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Royal Ontario Museum
of Zoology
Handbook No. 4
THE REPTILES OF ONTARIO
by
E. B. S. LOGIER
PUBLISHED UNDER
THE REUBEN WELLS LEONARD BEQUEST
PRICE THIRTY-FIVE CENTS
1939
Royal Ontario Museum
of Zoology
Handbook No. 4
THE REPTILES OF ONTARIO
by
E. B. S. LOGIER
PRICE THIRTY-FIVE CENTS
1939
THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
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SUBDIVISIONS OF ONTARIO
INDEX TO COUNTIES
AND DISTRICTS
Algoma 48
Brant 8
Bruce 25
Carleton 40
Cochrane 53
Dufferin 20
Dundas 35
Durham 22
Elgin 4
Essex 1
Frontenac 32
Glengarry 37
Grenville 34
Grey 26
Haldimand 9
Haliburton 42
Halton 15
Hastings 30
Huron 16
Kenora 54
Kent 2
Lambton 3
Lanark 41
Leeds 33
Lennox and Addington.. 31
Lincoln 11
Manitoulin 46
Middlesex 5
Muskoka 43
Nipissing 47
Norfolk 6
Northumberland 23
Ontario 21
Oxford 7
Parry Sound 44
Peel 18
Perth 14
Peterborough 29
Prescott 38
Prince Edward 24
Rainy River 52
Renfrew 45
Russell 39
Simcoe 27
Stormont 36
Sudbury 49
Temiskaming 50
Thunder Bay 51
Victoria 28
Waterloo 13
Welland 10
Wellington 17
Wentworth 12
York 19
56
53
52
00
4Q
48
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PROVINCE of ONTARIO
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The Reptiles of Ontario
Foreword
The purpose of the present handbook is mainly to serve as a guide to
the reptiles occurring in Ontario rather than as a natural history of them.
Special attention has therefore been given to the keys and descriptions to
keep them simple and yet comprehensive enough, and the illustrations
were prepared with particular reference to the features discussed in them.
The introductory account "Concerning reptiles in general" was written
to give to those less familiar with the study of reptiles a general idea of the
kinds of animals which are included in the term "reptile" and to point out
some of the important features of the group. Throughout, the work has
been kept as non-technical as is consistent with a reasonable understand-
ing and accurate diagnosis of the forms in question.
Introduction
concerning reptiles in general
Differences from amphibians. Reptiles are cold-blooded, air-breathing
vertebrates (animals with a backbone) and are distinguished from amphi-
bians which are also cold-blooded vertebrates, and mostly air-breathing
in adult life, by various structural and physiological features only a few
of the most obvious of which will be mentioned, as follow: The skin of a
reptile is covered with scales, and dry, since no glandular secretions are
discharged upon its surface to keep it moist and slimy; respiration is
always by lungs and gills are never present at any stage of life; the young
do not pass through a metamorphosis, i.e. there is no larval or tadpole
stage, the young being hatched or born with the same general form which
they will retain throughout life; the eggs are always laid, or the young
born, on land, not in the water as is usually the case with amphibians; the
Iggs are protected by more or less calcified shells instead of being covered
with soft membranous skin as in amphibians.
Meaning of cold-blooded. The term "cold-blooded" as applied to
reptiles and amphibians does not mean that the blood is always of a very
low temperature, but simply that these animals are not able to maintain
a constant body heat as do birds and mammals which are known as
"warm-blooded". The body temperature of a reptile rises or falls with,
and always approximates fairly closely, the temperature of the surround-
ing medium of air or water. In hot weather amphibians may keep their
bodies a little cooler than the air by evaporation of moisture from the
surface of the skin, but this is effective only within a narrow limit and
5
6 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoloogy
they will soon die if the heat becomes too great or their skin too dry. Rep-
tiles, on the average, are more tolerant of heat than are amphibians and
have no mechanism for keeping their skin moist and thus cooling them-
selves, but their limit of heat toleration is lower than many people think
and most species will die in a few minutes if unable to escape exposure to
a really hot sun. For this reason, in hot regions and in hot weather
basking is restricted to early morning and late afternoon, and many
desert reptiles are active at night. Reptiles become sluggish when the
surrounding temperature drops much below the optimum, and so, the
great majority of them are restricted to warm climates and those living
in temperate regions are forced to hibernate during the winter.
Body form and specialization. The many kinds of lizards which pos-
sess a moderately elongated body, four limbs each with five digits (fingers
and toes), and a well developed tail, are good examples of the generalized
reptilian form, while the snakes and tortoises, and some lizards, have,
through specialization (modification, addition or loss of various struc-
tures) departed from this original rather salamander-like shape. Such
changes or modifications of form as occur are usually associated with
changes in habits or ways of life, and are in most cases in the nature of
adaptations. This does not mean that we can assign a precise reason to
every variation, because the factors effecting it may not be known, but
in general the principle holds good and structure is concomitant of func-
tion. It was this inherent ability to vary and produce new forms which
made it possible for living things to invade and successfully occupy, and
meet the conditions of, the many different environments which the surface
of the earth presents. The reptiles furnish us with many striking exam-
ples of this adaptive radiation.
The external appearance of a turtle or tortoise is characteristic enough
to distinguish it at a glance from any other reptile (Plates VII, VIII).
The body is enclosed between a pair of bony shields, an upper and a
lower, which together form the shell. These shields are usually covered
with horny scutes (Fig. 1, PI. VII, Figs. 8, 9, PL VIII), but in some species
are covered with leathery skin (Fig. 2, PI. VII). The jaws are rather
beak-like and devoid of teeth but furnished with sharp, horny cutting
edges (Figs. 1-7, PI. VIII). The tongue is thick and non-protrusible.
The group contains both aquatic and terrestrial forms and many which
lead a sort of amphibious life, frequenting both land and water. In the
purely aquatic marine turtles the limbs are modified into paddles with the
digits long and concealed within the webbing. In the purely terrestrial
species they are cylindrical, the feet fitted for walking with the digits short
and stout with thick stubby nails. The great majority of turtles, which
inhabit fresh waters and land other than arid regions, are of the inter-
The Reptiles of Ontario 7
mediate sort with the limbs more or less flattened, the digits longish
and webbed, extensively so in the more aquatic forms like our soft-shelled
turtle and snapping turtle, and the nails long and sharp.
The lizards, which are numerically the largest group of reptiles, pre-
sent a bewildering array of sizes, shapes, colours and habits. Most of
them may be recognized by their general appearance as being lizards, but
some, due to the suppression of limbs, have come to look very much like
snakes.
The snakes, popularly believed to be very lowly creatures, are among
the most specialized of reptiles. They are an offshoot from the lizards;
their greatly elongated bodies and limbless condition, far from being
primitive characters, are adaptations to special ways of life. Locomotion
is effected by lateral undulations of the body and by the backward and
forward movement of the enlarged transverse ventral scales. Each of
these "ventrals" is connected with the distal end of a pair of ribs which
in turn are movably articulated with the spine. The most outstanding
modification of snakes is concerned with the swallowing apparatus (Fig. 5,
PI. 5). The lower jawbones of each side are loosely united in front by an
elastic ligament, the suspending bones (quadrates) to which they are
hinged behind are loosely connected by another pair of movable bones
(squamosals) with the skull, so that they have great freedom of move-
ment. The ribs, as mentioned above, are movably articulated with the
vertebral column and the skin is very stretchable. This elastic arrange-
ment of jaws, ribs and skin makes possible the swallowing of whole ani-
mals which are of much greater diameter than the snake's head or neck.
The tooth-bearing bones of the upper jaw (maxillaries, pterygoids and
palatines) are movably articulated with the skull, and like the bones of
the lower jaw, those of either side can be moved independently of the
other. Swallowing is accomplished by a "walking" movement of the
jaws, those of one side being first pushed forward over the prey and then
drawn backward while those of the other side are pushed forward. The
needle-shaped, backward projecting teeth of each side naturally release
their hold and slide over the prey during the forward movement and grip
during the backward pull. In this manner the snake literally pulls itself
outside of its victim which is forced down the gullet to the stomach by
muscular contractions and slight sidewise bendings of the body.
Food and methods of feeding. The food of reptiles varies with different
species and groups of species. Among the lizards and tortoises there are
species which are vegetarian, others which are carnivorous, and still others
which eat both animal and vegetable food. Snakes and crocodiles are
strictly carnivorous. Closely associated with the kind of food taken and
the method of eating is the structure of the mouth. Teeth are present in
8 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
crocodiles, lizards and snakes but are absent in turtles and tortoises,
which, instead, have sharp-edged horny coverings to the jaws. Most
reptiles do not chew their food but swallow it in chunks or entire, with or
without some preliminary crushing, and possess simple conical or needle-
shaped teeth. Among the lizards where there is most diversity in diet
and manner of eating the teeth may be of the simple conical type or
diversified into cutters and grinders.
Killing of prey by snakes. In general, three distinct methods are used
by snakes in overpowering their prey: (1) that of seizing a small animal
and swallowing it while alive, which is the most common and primitive
method; (2) killing by constriction in coils of the body and swallowing
after struggling has ceased; (3) poisoning with venom injected by means
of enlarged fangs connected by ducts with special poison glands. The
snakes which use this latter method are generally dangerous since they
also use their fangs and venom in self defence.
Venom apparatus of snakes. In venomous snakes certain of the teeth
of the upper jaw are enlarged into fangs and are either grooved along the
enterior face or caniculated, i.e. with the lips of the groove closed together
to form a canal which opens near the point of the tooth (Fig. 4, PI. 5).
The duct from the venom gland connects at the base of the tooth with
the upper end of the groove or canal. In the Elapidae, the family to
which the cobras and coral snakes belong, the fangs are short and rigid,
of the grooved type, and inserted near the front of the jaw. In the
Viperidae, to which most of the Old World vipers belong, and the Crot-
alidae, to which the rattlesnakes and moccasins belong, the fangs are long
and of the caniculated type, and form perfect hypodermic needles to inject
the venom deeply into the flesh of their victims. They are near the front
of the jaw and rooted in the shortened maxillary bone which is rotatable
through an angle of forty-five degrees so that they may be erected for
biting (Fig. 5B, PI. V) and folded back against the roof of the mouth when
not in use and during swallowing (Fig. 5A, PI. V). The erection of the
fangs is a voluntary act, not automatic with the opening of the mouth.
There is a small group of mildly poisonous snakes which have enlarged,
grooved fangs in the rear of the upper jaw.
Defence of harmless snakes. Some harmless snakes when handled or
cornered will attempt to defend themselves by biting, but even should
they succeed in breaking the skin and drawing blood no bad result need
be feared. The commonest defence of our harmless snakes when first
handled is in a strong smelling secretion poured out from the scent glands
opening into the vent. The odour of this differs in different species but
is usually highly offensive, and the snakes by violent thrashing about of
their bodies smear it quickly over themselves and their captors.
The Eeptiles of Ontario 9
Tongue. The character of the tongue varies in different groups of
reptiles, its structural nature, in general, corresponding with its function.
