scales in 21 rows; gas- 
trosteges, 200-210; urosteges, 48-55. Length, 34 feet; head, 14 inches; tail, 52 inches; 
transverse diameter of head, ? inch; of neck, 3 inch; circumference of body 34 inches. 
Habitat, Canada, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. 
Common in all parts of the State. 
The Museum of Michigan University contains a double-headed O. 
triangulus, of which the remainder of the body appears to be perfectly 
normal. Another case is recorded by Prof. Wyman* of a Tropidonotus 
sipedon with two heads and two tails, and a similar case as well as an in- 
stance of a five legged frog is reported by Mr. Kingsley.t Mr. Ryder + 
also calls attention toa specimen of Rana palusiris with five limbs or 
rather an additional pair of hind legs fused together. This limb had six 
toes, and its digital formula might be written 5, 4, 3, 3, 4,5, and the outer 
or dark colors prevailed just as they should in case of two limbs united. 
Cases of monstrosities among serpents have been observed by various. 
parties from the time of Aristotle and Redi to the present, and they, as 
well as the occurrence of monsters in general, may be due to shock. 
The Milk Snake called also Chicken Snake, Thunder and Lightning 
Snake, Chequered or Spotted Adder, is found in dry woods and frequently 
also in outhouses and dairies, which it is said to visit in order to get at 
the milk. It is a perfectly harmless animal, climbs readily and glides 
with grace and rapidity over smooth places. | 
Mr. C. Hart Merriam? on the authority of Mr. John M. Howey, of 
Canandaigua, N. Y., gives an instance of an Ophibolus (probably this: 
*Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. ix, p. 183. 
+ Am. Naturalist, vol. xii, p. 594-751. 
tScience News, Dec., 15, 1878, p. 69. 