In crocodiles and tortoises it is thick and non-protrusible. In snakes and
many lizards it is a slender, bifurcate, protractile and freely motile organ
of high sensory development; in other lizards it is shorter and merely
notched at the tip; in others again it is short and thick, functioning only
as an organ of taste. Snakes have a habit of protruding the long, slender
tongue which is deeply forked at the tip, and moving it rapidly up and
down, and of touching with its tip objects which they wish to investigate;
various lizards use their tongues in a rather similar way. People com-
monly make the mistake of confusing a snake's tongue with a "stinger",
but no snake, nor any other vertebrate animal has a sting; some kinds of
fish have poisoned spines which function for practical purposes in that
way, but even these are not true stings. A snake's tongue is composed
of soft flexible tissue, incapable of piercing, and is not in any way con-
nected with the venom glands.
Senses. The sense of sight is usually well developed in reptiles. Many
of them rely chiefly upon it for locating their prey which may often escape
if it remains motionless. Most reptiles also depend on sight to warn them
of approaching enemies. In general, it might be stated that night-roving
species have elliptical eye pupils, like cats, while day-roving species have
round ones, but while this is broadly true, species of either group may
overlap in their activities with those of the other. Rattlesnakes, for
instance, are fond of basking in the sun, and garter-snakes and water-
snakes are sometimes found wandering after dark. In snakes, the eyes
are protected by a transparent horny scale, they have no movable eyelids
so they appear to be always open and staring. This "stary" appearance
has probably contributed to the myth that snakes can "fascinate" their
prey. Some lizards, most Geckos for instance, have similarly protected
eyes, but the majority of lizards, and turtles and crocodiles have movable
eyelids and can close their eyes.
The sense of hearing does not appear to be so universally important
among reptiles as does sight. Most lizards, and crocodiles, have external
ear openings and tympanic membranes (eardrums) and probably can hear
very well. In turtles the tympanic membrane is stretched externally
over the ear opening, like in frogs, closing it to the outside. In snakes
there is no trace of an external ear, no tympanic cavity, nor eardrum,
although certain organs of the internal ear are present and do function.
Experiment has indicated that they are not sensitive to sound vibrations
carried in air unless of very low pitch, but are sensitive to sound vibra-
tions conveyed through solid objects' or the ground. People sometimes
10 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
ask if rattlesnakes can hear their own rattles: we can only reply that
there appears to be no evidence that they can.
The sense of smell is important and well developed in reptiles. It
assists many species in finding their food, and some in recognizing their
kind. The tongue, in snakes, is believed to assist in smelling by convey-
ing odours to a pair of small olfactory cavities, Jacobson's organ, in the
roof of the mouth.
Shedding of skin. In most reptiles the horny outer layer of the skin is
shed periodically, peeling off in flakes as in most lizards, or in one piece
as in snakes in which the shedding begins at the lips and the skin peels off
backwards inside out. In turtles the horny covering of the scutes, when
shed, peels off separately from each scute, and the skin of the body and
limbs is shed in fragments. Snakes have to make a deliberate effort to
shed their skin. This is accomplished by first rubbing the snout against
the ground or some object to loosen the skin at the margins of the lips
and start it peeling back. It is then drawn off inside out by the snake's
movements in crawling slowly forward and rubbing itself against grasses
or other objects, accompanied by an active peristaltic (wave-like) motion
of the muscles beneath the skin. A few days before shedding the skin the
eyes become clouded and whitish, and at this time snakes usually hide
away and cease feeding and are probably very nearly blind. The eyes
clear again a day or two before the shedding.
Reproduction. Most reptiles reproduce by means of eggs which are
deposited and hatched outside the body of the parent, as with birds;
animals which deposit such eggs are said to be oviparous. A number of
kinds of snakes and a few lizards retain the eggs within the body until
after hatching and then expel the living young; species which reproduce
in this way are said to be ovoviviparous.
In reptiles, fertilization of the eggs takes place within the body of the
female, as in warm-blooded animals, never outside as is commonly the
case with amphibians. The males are furnished with copulatory organs
which are single in crocodiles and tortoises but paired in lizards and
snakes.
Some reptiles brood with their eggs or stay near the nest while the eggs
are hatching, but most species do not take any interest in their young
beyond that of depositing their eggs in a suitable situation, although they
will often take considerable pains to do this. Live-bearing snakes are not
usually found in association with their young and the young do not remain
for long with the parent nor follow her, but soon scatter and shift for
themselves.
The Reptiles of Ontario 11
Acknowledgments
My sincere thanks for helpful assistance in various ways are cordially
extended to the following persons: To Professor J. R. Dymond, Director
of the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology, for editing my MS and for
many helpful criticisms; and to him and Mr. L. L. Snyder, Assistat
Director of the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology, Mr. T. B. Kurata,
Mr. James L. Baillie and Mr. John Edmonds for cooperation in field work
through many years and for numerous observations and specimens; and
to Mr. Baillie for various records and references which would otherwise
have escaped my notice. Other members of the Museum's staff who
have collected specimens in the course of field work in recent years and
contributed observations are Messrs. E. C. Cross, S. C. Downing, C. E.
Hope, Morley Neal, J. P. Oughton, L. A. Prince, T. M. Shortt and F. A.
Urquhart. Mr. W. J. LeRay of the Department of Biology, University
of Toronto, cooperated in many field trips, read my MS, and contributed
valuable information. Mr. Roger Conant of the Zoological Society of
Philadelphia, and Mr. Clyde L. Patch of the National Museum of Canada,
Ottawa, very kindly checked over my statements of ranges and I am
indebted to them for helpful criticisms and information which made these
statements more accurate and complete than they would otherwise have
been. Mr. H. E. Miller of Stratford, Connecticut, Dr. W. P. Alexander
of the Buffalo Museum of Science, Mrs. Ada H. Diaz and Mr. Harold V.
Ellison, both of Niagara Falls, New York, contributed helpful information
regarding recent occurrences of the timber rattlesnake at Niagara Glen,
Ontario. Specimens were collected or observations reported to us by the
following gentlemen : Professor A. F. Coventry, Mr. W. H. Bennett, Mr.
L. V. Dixon, Air. K. H. Doan, Dr. F. E. J. Fry, Professor W. J. K. Hark-
ness, Mr. R. V. Lindsay, Dr. D. A. MacLulich, Mr. H. H. Southam, Mr.
Sprague Troyer, Mr. S. L. Thompson and Mr. Grant Whatmough, all of
Toronto; Dr. A. E. Allin, Fort William, Mr. L. H. Beamer, Meaford,
Mr. Alfred Kay, Port Sydney, who also rendered valuable assistance in
field work in years gone by; Mr. W. H. Lund, Hillier; Mr. Herbert Milnes,
Woodstock, Air. T. D. Patterson, London, Dr. W. E. Saunders, London
Mr. John K. Steen, Tillsonburg, Mr. G. C. Toner, Gananoque, Mr. R. V.
Whelan, Smoky Falls, Mr. Alex Wilson, Lake, all of Ontario. Field work
at Long Point, Norfolk County, was made possible through the kindness
of the Long Point Company and its former manager, the late Mr. H. B.
Johnston, and by the cooperation of the resident superintendent, Mr.
C. H. Ferris. Work at Turkey Point, Norfolk County, was greatly facil-
itated through the kindness and generosity of Mr. Munro Landon of
Simcoe, who placed his cottage on the Point and his boats at our disposal
12 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
on the occasion of every visit, took much thought for our convenience in
various ways, and spent considerable time with us in the field.
Among the illustrations, Fig. 5 on Plate V is a diagram based largely
on Klauber's figures (Klauber 1936, 217) ; the other figures are original
and were all drawn from Ontario material except Fig. 11 on Plate III which
is a diagram and not drawn for any particular species, Fig. 4, PI. IV and
Fig. 7, PI. V, which were drawn from extralimital material.
Permission to use the maps, the one showing the subdivisions of
Ontario and the other an index to the counties, was kindly granted by
Mr. L. L. Snyder and Mr. J. L. Baillie, respectively.
THE REPTILES OF ONTARIO
The reptiles of Ontario belong to three of the major groups, the lizards,
snakes, and turtles. The total known to occur in the province numbers
twenty-eight, i.e. one lizard, eighteen snakes and nine turtles, the count
including subspecific forms.
Characters used in identification. The scales on the skin of a reptile
vary in size, shape and arrangement on different parts of the body and
head, have special names assigned to them according to their position,
and are convenient aids in classification (Plates I, II; Figs. 1, 2, PI. VI).
Other characters used in the keys and descriptions will also be found illus-
trated in the plates. The number of scales in a series or the number of
rows of scales often prove to be helpful characters in distinguishing be-
tween species. In most snakes the scales of the belly are broadened
transversely into plates called ventrals or gastrosteges (Fig. 4, PI. II). The
scale immediately in front of the vent or anus is called the anal plate and
may be either divided or entire (Figs. 9. 10, PI. Ill); when counting the
ventral plates this scale is usually not counted. The small rhombic-shaped
scales of the back and sides in snakes, called dorsal scales (Fig. 1, PI. II),
are arranged in longitudinal rows and the scales of each row alternate with
those of the next. These rows are numbered from below upward, from
and including the first row above the ventrals to the median or mid-dorsal
row. When counting the rows of scales they are counted completely
around the body including the first row of each side. The number of
dorsal scale rows is not always the same throughout the entire length of
the body, so, when a single count of dorsal scale rows is given the count
always refers to the maximum number of rows, which usually occurs near
the middle of the body or toward the front. It is a common practice to
make counts at several points along the body and record all the figures
separating them by dashes, for example : the count in the common garter-
The Reptiles of Ontario 13
snake is 19-19-17, often written simply as 19-17, the maximum count of
19 occurring from the front end of the body backward to behind the
middle; in the common water snake the count is usually 23-21-19-17, the
maximum occurring at the front of the body and the next lower number
occurring near the middle, or occasionally 21-23-21-19-17 with the max-
imum occurring a short distance behind the front end. Only that portion
of the body behind the vent is the tail (Fig. 11, PI. III). Someof the dorsal
scale rows are continued on to the tail; the wTide scales beneath the tail,
called sitbcandals (Fig. 4, PI. II) may be divided, as in our harmless snakes,
or undivided like the ventrals as in the rattlesnakes.
In turtles the structure and shape of the shell and its scutes are very
useful in identification. The shell is composed of an upper portion, the
carapace (Fig. 1, PI. VI) and a lower, the plastron (Figs. 2-6, PL VI), and
these are united by a narrower portion on each side called the bridge. The
scutes are named according to their position on the shell (Figs. 1,2, PI. VI).
The shapes and notching of the jaws also furnish helpful characters (Figs.
1-7, PI. VIII).
Determination of sex. Determination of sex in young specimens of our
reptiles may be impossible without careful dissection, but in adults it
can usually be made from external features.
In the blue-tailed skink adult females retain at least a subdued striping
of the juvenile condition; in males the striping almost or completely dis-
appears except for a rather faint darkish brown band along the side, and
the head becomes coppery red on the sides, and wider and more swollen
through the base of the jaws than in females. The shape of the base of the
tail as described below for snakes is also helpful with skinks.
In snakes, in most cases, the base of the tail behind the vent is nar-
rower and more tapering in females (Fig. 11A, PL III) ; in males it is fuller,
only slightly or not at all tapering, or even somewhat swollen in this
region (Fig. 11B, PL III). This fulness is due to the hemipenes, or paired
copulatory organs, which lie side by side in the basal portion of the tail,
and may be exposed to view in dead specimens by making a short incision
lengthwise behind the vent; in females only the scent glands and muscle
tissue will be seen. In living specimens doubtful cases may be deter-
mined by use of a slender, blunt probe which may be gently passed into
either penis sheath in males, but will be stopped by the posterior wall of
the vent in females (Schaefer 1934, 181).
In turtles the plastron is full and often slightly convex in females while
in males it is often slightly concave; the vent in females is situated close
to the base of the tail while in males it is located more distally — farther
from the base (Figs. 10, 11, PL VIII). In the soft-shelled turtle the vent is
near the tip of the tail in both sexes, but the tail is longer in males, extend-
14 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
ing beyond the margin of the carapace, while in females it scarcely reaches
the margin.
Distribution. The statement of general distribution in North America
which opens the account of each species was compiled from various pub-
lished sources which are listed in the bibliography, and was checked by
other herpetologists (see acknowledgments, p. 11). The distribution in
Ontario is both from published sources and from our Museum records,
but is in many cases rather sketchy and incomplete for the simple reason
that there are many areas of greater or less extent from which we have
neither specimens nor reports. While there is no doubt that further work
will add many new localities to our lists and extend some of the known
ranges within the province, we feel that the inferences drawn are reason-
ably sound, and in some cases at least are not likely to be changed much
by such work.
We cannot in the present little handbook undertake to discuss the
significance of distribution, but the subject is of too great interest to pass
without at least a brief reference to it. The factors affecting geographic
distribution are among the most interesting in zoology, and this is espe-
cially true in the case of earth-bound animals of relatively slow progres-
sion, such as reptiles, which are unable to traverse unfavourable areas of
much extent. How or why did the present distribution of any species come
about, and what factors operated during past ages to extend, restrict or
break up its range? Why, for instance does the blue-tailed skink appear
to miss the Toronto region by a radius of about forty to eighty miles and
yet occur to the west, north, east and south? Or, why should the pilot
black snake be restricted in Ontario to Lake Erie region and the counties
at the eastern end of Lake Ontario while it is apparently absent from the
area between?
Blanding's turtle occurs from Nebraska to the Great Lakes and crops
up again in the New England States. Some examples of this kind of
distribution, known as relict, are discussed by Schmidt (1938), who refers
the eastward range of this turtle and a number of our other reptiles to a
former eastward extension of prairie or steppe conditions in postglacial
times. In the case of Blanding's turtle those at the eastward end of the
former range became isolated and formed an "island" cut off from the
main body of the population. The wood turtle shows a somewhat similar
kind of broken distribution.
There are several species which, like the blue-tailed skink, occur in
Ontario east, west and north of Toronto but seem to miss the Toronto
region by a wide margin. Some of those now absent from this general
region may have been present but unrecorded in former years, but dis-
appeared with the settlement of the country. It seems likely that post-
The Reptiles of Ontario 15
glacial repopulation of southern Ontario with reptiles must have taken
place from the western and eastern ends of Lake Erie and the eastern end
of Lake Ontario, because at those places the water barrier is most reduced.
If this is what happened it might still affect the distribution of some
forms; but why apparently not others? If this explanation is invoked to
account for the restricted distribution in Ontario of the pilot black-snake
in Lake Erie region and at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, but not
between, one is inclined to ask how the much feebler little brown snake,
and others, succeeded in spreading themselves completely across southern
Ontario. An intelligent explanation of distribution of reptiles in Ontario
must await more extensive and intensive collecting and some correlation
of the results with such factors as geology, topography and climate. Some
attention should also be given to the nature and extent of the wanderings
of the various species under wild conditions, upon which dispersal largely
depends.
Keys to the Reptiles
The keys are purely artificial and based on characters which may
easily be seen (and will work only for the assemblage of species occurring
within the province) . They are divided into successively inferior sections,
each indexed with a capital letter. To each of these sections there is an
alternative of equal rank indexed with the same letter doubled. To use
a key, proceed as follows: Compare your specimen with the first alter-
native "A", and if it does not agree with this go on to the second alterna-
tive which is "AA". If it does agree with alternative "A" compare it with
the next statement under this section, which is "B", and continue in this
manner as long as the specimen agrees with each successive statement.
If you come to a statement with which it does not agree, go on to the
second alternative of this, which will be marked with the same letter
doubled, and then continue as before so long as the specimen agrees with
each successive statement, until you are led to a specific name.
The keys were made to cover the snakes and turtles only ; since there
is but one species of lizard definitely known to occur in the province, any
lizard specimens may be compared directly with the description. If they
do not appear to agree with it, they should be sent to the Royal Ontario
Museum of Zoology for examination.
The key, in each case, will be found preceeding the group to which it
applies.
Descriptions
The descriptions of species are couched in terms of external characters
which may easily be seen, and are restricted in the main to such features
16 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
as are of practical use in determination of Ontario material. They are
not more comprehensive than is considered desirable for the purpose in
mind and various details commonly included in descriptions have been
omitted for the sake of simplicity and brevity. For example, counts of
subcaudal scales of snakes are not given because they are of little prac-
tical value in dealing with the assemblage of forms which occurs in
Ontario, and if a portion of the tail is missing, as is sometimes the case,
they are useless.
In referring to the scales of the head, if two figures are joined by a
plus sign, that indicates an association of numbers occurring together, as,
for instance, temporals 2H-3 means that there are two temporals in the
first row and three in the second. In stating the counts of ventral scutes,
the first pair of numbers, not in parenthesis, is, unless otherwise stated,
the minimum and maximum count obtained from Ontario specimens ; the
second pair of numbers, in parenthesis, is the minimum and maximum
count of extralimital material obtained from published sources. The
reason for citing the extralimital counts is because the series of Ontario
specimens examined was not always large enough to be certain of com-
prehending the possible upper and lower limits.
The colour descriptions are in common, non-technical language. The
nomenclature of Ridgway's colour standards (Ridgway 1912) was not
used because few people are familiar with it and copies of the work are
not usually available for comparison; besides, our reptiles are subject to
too much individual variation in colour to make any such precision very
helpful.
THE LIZARDS
Family SCINCIDAE. THE SKINKS
Blue-tailed Skink Eumeces fasciatus (Linne)
This is, to our knowledge, the only species of lizard which has been
positively identified from Ontario. *
Range: Eastern North America from the Atlantic Ocean west to
eastern South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern Texas, from the
*Two other species, E. anthracinus (Baird) and E. spetentrionalis spetentrionalis
(Baird), were recorded by J. H. Gamier (publication not cited) and on this authority
were recorded by C. W. Nash in his Manual of Vertebrates of Ontario, 1908, and so
should be mentioned. The whereabouts of Garnier's specimens is not known, if indeed
they are still in existence, so his identifications can not be confirmed. He reported
E. anthracinus from Kent county but we question the record, because, although it is
known from New York State and Pennsylvania (Taylor 1935, 386) its apparent absence
The Reptiles of Ontario 17
Gulf of Mexico north to Massachusetts and to Lake Superior in Michigan.
Not found in peninsular Florida.
Ontario records are from about twenty-five localities and fall defin-
itely into two groupings: (a) the vicinity of lakes Erie and St. Clair and
southern Lake Huron; (b) Frontenac and Peterborough counties and
northwest to southern Parry Sound district. It is likely that this group-
ing is accidental rather than significant, and while the species misses the
Toronto region by a wide radius, the two groupings will probably be found
to be continuous through the western peninsula of southern Ontario and
northward of Lake Simcoe.
It appears to be locally common in a number of the localities where it
occurs in Ontario.
Size and structure. A small lizard attaining a length of about six to
seven inches from snout to tip of tail. Our largest Ontario specimen
measures just over six and three-quarter inches in total length, and about
two and a half inches (70 mm.) from snout to vent (owing to the frequency
of imperfect tails in skinks, measurements for scientific purposes are better
taken from the snout to the vent). Limbs well developed with five fingers
and five toes; body covered with smooth imbricating scales; tongue pro-
trusible, notched at tip; portion of rostral scale visible from directly
above much smaller than frontonasal (Fig. 2, PI. I) ; postnasal scale
usually present; postmen tal scale divided transversely (Fig. 3, PL I); six
preanal scales, the median pair much enlarged (Fig. 4, PI. I).
Colour: The ground colour varies with age and sex, being most bril-
liant in young specimens which are dark olive or nearly black above with
five light yellow or greenish yellow lines, as follow: a mid-dorsal bifur-
cating on the nuchal region and reuniting on the snout; a pair of dorso-
laterals originating on the outer edges of the supraoculars; a pair of lat-
erals originating on the upper labials and passing backward through the
ear, all five lines running the full length of the body and extending far
on to the tail; tail bright blue. In older specimens the ground colour
above becomes a paler brownish olive, the striping duller, and the brilliant
blue of the tail becomes grayish or disappears. In old males the head
becomes coppery and the light striping becomes obscure or vanishes, but
a brown band persists along the side between the positions of the lateral
and dorsolateral light stripes.
from Ohio, Michigan and Indiana cast much doubt on the possibility of its occurrence
in Kent County, and none have been reported from there, or anywhere in. Ontario, since
Garnier's time. The record of E. s. septentrionalis was certainly in error since the locality
was given as southern Ontario, whereas the range of this species lies west of the 89th
meridian. It has been recorded from Beltrami County, Minnesota (Taylor 1935, 404),
near Lake of the Woods, so it might be looked for in Rainv River district of Ontario.
18 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
Habits and habitat: Frequents light dryish woods or partially wooded
and rocky situations where it may be found beneath the bark of logs and
stumps or under rocks. Active in the daytime and fond of basking in the
sun. Alert and swift, basking specimens dart away and "lose" them-
selves with incredible quickness when approached. As is true of many
small lizards, the tail breaks off easily, allowing the owner to escape if
grasped by that organ. It is regenerated in time, but the new tail never
attains the perfect development of the original. The food consists chiefly
of insects, but ants, apparently, are not taken (Taylor 1935, 61). Repro-
duction is by eggs, which may number up to about fourteen, and are
deposited in damp situations as in decaying logs, in July. The female
broods with the eggs while they are hatching.
THE SNAKES
Two families of snakes are represented in the fauna of Ontario, i.e. the
Colubridae, to which most of our snakes belong, and all of our species of
which are totally nonpoisonous, and the Crotalidae, the rattlesnake fam-
ily, of which we have two species, both venomous. Aside from the rattle-
snakes there are no poisonous snakes in Ontario. There are no copper-
heads nor water moccasins. The common water snake is not a moccasin
and is not venomous. The various reports of copperheads have been
traceable to either the fox snake or the red-bellied snake, and a number
of reports of timber rattlers are doubtless referable to the fox snake which
is also known as the "hardwood rattler" and confused with the timber
rattler which is of more restricted occurrence in Ontario.
KEY TO THE SNAKES OF ONTARIO
A. No rattle on end of tail (Fig. 11, PI. Ill); no pit between eye and nostril (Figs. 1-6.
PI. III).
B. Snout rounded, not protruding, neither keeled above nor flattened beneath
(Figs. 2-6, PI. III).
C. Anal plate divided (Fig. 9, PI. III).
D. Keels present on some or all of dorsal scales (Fig. 7, PI. III).
E. All scales, at least above first row, strongly keeled.
F. Scales in fewer than 19 rows; no loreal plate (Fig. 4, PI. III).
G. Scales in 15 rows; a yellowish spot on back of neck; belly
usually bright red; length up to twelve inches. Red-
bellied Snake. Storeria occipito-maculata. P. 32.
GG. Scales in 17 rows; no yellowish spot on back of neck;
belly pale yellowish brown or pinkish; length up to fifteen
inches. Little Brown Snake Storeria dekayi. P. 31.
FF. Scales in 19 or more rows; loreal plate present (Fig. 1, PI. II).
The Reptiles of Ontario 19
H. Scales in 19 rows; no blotches; a yellow lateral stripe
on adjacent halves of first and second scale rcws (Fig.
oA, PI. IV). Queen Snake Natrixseptemvittata. P. 28.
HH. Scales in 23 or 25 rows.
I. Brown above, blotched; no lateral stripe (Fig. 6A,
B, PI. IV); ventral scutes dark mottled, usually
with dark-edged half circles (Fig. 6C, PI. IV).
Water Snake Natrix sipedon sipedon. P. 29.
II. Gray above, blotches absent or indistinct; ventral
scutes white, unmottled. Island Water Snake
Natrix sipedon insidarum. P. 30. (Islands of
western end of Lake Erie only).
EE. Scales of first three to five rows smooth or nearly so, others weakly
keeled.
J. Brownish yellow above writh large dark brown blotches. Fox
Snake Elaphe vulpina. P. 25.
J J. Uniform black above, or obscurely blotched. Pilot Black
Snake Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta. P. 24.
DD. All dorsal scales smooth, no keels (Fig. 8, PI. III).
K. Scales in 15 rows; size small, less than twenty inches.
L. Colour above slate gray; belly yellow or orange, a ring of
same colour around neck. Ring- necked Snake Diadophis
punctatus edwardsii. P. 20.
LL. Colour above bright green; no ring around neck. Smooth
Green Snake Opheodrys vernalis. P. 23.
KK. Scales in 17 rows; size large, up to six feet; uniform bluish green
above; young blotched. Blue Racer Coluber constrictor flaviven-
tris. P. 23.
CC. Anal plate entire (Fig. 10, PI. III).
M. All dorsal scales smooth, no keels (Fig. 8, PI. Ill), in 21 or more
rows; blotched. Milk Snake Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum.
P. 26.
MM. All scales, at least above first row, strongly keeled, in 19 rows;
normally longitudinally three-striped (Figs. 1-4, PI. IV).
N. Lateral stripe anteriorly on third and involving adjacent halves
of second and fourth scale rows; keels weak or absent on scales
of first row; a light spot on preocular (Fig. 2, PI. IV). Butler's
Garter-Snake Thamnophis butleri. P. 33.
NN. Lateral light stripe anteriorly on scales of third and fourth rows;
a light spot on preocular (Fig. 3, PI. IV); tail more than 0.27 of
total length. Ribbon Snake Thamnophis sauritus sauritus. P. 35.
NNN. Lateral stripe on second and third scale rows (Fig. 1, PI. IV),
or absent; tail less than 0.27 of total length.
O. If dorsolateral spots visible, those of upper row not fused
together (Fig. 1, PI. IV), and interspaces of lower row not red
(occasional specimens black with a white throat). Common
Garter-Snake Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis. P. 36.
OO. If dorsolateral spots visible, those of upper row fused together
(Fig. 4, PI. IV), and interspaces of lower row more or less
red. Red-barred Garter-Snake Thamnophis sirtalis parie-
talis. P. 37.
20 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
BB. Snout pointed and protruding, keeled above, flattened beneath (Fig. 1, PI. III).
Hog- nosed Snake Heterodon contortrix. P. 21.
AA. A rattle on end of tail (Fig. 6, PI. V); a deep pit between eye and nostril (Fig. 1,
PI. V).
P. Top of head with large symmetrical plates between eyes (Fig. 2, PI. V); dorsal
pattern of blotches. Massasauga Sisturus catenatus catenatus. P. 39.
PP. Top of head with small and mostly unsymmetrical scales between eyes (Fig. 3;
PL V); dorsal pattern of cross-bands, or black. Timber Rattlesnake Crotalus
horridus horridus. P. 42.
Family COLUBRIDAE. HARMLESS SNAKES
Ring-necked Snake Diadophis punctatus edwardsii (Merrem)
Range: The Maritime provinces and northern Atlantic states west to
Wisconsin, south through the Appalachians to the Carolinas and Ten-
nessee (apparently replaced by D. p. punctatus in the coastal plane), north
in Michigan and Wisconsin to Lake Superior and in Ontario to Timagami.
Not plentiful anywhere in Ontario, but appears to be generally dis-
tributed over the southern part of the province.
Size and structure: A small snake attaining a length of about seven-
teen inches. Dorsal scales in 15 rows for entire length of body, glossy,
unkeeled; head broad and flattened; loreal plate present; eye small.
Nasals 2; preoculars 2; postoculars 2; temporals 1 + 1, rarely 1+2; supra-
labials 8 or 7; infralabials 8 or 7; ventrals 145-170 (139-168); anal plate
divided.
Colour: Gray to bluish slate above; belly yellow or orange* a ring of
the same colour around the neck; top of head and borders of neck-ring
darker than rest of upper surface; a row of dark spots along edges of ven-
trals. (In a specimen from Parry Sound district the ventral and sub-
caudal scales are mottled with darkish gray laterally and on their posterior
margins).
Habits and habitat: Frequents light woods, clearings and pasture
lands where it may be found hiding beneath the bark of logs or stumps,
or under stones. Secretive and apparently nocturnal. It is reported to
eat amphibians, reptiles, insects and earthworms, but the only food we
have observed captive specimens to take was red-backed salamanders
and young snakes (green, DeKay's and red-bellied). Young lizards would
undoubtedly have been taken had they been tried. Conant (1938, 40)
reports captive specimens taking earthworms.
The eggs are deposited in decaying logs, etc., in July. Blanchard
1926, 281) has shown that a clutch rarely exceeds three in number, and
(p. 284) noted fifty-one to fifty-four days as the usual hatching period,
with extremes of forty-six and sixty days. Several females may deposit
The Reptiles of Ontario 21
their complements in a single nest and Blanchard (1937a, 522) records one
such nest with forty-eight eggs.
Hog-nosed Snake, Blowing Adder Heterodon contortrix (Linne)
Range: The United States from the Atlantic coast west to eastern
Montana and central Texas, north from Florida and the Gulf of Mexico
to northern Parry Sound district of Ontario, and Massachusetts.
Appears to be generally distributed over the western peninsula of
southern Ontario, and at least in the western parts of Muskoka County
and Parry Sound district. It formerly occurred at Toronto, the last
record from there was in 1907. There is a specimen from Madawaska,
Nipissing district, in the National Museum of Canada. We have a report
of its occurrence at Kinmount, Victoria County, and at Lake, near Ban-
croft, Hastings County. The latter report was from an old resident of
the district who said the first specimen was seen in 1878 "and in ten years
they got extremely thick", and some time later, he does not state how
long, "all at once they seemed to go away or die." He goes on to say,
"Perhaps I have not got the correct name of this snake, but we called it
that (blowing adder) on account of the hissing noise it made when alarm-
ed." At the present time the hog-nosed snake is not very plentiful in
Ontario.
Size and structure: A very stout-bodied snake attaining a length of
about three feet. Head (Fig. 1, PI. Ill) short and broad; snout protruding,
pointed in profile, keeled above, flattened beneath (on anterior face of
rostral plate) ; a small narrow scale, the azygous, interposed between the
internasals; loreal present. Nasals 2; loreals 1 or 2; eye bordered in front,
beneath and behind by a crescent of small scales, 9 to 12 in number; two
large temporal scales in contact with last three labials and separated from
parietals by several rows of small scales; supralabials usually 8; infra-
labials 9, 10 or 11 ; dorsal scales 25-23-21-19, keeled ; ventrals 120-137 (120-
141) ; anal plate divided.
Colour: The colour and markings are variable. The ground colour
above may be brown, gray, olive, yellowish, reddish or nearly black.
There are usually three rows of dark blotches, i.e. a mid-dorsal row of
large ones and a row of smaller ones along each side alternating with them ;
tail banded above. A dark band across the prefrontals from eye to eye
and including the anterior margins of the frontal and supraoculars;
another dark band across the parietals and posterior portion of frontal
and supraoculars, partially interrupted at the middle; a dark stripe obli-
quely downward from behind eye to posterior labials; a pair of large dark,
elongate blotches extending from the parietal plates on to the sides of the
neck, and a small oval-shaped blotch between them behind the occipital
22 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
region. Ventral surface yellowish or whitish, often with brown or gray
mottling which may be quite heavy posteriorly; under surface of tail
abruptly light. In dark specimens the markings may be concealed by the
darkness of the ground colour. In light specimens they are usually dis-
tinct, but may be lacking except for the pair of elongate blotches on the
neck.
Habits and habitat: This snake prefers sandy situations, beaches and
light, dry woods. Its food consists mainly of toads; frogs are occasionally
taken. In the rear of the maxillary bone of each side, and separated by a
space from the other teeth, is a pair of enlarged fang-like teeth which are
not grooved or connected with poison glands, for the snake has none.
The usefulness of these teeth lies probably not only in their ability to
securely hold the sometimes large and troublesome prey, but in punctur-
ing and deflating the body, for toads inflate themselves with air when
attacked by snakes; they are not used in defence.
Reproduction is by eggs which are deposited in dampish situations
such as decaying logs, usually in July. Conant (1938, 44) records sets of
twelve and twenty-seven eggs; Mr. Herbert Milnes reported to us a set
of thirty-one infertile eggs laid on July 12, 1936, by a specimen from near
Woodstock, Ont.
When frightened, the hog-nosed snake assumes a threatening attitude,
and with head and neck flattened, lunges at the enemy and hisses loudly,
but never bites and cannot be induced to. If one persists in annoying it
it will feign injury and death by turning on its back and writhing for a
few moments with its mouth wide open and its tongue trailing in the dust,
and then become perfectly relaxed and still. In this condition it remains
limp if handled, unless turned right-side-up, in which case it will imme-
diately flip over again on its back and again remain limp and still. If the
observer should withdraw for a few yards and remain quiet the snake will
slowly raise its head a little and survey its surroundings, and if all seems
safe it will right itself and crawl away.
In spite of all the published observations on the bluffing behaviour
and harmless nature of the blowing adder, it is still believed by many
people to be dangerous and to spit venom and exhale poisonous breath.
There are many amusing stories in circulation about the baneful effects
of its bite or breath, and as each generation brings its crop of believers
in witchcraft or a flat earth, it also brings its crop of livestock men who
have actually seen their animals drop dead after walking too near to a
hissing blowing adder, and of people who have seen a friend almost die
from the poison of its breath.
The Reptiles of Ontario 23
Smooth Green Snake, Grass Snake Opheodrys vernalis (Harlan)
Range: Nova Scotia and New England States southwest to northern
Texas and west to Utah, thence northeast to southern Manitoba, north
in Michigan to the northern peninsula and in Ontario to Timagami.
Our most westerly Ontario record northward of the Great Lakes is
from Copper Cliff region, Sudbury district. The species is common in
southern Ontario.
Size and structure: A small snake attaining a length of about eighteen
inches. Form slender, with body of nearly the same diameter for most
of its length. Muzzle short; nasal scale single, pierced by nostril; loreal
either distinct or fused with nasal (Figs. 5, 6, PI. Ill); preoculars 1 or 2;
postoculars 1 or 2; temporals usually 1+2; supralabials 7; infralabials 8,
occasionally 7; dorsal scales in 15 rows for entire length of body, glossy,
unkeeled; ventrals 121-134 (123-146) ; anal plate divided.
Colour: Grass green above, pale yellow or nearly white beneath.
Habits and habitat: Frequents meadows, clearings, light woods, and
sometimes found above ground in low bushes. Its food consists chiefly of
caterpillars, grasshoppers, spiders, and occasionally red-backed sala-
manders. Reproduction is by eggs, usually six or seven in number, which
are deposited beneath stones or boards in late July or in August. The
embryos are well advanced in development at the time of laying and
hatching usually occurs within two weeks. The shortest and longest
periods recorded by Blanchard (1933, 500) were four and twenty-three
days. A two day period was observed once by Mr. W. J. LeRay.
August mating has been noted for this snake at Lake Nipissing by
Dymond and Fry (1932, 102).
Blue Racer Coluber constrictor flaviventris Say
Range: West from central Ohio and from the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers to the Rocky Mountains, north from the Gulf of Mexico and the
Rio Grande to southern Michigan and southern Ontario, and almost to
the Saskatchewan border in the west.
Not common in Ontario. Our records are from Essex and Huron
counties.
Size and structure: A large snake attaining a length of about six feet.
Form slender; sides of head high with concavity in front of eye; crown
flat, profile sloping from eyes to snout; loreal present; eye large. Nasals
2; preoculars 2, the lower small, scarcely contacting loreal; postoculars 2;
anterior temporals usually 2 ; supralabials 7 or 8 ; infralabials 8 or 9 ; dorsal
scales 17-15, unkeeled; ventrals 175-192*; anal plate divided.
*Published counts for extralimital specimens.
24 The Royal Ontario Nuseum of Zoology
Colour: Uniform bluish green above, brownish on snout; bluish or
greenish white, or yellowish beneath. The young are marked dorsally
with a row of large dark blotches, and on the sides with small irregular
spots.
Habits and habitat: We have no records of the habitat preferences of
this snake in Ontario. In Michigan it is reported as being most fre-
quently found in dry, open situations, generally near or in thickets, and
as frequenting hedgerows and stone walls (Ruthven, Thompson and
Gaige 1928, 86). It is alert and swift and a good climber. Its food in-
cludes mammals, birds and their eggs, reptiles, amphibians and insects.
Reproduction is by eggs, but we have no data for Ontario as to numbers
laid, dates or nesting sites. Conant (1938, 55) records a set of twenty-
five eggs laid on June 26, 1930, by a female from Lucas county, Ohio.
Pilot Black- Snake Elaphe obsolete obsolela (Say)
Range: From Massachusetts and North Carolina west to eastern
Kansas and north to the southern parts of Wisconsin, Michigan and
Ontario.
Ontario records are from Essex, Norfolk, Welland, Lincoln, Frontenac
and southern Leeds counties. The range appears to be discontinuous
north of Lake Ontario. Moderately common where it occurs.
Size and structure: A large snake occasionally reaching a length of
eight feet, although most specimens seen are less than five feet. Form
moderately slender; head rather wide through basal portion of jaws,
tapering toward the snout; loreal plate present. Nasals 2; loreals 1, occa-
sionally 2; preocular 1; postoculars 2; occasionally 3; temporals usually
2+3; supralabials 8; infralabials 11 or 12; dorsal scales 25-23-21-19-17
or 25-27-25-23-21-19, those of the first three to five rows smooth or nearly
so, the rest feebly keeled; ventrals 233-243 (221-244) ; anal plate divided.
Colour: Almost uniform black above, usually with obscure blotches
in three rows (in Ontario specimens examined), i.e. a vertebral row of
large black blotches and a lateral row of smaller ones on each side alter-
nating with those of the dorsal row; the blotches are apparent because of
the pale yellowish colour of the skin between the scales in the interspaces,
which is occasionally tinged with red. There is usually a faintly paler
and not sharply defined dorsolateral band between the vertebral and
lateral rows of blotches, two or three scales wide, and accentuated by a
dusky band through the lateral row of blotches. Throat white; belly
white or yellowish anteriorly, with or without squarish dark blotches, and
becoming dark-mottled or totally dark posteriorly.
Habits and habitat: The habitats of which we have knowledge in
Ontario are woodlands and rocky, scrubby country, and uplands often
The Reptiles of Ontario 25
away from lakes and swamps, giving rise to the name "high land black-
snake". Its food consists chiefly, if not entirely, of mammals and birds;
a frog was recorded from one stomach by Surface (1906, 100). The diet
varies with the season and includes a fair percentage of birds in the early
half of summer, but later chiefly mammals, and these largely mice. Repro-
duction is by eggs, but we have no observations as to the number laid,
nesting sites or dates of laying in Ontario. Surface (1906, 159) gives the
latter part of August and early part of September as the laying time.
Ditmars (1907, 306) records a set of ten eggs being laid on June 26th.
Conant (1938, 59) records a set of twelve eggs being laid on July 1st, and
a set of twenty-two "nearly ready to be laid" in a female which died on
July 19th.
Some specimens will vibrate their tails when annoyed, and will bite,
but most of those which we have handled were docile and quickly became
tame.
Fox Snake Elaphe vulpina (Baird and Girard)
Range: Western New York to eastern Nebraska, northeastern Mis-
souri north through Wisconsin and northern Michigan to Lake Superior;
southeastern Michigan and southwestern Ontario north to west central
Parry Sound district.
Ontario records are from lakes Erie and St. Clair and the eastern
shore of Georgian Bay. Our most easterly records at Lake Erie are from
Norfolk County. Common where it occurs in Ontario.
Size and structure: A large snake occasionally reaching a length of six
feet, but as with the pilot black-snake in Ontario, most specimens seen
are less than five feet. Form moderately slender; head rather short and
broad; loreal plate present. Nasals 2; loreal 1; preocular 1; postoculars
2; temporals 2+4 or 2+3; supralabials usually 8; infralabials usually 11,
less often 10, 12 or 9; dorsal scales 25-27-25-23-21 or 25-23-21, those of the
first three to five rows smooth or nearly so, the rest weakly keeled; ven-
trals 194-213 (194-215) ; anal plate divided.
Colour: Brownish yellow above with five series of dark blotches as
follow: a median row of 28 to 39 large dark brown to black blotches
between head and base of tail, the first one or two partly or completely
divided along the mid-dorsal region; alternating with these is a row of
smaller blotches along each side; below these and alternating with them
is a row of still smaller spots on the lowest one or two scale rows and
edges of ventrals. Belly yellow with alternating squarish black blotches.
The head (Fig. 3, PI. Ill) is somewhat coppery above and on the sides with
some dark markings, the most prominent of which are: a brown band
across the posterior half of the prefrontals from eye to eye; some brown
26 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
mottling on posterior part of frontal and on parietals; a black or nearly
black nuchal spot; a dark band obliquely from eye to angle of mouth; a
dark spot beneath eye on suture between 4th and 5th supralabials, and a
similar but less extensive spot on the sutures in front of and behind it.
The infralabial sutures are generally more or less darkened, especially that
between the 5th and 6th, which usually falls almost directly beneath the
subocular spot. The head markings become fainter in older specimens
and may almost disappear.
Habits and habitat: We have found this snake only in the near vicinity
of water, about beaches and marshes, etc. Its habit of vibrating its tail
when excited has given rise to the name "hardwood rattler" by which it
is commonly known in Ontario. Another commonly used name is "wom-
per". It is supposed by many people to be poisonous and is often con-
fused with the copperhead, a truly venomous snake of the viper group,
which is not found in Canada. The fox snake is also believed by some
to be able to sting with its tail like the mythical "hoop-snake", and occa-
sionally we hear ridiculous stories about people being poisoned by its
breath. In spite of all this it is a perfectly harmless and mild-tempered
snake which will rarely even attempt to bite in self-defence.
The fox snake feeds chiefly upon mammals and occasionally upon
birds or their eggs. That other food than warm-blooded vertebrates is
occasionally taken is indicated by the disgorging of a bundle of undigested
earthworms by a specimen captured at Long Point, Norfolk County
(Logier 1931, 233) and of a living salamander Amby stoma jeffersonianum
by a specimen caught at Go Home Bay, Muskoka County (Dr. A. L.
Tester unpublished MS). Economically it is one of our most valuable
snakes because of its persistent destruction of mice and rats.
Reproduction is by eggs which are deposited in decaying logs, manure
heaps, sawdust piles, etc., in July. The number of eggs in a clutch varies
and we have counts ranging from seven to seventeen. Often a large num-
ber of eggs may be found together in one nest, the product of several
females. The eggs of a clutch are usually found adhering together
through having been in contact with each other when freshly laid; they
gradually increase in size by absorption of moisture. Hatching requires
about seven or eight weeks.
Milk Snake Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum (Lacepcde)
Range: Maine west to Minnesota, southern Canada to Florida;
north in Ontario to central Parry Sound district. Appears to be uniformly
distributed over southern Ontario where it is common but not abundant.
Size and structure: A medium sized snake attaining a length of about
three and one half feet. Form slender and body of nearly the same
The Reptiles of Ontario 27
diameter throughout; head short; broad and rather flat; loreal plate pre-
sent. Nasals 2; loreal 1; preocular 1; postoculars 2; temporals usually
2+3, occasionally 1 in the first row or 2 in the second; supralabials 7;
infralabials usually 9, occasionally 8 or 10; dorsal scales usually 21-19-17;
ventrals 192-210 (180-213); anal plate entire.
Colour: Ground colour above pale grayish or brownish with five rows
of dark blotches. Those of the vertebral row are much the largest, are
wider than long, and extend down on the sides to about the fifth scale
row, are chocolate to chestnut brown, or sometimes reddish (especially in
young), and conspicuously edged with black; alternating with them is a
lateral series of smaller and similarly coloured blotches; below these and
again alternating with them is a row of still smaller black spots on the
lowest scale rows and edges of ventrals. The distinctly alternating pat-
tern is sometimes more or less confused by shifting or fusion of blotches.
Belly white with squarish black blotches, or occasionally unblotched.
Head markings (Fig. 2, PI. Ill) as follow: a black-edged brown dorsal
blotch occupying neck region and top of head to between eyes, enclosing
on neck region a light, usually Y-shaped spot; a small triangular or V-
shaped spot on parietals immediately behind frontal ; a brown band across
prefrontals from eye to eye; a black or brown and black stripe from
behind eye to angle of mouth ; labial sutures, especially the uppers, marked
with black. Variations of colour of the blotches are usually within tones
of browns or reds, but in one specimen from Point Au Baril, Parry Sound
district, the blotches were olive green.
Habits and habitat: This useful and harmless snake frequents light
woods, clearings and farmlands, and is often found about barns and other
outbuildings where it commonly prowls in search of mice which form the
largest bulk of its food. It also eats a few birds or their eggs, and is very
fond of small snakes and lizards. It is a most efficient mouser, ferreting
out the nests and devouring whole litters of young before they are old
enough to do any mischief. There is a common superstition that these
snakes steal milk from cows, and the popular name "milk snake" is Unfor-
tunate in that it probably tends to perpetuate that foolish belief. In spite
of its name, the milk-snake shows no particular liking for milk, and even
if it did, a full-grown specimen could not drink more than a few tea-
spoonfuls. There are other difficulties too: the lips, and the muscles of
a snake's mouth are not adapted for sucking and are incapable of per-
forming a milking operation; and the sharp, lacerating teeth were not
designed for lulling cows into a quiescent and generous frame of mind.
It should not take much imagination on the part of a livestock man to
picture what would happen if a snake were to seize a cow by the teat, and
28 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
the success of attempting to milk a thoroughly frightened and stampeding
cow is a subject which he would hardly consider open for debate.
Reproduction is by eggs which are laid in June or July in rotting logs
or manure piles, or other dampish protected situations. Ditmars (1907,
344, 345) records sets of eight, nine and eleven eggs. Blanchard (1921,
194) records a batch of thirteen. Conant (1938, 70) reports sixteen in a
clutch. Hatching requires about two months.
The milk snake will often bite when first handled, but its bite is harm-
less. It soon becomes tame in captivity, but most specimens are indis-
posed to feed under such conditions and do not survive for long. It is
probably the most beneficial of all our snakes because of its wide distri-
bution through agricultural land, its fondness for the vicinity of human
habitations, and its unceasing war on mice wherever it happens to be.
It should be vigorously protected everywhere and at all times.
Queen Snake, Striped Water-Snake Natrix septemvittata (Say)
Range: Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, southern Ontario and southern
Michigan south to South Carolina and central Alabama.
Ontario records are from Bruce, Huron, Middlesex, Waterloo and
Brant counties. Not common.
Size and structure: A smallish snake attaining a length of about two
feet. Form moderately slender; head flattened and shallower than in
the common water-snake {Natrix sipedon), sloping from nape to snout;
eye rather small ; loreal plate present. Nasals 2, or partly fused; loreal 1;
preoculars 2; postoculars 2; temporals 1+2; supralabials 7; infralabials
9 or 10, rarely 8 or 11; dorsal scales 19-17, keeled; ventrals 138-154*; anal
plate divided.
Colour: Uniform brown above with a narrow black median dorsal
line and a similar line on the fifth scale row of each side; a yellow stripe
on the upper half of the first and lower half of the second scale rows
(Fig. 5A, PI. IV) continuous with the yellow of the upper labials and ros-
tral; a dark band on the lower half of the first scale row and edges of
ventrals; belly yellow with a dusky band on either side of the mid-ventral
region (Fig. 5B, PL IV), and becoming generally darkened with grayish or
brownish mottling posteriorly; head abruptly brown above supralabials;
chin and throat yellow.
Habits and habitat: A decidedly aquatic snake, frequenting the mar-
gins of streams where it may be found at times resting in low bushes
overhanging the water. Crayfish form the bulk of its food and fish and
frogs are taken to some extent. The young, which are born in August,
may number from six to twelve (Surface 1906, 151).
*Extralimital (Conant 1938, 77).
The Reptiles of Ontario 29
Northern Water-Snake, Common Water-Snake Natrix sipedon sipe-
don (Linne)
Range: Southern Maine to Minnesota and south and west to eastern
Colorado, from Lake Nipissing in Ontario and northern Michigan south
to northern South Carolina, Tennessee and eastern Oklahoma.
Very common in southern Ontario where proper habitat exists and
where it has not been persecuted. Its numbers have been much reduced
in the more settled areas.
Size and structure: A rather large snake occasionally attaining a
length of a little over four feet. Form stout; head deep, high on the sides
and wide through the base of the jaws; upper labials swollen; nostril
directed upward; loreal plate present. Nasals 2; loreal 1; preoculars 1,
occasionally 2; postoculars 3, occasionally 2; temporals 1+3, occasionally
1+2; supralabials 8, rarely 9; infralabials 10, occasionally 9 or 11; dorsal
scales keeled, usually 23-21-19-17, less often 21-23-21-19-17, and a max-
imum of 25 or a minimum 19, 18 or 16 rows occasionally occurs; ventrals
140-152 (135-149); anal plate divided.
Colour: Ground colour above brown, of variable hue, often grayish;
a mid-dorsal row of large dark quadrate blotches, and a lateral row of
smaller blotches on each side involving the edges of the ventrals. These
blotches are dark-edged, and those of the lateral series alternate with
those of the dorsal series on most of the body length (Fig. 6B, PI. IV) , but
on the anterior part, for about one-fifth to occasionally one-half of the body
length, they shift their position to lie opposite the dorsal blotches, fusing
with them and forming crossbands (Fig. 6A, PI. IV). The ground colour
of the belly is usually creamy whitish or pale yellowish, but sometimes
shows considerable red. The ventral dark mottling, which is variable in
pattern and intensity and becomes gradually darker and closer poster-
iorly, is heaviest on the anterior portion of each ventral plate, and tends
to form up into half-moonshaped or roundly triangular dark-edged
blotches with their apexes pointing backward (Fig. 6C, PI. IV). The brown
of the head usually extends well down onto the upper labials, and some-
times onto the lower; labial sutures marked with brown; chin and throat
creamy.
In newly born specimens the ground colour above is pale grayish
white and the blotches nearly black. In old specimens the dorsal pattern
may become indistinct or even vanish, and such individuals present a
uniform (or nearly so) brown colour above.
Habits and habitat: A decidedly aquatic snake frequenting lakes,
streams and permanent ponds; an excellent swimmer and diver. It feeds
chiefly upon fish, but amphibians also are readily taken. Surface (1906,
156) records a meadow mouse and a shrew among animals found in stom-
30 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
achs examined. Conant (1938, 86) records among other things crayfish
and a small water-snake of its own species from stomachs of Ohio speci-
mens. Insects found in stomachs by Surface were probably swallowed
in the stomachs of amphibians or fish.
The charge of fish destruction levelled against this snake is probably
much less serious than it sounds in loose verbiage because much of its food
consists of species which are competitors with or enemies of the food and
game fish, and of dead or diseased fish and of mudpuppies which are no
favourite with fish culturists. Water-snakes and game fish existed in
abundance together for centuries until the white man's activities depleted
both in the more settled areas, and game fish are still plentiful in some of
our lonelier waters where the snakes are also relatively undisturbed.
Wherever man's wanton spoliation of nature has depleted certain desired
and coveted elements of the fauna his imagination is quick in finding a
scapegoat to bear the blame of his sins; the water-snake happens to be
one, along with many other interesting animals which from time imme-
morial have naturally preyed to even a small extent upon forms of which
he has belatedly desired a monopoly to kill for pleasure or for food.
The water-snake is a pugnacious fighter when first captured and is
capable of lacerating the skin with its teeth, but no harmful result follows
its bite. Some collectors wear gloves to protect their hands when col-
lecting this snake. It soon gets over its pugnacity and becomes a tame
and docile pet.
The young, which usually number between twenty and forty in a
litter, are born in August or September.
Island Water-Snake Natrix sipedon insularum Conant and Clay
Range: The islands in the western end of Lake Erie. Ontario records
are from Pelee Island, the type locality.
This is a subspecies of the common water-snake Natrix sipedon(L'mne)
described by Conant and Clay in 1937. In scutellation and size it is sim-
ilar to the parent form, but differs in coloration, being uniform or nearly
uniform gray above and cream white beneath, but "with occasional very
faint traces of the lowermost portion of lateral spots (such as are present
in sipedon) on the posterior part of the body." Intergrades between it
and sipedon have been taken on some of the islands and on the mainland
of Ohio at Catawba peninsula. Conant (1938, 88) records the eating of
dead fish by wild specimens and the persistent refusal of frogs by captive
specimens, which, nevertheless, took fish readily. The same author
records broods of ten and nineteen young.
The Reptiles of Ontario 31
De Kay's Snake, Little Brown Snake Storeria dekayi (Holbrook)
Range: Southern Maine west to central Minnesota and central Kan-
sas, north in Ontario into Parry Sound district and in Michigan through-
out the southern peninsula, south to the Gulf of Mexico and along the
coast to Guatemala; not in peninsular Florida.
Our most northern specimen is from near the town of Parry Sound
and our most northern report is from French River, Parry Sound district.
Common in southern Ontario.
Size and structure: A small snake attaining a length of about fifteen
inches. Body moderately stout, tapering toward neck and tail; head
small; no loreal plate. (Fig. 4, PI. III). Nasals 2; preocular 1; post-
oculars 2, occasionally 1 or 3; temporals 1+2, occasionally 1+3; supra-
labials 7, occasionally 6 or 8; infralabials 7, occasionally 6 or 8; dorsal
scales 17 throughout, keeled; ventrals 119-138; anal plate divided.
Colour: Pale yellowish or grayish brown to dark brown or reddish
brown above: a light vertebral stripe on the three median scale rows and
halves of adjacent rows, margined by a tone darker than the ground
colour; a row of dark spots on either side of the light vertebral stripe is
usually conspicuous, and these may encroach upon or even fuse across it,
but may be minute or absent. When this row is prominent, there is
usually at least a trace of two alternating rows below it on the side. Belly
pale yellowish brown or pinkish. Plates on top of head closely mottled
with dark brown; a dark spot on labials beneath eye; a dark stripe obli-
quely down across first temporal and suture between last pair of upper
labials on to lower lip; a crescent-shaped blotch on each side behind angle
of jaw.
Habits and habitat: Frequents light woods, clearings, fields and road-
sides. It remains concealed beneath stones, boards, logs or other cover
during most of the day, coming out in late afternoon. Its food consists
mainly of slugs and earthworms, and its great fondness for the former
makes it a valuable animal about farms and gardens. Owing to its secre-
tive habits, small size, dull coloration and easily obtained food, this little
snake is able to survive for long in parks and vacant land in cities. The
young are born in July or August. Clausen (1936, 101) obtained broods
ranging in numbers from nine to twenty with an average of fourteen.
Newly-born individuals are very dark gray to nearly black above
with a yellow band across the neck, and might, by the inexperienced, be
confused with young ring-necked snakes, but their keeled scales which
may be seen with a pocket lens will distinguish them from the latter.
32 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
Red-bellied Snake, Storer's Snake Storeria occipito-maculata (Storer)
Prince Edward Island and Maine to southern Manitoba, the Dakotas
and Kansas, north in Ontario to Lake Timiskaming and the north shore
of Lake Superior, south to the gulf of Mexico.
Common in southern and south central Ontario, but appears to be
less so in the western peninsula of southern Ontario. A report from Silver
Islet, Thunder Bay district, by Dr. D. A. MacLulich, and its occurrence
on Isle Royal (Ruthven, Thompson and Gaige 1928, 113) suggest that its
range is probably continuous northward around the Great Lakes.
Size and structure: A small snake rarely exceeding a foot in length.
Body moderately stout, tapering toward neck and tail; head small; no
loreal plate.* Nasals 2; preoculars 2; postoculars 2; temporals usually
1+2, occasionally 3 and rarely 1 in the second row; supralabials 6, occa-
sionally 7; infralabials usually 7, occasionally 6, rarely 5 or 8; dorsal scale
rows 15 throughout length of body, keeled; ventrals 115-132 (116-133);
anal plate divided.
Colour: Variable, colour above pale to dark gray or brown, chestnut,
or occasionally black. A light vertebral band three scales wide is usually
present, and four longitudinal stripes of a tone darker than the ground
colour disposed on the first and sixth scale rows (these may appear as
rows of spots if the centres of the scales involved are darker than the
edges). Three yellowish spots on the posterior part of the head, i.e. a
median one behind the occipital plates and one on each side at the angle
of the jaw. Top of head usually darker than ground colour of back.
Belly red or pink with a lateral band of gray or black speckling.
A dark phase occurs in which the dorsal colour is uniform black and
the vertebral band bright ochre yellow.
Habits and habitat: This little snake frequents the same kinds of
situations as noted for DeKay's snake (the preceding species) and appears
to be closely similar in habits. Most specimens which we have taken
were found under stones or boards or some such cover on the ground,
where they hide during much of the day. We have occasionally found
them abroad in the evening, and in the afternoon in early October. Earth-
worms and slugs appear to constitute their main food supply. Their
preference seems to be for the latter, and for this reason they are highly
desirable about farms and gardens. The young are born in August or
early September. Blanchard (1937b, 157) found the numbers of young
in a brood to range from one to thirteen, with the average between seven
and eight.
*A specimen from Sudbury was abnormal in possessing a loreal scale on each side.
The Eeptiles of Ontario 33
Butler's Garter-Snake Thamnophis butleri (Cope)
Range: Extreme western New York and western Pennsylvania,
through Ohio and Indiana into southern Michigan and southwestern
Ontario; southeastern Wisconsin.
Our only locality record for Ontario was established in 1938 near
Newbury, Middlesex County, where the species appears to be locally
common (Logier 1939, 20-23). It seems likely that it has a wider range
than this in Ontario but has been overlooked; it may be found in other
places, especially westward to the Michigan border.
Size and structure: A rather small snake attaining a length of about
twenty-two inches. Head small, scarcely demarked from neck; eye
small; loreal plate present. The dorsal scales of the neck region are
glossy like the head plates and those immediately behind the head are
unkeeled; those of the first row are either unkeeled or only feebly keeled
posteriorly, the rows above it are keeled. Nasals 2 ; loreal 1 ; preocular 1 ;
postoculars usually 3, often 2, less often 1; temporals 1 + 1, occasionally
1+2; supralabials 6 or 7, occasionally 8; infralabials usually 8, occasion-
ally 7 or 9; dorsal scales 19-17; ventrals 135-144 (130-154); anal plate
entire.
Colour: Ground colour above olive brown ; three light stripes — a mid-
dorsal and two lateral, the lateral stripe centred on the third scale row on
the anterior half of the body and involving the adjacent edges of the
second and fourth rows (Fig. 2B, PI. IV). The lateral stripes are yellow,
but the dorsal stripe is more of a pale brownish hue. A dark brown or
chestnut band along the first and lower half of the second scale rows, this
colour descending well down on to the sides of the belly, or even completely
across it posteriorly. The alternate arrangement of the two rows of black
spots on the sides of the back between the dorsal and lateral stripes is
generally confused. The spots crowd closely to the edges of the adjacent
light stripes; those of the lower row are distinct from each other but those
of the upper row usually coalesce together, especially their upper halves,
and form a black border to the light dorsal stripe. The centres of the
scales between the rows of spots may be much darkened, with yellow
flecks at their upper and lower edges. Ventral plates each marked anter-
iorly near the lateral edge with a black crescent which may or may not
be prolonged ventrally to meet its fellow of the other side. Chin and
throat yellow; a vertical yellow spot on preocular (Fig. 2A, PI. IV).
Habits and habitat: Butler's garter-snake normally occurs in the
vicinity of water, near marshes, at the shores of lakes, on banks of streams,
in wet meadows, etc., and all previously published habitat data have
been of such character (Ruthven 1908, 89; Bishop 1927, 16, 17; Conant
1938, 98). Mr. Roger Conant in a letter kindly supplied the following
34 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
comments on one of the Ohio colonies of butleri: "In at least one place
in Ohio they are found in rather dry country. This is in the New Haven
Marsh, paradoxically enough, which lies partially in Seneca, Huron, Craw-
ford and Richland counties. At one time it was very marshy, and geolog-
ically it is an old lake bed, now filled to a depth of several feet with peat.
In the spring there is water almost everywhere and at that season of the
year butleri is most in evidence. Later in the season, both as a result of
less rainfall and the ditching done by the celery farmers, much of the area
gets pretty dry. We did find a few butleri in the Marsh during the dry
season, but they were not very numerous."
Our Ontario specimens were nearly all taken in the grass and beneath
cover on the ground in a dry clearing and along an adjacent roadside.
Although the immediate habitat was very dry there was a ditch with a
little water on the opposite side of the road. The whole area lies within
a swamp, which, though dry in the summer, is apparently quite wet in
the spring. At the time of our observations, during the hot weather in
early July, these snakes were found to be active only in the evening from
sundown until dusk. In the longish grass where most of our specimens
were taken they moved with a swiftness and grace nearly equal to that
of the common garter-snake, but removed from the grass and placed on
the bare earth the awkward gait commented upon by Ruthven (1908, 90)
was apparent, with much lateral thrashing of the body effecting relatively
little progression when the snakes were trying to hurry. When Butler's
garter-snake is picked up it usually exhibits a behaviour quite different
from that of the common garter-snake, wrapping itself around the fingers
and clinging with a perceptible pressure and using its tail also as a pre-
hensile organ.
The species feeds upon earthworms, frogs and fish. Ruthven recorded
leeches from the stomach of a Michigan specimen.
The young are born in July or early August. Ditmars (1907, 224)
records a brood of twelve born on August 4. Conant (1938, 99) records
births of litters on July 2, 3, 28 and August 7, with broods ranging from
four to fourteen in numbers of young. Females taken at Newbury in
early July were much distended with young, and three of these kept at
the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology produced litters of eleven, fifteen
and nineteen young between the mornings of July 27 and 28. The litter
of fifteen included one stillborn example too embryonic to survive.
Measurements ranging from five and one-eighth to six and three-quarter
inches were obtained from these broods within a few hours of birth.
The Reptiles of Ontario 35
Ribbon Snake T ham no phis suaritus snaritus (Linne)
Range: Maine to Michigan, north in Michigan throughout the south-
ern peninsula and in Ontario into Muskoka County, south to Georgia,
Alabama and Mississippi.
Moderately common in southern Ontario.
Size and structure: A slender-bodied snake which reaches a length of
about thirty inches. Head rather small, distinct from neck; loreal plate
present; eye large; tail long, usually 29 per cent or more of total length.
Nasals 2; loreal 1; preocular 1; postoculars usually 3, occasionally 2 or 4;
temporals 1+2, occasionally 1+3; supralabials usually 7, occasionally
6 or 8; infralabials usually 10, occasionally 9 or 11; ventrals 155-167 (150-
173) ; anal plate entire.
Colour: Ground colour above olive or chocolate brown to black with
three yellow stripes — a vertebral and two lateral, the lateral stripe lying
on the third and fourth scale rows on the anterior half of the body to
behind the middle (Fig. 3B, PI. IV) and bordered below by a chocolate
brown band on the first and second scale rows. Upper labials, chin and
throat bright yellow like the lateral stripe; a vertical yellow spot on pre-
ocular (Fig. 3A, PI. IV). Belly pale greenish, sometimes quite dusky
posteriorly. The slim body, long tail, brilliant colours and sharply
defined pattern all contribute to the clean-cut appearance of this snake
which readily distinguishes it in life from sirtalis. When the dorsal ground
colour is brown, the dorsal yellow stripe and the upper edge of the lateral
yellow stripe are usually bordered with black, accentuating the sharpness
of the pattern.
Habits and habitat: The ribbon snake frequents damp situations such
as wettish meadows, the margins of streams and ponds and shores of small
lakes. A rather aquatic species seldom found far from water. It is very
agile and swift, and a fair climber, occasionally found several feet above
ground among the lower limbs of bushes. It seems to feed entirely upon
amphibians and fish. Captive specimens invariably refused earthworms
and insects although Surface (1906, 142) recorded both of these items,
and also spiders, from stomachs examined. He expressed the opinion
that the insects and spiders came from the stomachs of amphibians which
had fed on these items before being eaten by the snakes. The earthworms
were found alone in one stomach.
The young are born in August (possibly late July to early September).
The number of young in a litter average twelve according to Ruthven
(1908, 112). Conant (1938, 102) records litters of five and seven. We
have a record of a brood of twelve born on August 3.
36 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
Common Garter-Snake Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis (Linne)
Range: Nova Scotia west to Minnesota and eastern Texas, north in
Ontario and Quebec to James Bay, south to the Gulf of Mexico and
peninsular Florida.
The commonest snake in Ontario; abundant in some localities.
Size and structure: A medium-sized snake which occasionally attains
a length of about forty-two inches, although most specimens seen are less
than thirty-six inches. Form moderate, stoutish in pregnant females;
head long and distinct from neck; loreal plate present; eye large. Nasals
2; loreal 1; preocular 1; postoculars usually 3, occasionally 2 or 4; tem-
porals usually 1 +2, occasionally 1 +3 ; supralabials usually 7, occasionally
8 or 6; infralabials usually 10, occasionally 9 or 11 ; ventrals 140-166 (137-
168) ; anal plate entire.
Colour: Ground colour above black, brown or olive, normally with
three light stripes — a vertebral and two lateral, the lateral stripe lying on
the second and third scale rows (Fig. IB, PI. IV). Two rows of alternating
black spots along each side of the back are visible if the ground colour is
light, but if dark, are not apparent unless the skin be stretched. The
colour and pattern are exceedingly variable: the light stripes may be
lemon or bright yellow, orange, reddish, pale brown, greenish, soiled
whitish or even bluish. They are often more brilliant on the anterior
part of the body and may sometimes become very dull or almost disappear
posteriorly. The dorsal stripe is occasionally absent. The first scale row
is usually darker than the belly but lighter than the dorsal ground colour,
but may occasionally be almost as dark as the dorsal colour or as light as
the belly (in the latter case the colour of the lateral light stripe is contin-
uous with that of the belly). The undersurface is usually pale yellowish
or greenish, with a dark spot near the lateral edge of each ventral plate,
but may be gray or darkly pigmented, especially posteriorly. Preocular
scale with out a light spot (Fig. 1A, PI. IV) and usually but slightly paler
than loreal.
Some specimens show very brilliant colours: red or copper may occur
on the skin between the scales on the lateral stripe, especially anteriorly,
and may suffuse completely over the scales of this region and forward
onto the sides of the head. The dorsal ground colour may be rich, deep
reddish to purplish brown with blue or green flecks between the scales in
the interspaces between the spots. In a specimen from Lake Abitibi the
sides of the face, the lateral stripe, and the whole ventral surface to the
tip of the tail were entirely blood-red, while the dorsal stripe was brilliant
yellow suffused with red on the neck region.
Melanistic specimens which are entirely black except for a white
throat and chin occur at Lake Erie.
The Reptiles of Ontario 37
Habits and habitat: The common garter-snake is the most widely
distributed and hardiest snake in Ontario. It is the first to appear in the
spring and the last to disappear in the autumn. Our earliest and latest
records at Toronto are respectively March 19, 1927, and November 26,
1933. A dead specimen, apparently quite fresh, was found with the end
of its tail frozen fast in the ice on December 28, 1932, which would suggest
that in southern Ontario this snake may occasionally venture out to bask
during the sunny hours of a mild winter day. This one evidently re-
mained above ground too long.
The garter-snake frequents a great variety of country and may be
found about woodlands, clearings, farms, roadsides, the shores of lakes,
streams, ponds and marshes, and while it shows a fondness for water,
which it readily enters, it nevertheless wanders far from it into high and
dry situations. Its food consists chiefly of earthworms and amphibians,
but it is also very fond of fish. Small mammals and birds are occasionally
taken. Insects were reported by Surface (1906, 149) from stomachs
examined, but as that author suggests, much of such material was doubt-
less swallowed in the stomachs of amphibians. We have never observed
captive specimens to take insects.
The young are born from July to October and usually number from
about ten to thirty in a litter, but as many as seventy-eight have been
noted by Ruthven (1908, 178). A brood of seventy-three was noted by
Wallace (1938, 203). Most of our counts have been above fifteen and
counts of above thirty are common.
Prairie or Red-barred Garter-Snake Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
(Say)
Range: Extreme western Ontario, western Minnesota, Iowa and
Missouri west to British Columbia, eastern Washington, Idaho and east-
ern Nevada, from the prairie provinces south to about the latitude of
northern New Mexico.
Our only Ontario locality of record for positive material is Favourable
Lake, Patricia district, about fifty miles east of the Manitoba border.
Specimens from Rainy River district referred to below are probably of
this form.
Parietalis is a subspecific form of sirtalis from which it differs mainly
in coloration; in scutellation it is similar except for averaging higher in
ventral and subcaudal counts. In the characteristic colour pattern of
parietalis the spots of the dorsal series are fused together into a continuous
black band while those of the lateral series are distinct from each other
but fused with the dorsal series (Fig. 4, PI. IV), producing a comb-teeth
pattern, and the interspaces between the lateral spots normally show
38 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
more or less red above the lateral light stripe. The dorsolateral spots may
be obscured by the darkness of the dorsal colour, as is true in some of our
Manitoba specimens.
Three garter-snakes received from Favourable Lake, all females, are
dark above with the pattern obscured except where the skin is stretched.
Two of these which had been in formalin for three and two months respec-
tively still showed a faint trace of red in the interspaces. In the third
specimen, received a few days after poor preservation, the red was plainly
evident and brilliant in the interspaces. The ventral counts for these
three snakes are 155, 163 and 161 respectively.
In eight garter-snakes received from Emo, North Branch and Rainy
River in Rainy River district of Ontario, the dorsal colour is black,
obscuring the pattern, as is commonly the case with sirtalis in Ontario.
The ventral counts for these snakes are as follow: Emo specimens, male
163, females 161 and 166; North Branch specimens, male 162, females
156, 157 and 157; Rainy River specimen, female 162. Since these snakes
had been in preservative for some time before they were received and
examined, any trace of red, had it been present in the interspaces, would
have disappeared; and since a ventral count as high as 160 is only rarely
reached or exceeded by females of sirtalis, while Ruthven (1908, 170) has
recorded a count as low as 150 for females of parietalis, it seems possible
that some or all of these are referable to parietalis in view of the locality
from which they came, which we now know to be within the eastern
fringe of the range of this form. It is impossible to make positive identi-
fication in such borderline cases from just a few preserved specimens,
especially from a locality where the ranges of the two forms come together
and intergradation might be expected, without access to a larger series
and fresh material; perhaps not always then because of intergradation.
Family CROTALIDAE. PIT VIPERS
This family, which includes the rattlesnakes, copperheads and water
moccasins, is distinguished from other vipers by the presence of a deep
pit in the loreal region between the eye and nostril, but shares with other
vipers the characteristic viperine venom apparatus consisting of long,
hollow, erectile fangs connected by ducts with venom glands (page 8).
A unique feature of rattlesnakes is the rattle which terminates the tail
(Figs. 6, 7, PI. V). It is composed of loosely interlocking segments which
produce a buzzing sound when the tail is vibrated, and if complete, will
taper at the distal end and terminate in a small rounded button which
was the original first permanent rattle of the baby rattlesnake. If the
The Reptiles of Ontario 39
rattle segments are all of the same diameter it means that a number of
them have already been lost by breakage or wear, a thing which is con-
stantly happening. A new segment is added to the rattle with each
shedding of the skin, which may happen three or more times in a year.
These facts explode the popular notion that the segments in a rattle-
snake's tail correspond with the years of its life and so reveal its age. The
function of the rattle is to warn away enemies which are large enough to
injure the snake, not to warn its prey and give it a sporting chance of
escape for no wild animal would be so unreasonably gentlemanly. There
is no evidence at all to indicate that it is used as a mating call or signal
between individuals, but such experimental evidence as has been gathered
suggests that these snakes are deaf to the sound of their own rattles.
The function of the pit is not known beyond that it is a sensory organ.
There is some evidence to suggest that it is sensitive both to temperature
and sound, but what other kinds of sensation it may receive or of informa-
tion it may convey to its owner remain to be discovered.
Rattlesnakes can bite without striking as when stepped on or grasped
and such a bite may be just as deadly as the bite at the end of a stroke.
In order to strike, the snake must assume the characteristic striking pos-
ture in which the body is thrown into a loose coil with the forward portion
raised and bent into an S-shaped curve, from which position the head may
be lunged forward with incredible speed. At the end of the stroke the
mouth is opened and the fangs erected for biting. A rattlesnake rarely
strikes for more than half its own length and never jumps or hurls itself at
its intended victim. It does not invariably rattle before striking or biting.
Massasauga, Swamp or Little Gray Rattlesnake Sistrurus catenatus
catenatus (Rafinesque)
Range: Western New York and Western Pennsylvania southwest
through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, southern Iowa and Missouri to eastern
Kansas; southern Wisconsin, southern peninsula of Michigan and Mack-
inac County in northern Michigan, southwestern Ontario at least to
northern Parry Sound and Manitoulin districts.
Not now plentiful in Ontario. Still fairly common in Bruce peninsula
and not rare along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay and on some of the
adjacent islands; found occasionally in the general vicinity of Lake Erie.
It probably occurs along the whole Georgian Bay-Lake Huron-Lake Erie
shoreline, thinning out and disappearing inland. All of our positive
records are within about twenty miles of this shoreline. We have reports
from further east, the most easterly being from Prince Edward County.
We have recently had a report of its occurrence at Cobalt.
Size and structure: A medium-sized, stout-bodied snake, attaining a
40 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
length from two and a half to three feet. Head (Figs. 1, 2, PI. V) broad,
somewhat triangular, wide through the angle of the jaws and distinct
from neck, snout blunt. A deep pit in loreal region ; plates on top of head
symmetrical, presenting together an area of generally oval outline when
viewed from above; frontal region concave; supraocular protruding over
eye; pupil vertically elliptic. Tail terminating in a rattle. Nasals 2;
loreal 1; preoculars 2, the upper in contact with postnasal; supralabials
usually 12, less often 11 or 13; infralabials 12, less often 13 or 14; dorsal
scales 25 or 27-25-23-21-19, or occasionally a maximum of 28 or 29, those
above the second row keeled; ventrals 136-145 (130-147); anal plate
entire; subcaudals mostly single.
Colour: Ground colour above gray or brown, with usually seven dis-
tinct series of alternating dark brown blotches. Those of the dorsal series
largest; below these and alternating with them is a row of much smaller
and paler spots; alternating with these and spaced to fall directly under
the dorsal blotches is another series of moderately large blotches as dark
as the dorsals; between these on the first and second scale rows lie the
very dark blotches of the lowest series. The blotches, except in the small
upper lateral series, dark-edged and outlined with cream or yellow borders.
The dorsal blotches may occasionally extend down to fuse with those
directly beneath them, forming wide crossbands, and the small spots of
the upper lateral series may be absent, or the pattern may be confused in
other ways. Tail with dark crossbands. Ventral surface black, more or
less broken with white especially toward the neck region, and changing
to gray and white mottling on throat and chin. The head markings are
a dark band across prefrontals and another across posterior half of frontal
and supraoculars, the latter joined at right angles by a pair of longitudinal
dark blotches extending onto the neck; a small dark blotch centred on the
parietals and scales immediately behind them; a broad dark band from
from eye to neck, touching angle of mouth, and bordered below by a
brilliant yellowish or creamy line; two narrow yellowish lines bordering
pit diverge downward on second and fourth supralabials.
Habits and habitat: This rattlesnake is found mostly in the vicinity
of swamps and low ground, but occurs also in drier situations. LeRay
(1930, 201) gives the following account of the habitat at Bruce peninsula,
Ontario: "The majority of specimens collected were found in the imme-
diate neighbourhood of swamps and along the old tote roads that run
through stretches of low ground. Although these records indicate that
they prefer low, wet grounds as their habitation, they may often be found
far away from water, taking up their abode wherever there is sufficient
cover, among which they can find at short notice a place of retreat.
Several examples were taken in the clearings around the old lumber mill
The Reptiles of Ontario 41
and outer buildings of Johnson's Harbour. Some were found in dry,
rocky situations, and others were taken on the farmland adjacent to the
Crane river which runs across the peninsula."
The massasauga feeds chiefly upon mice and frogs and will not scorn
such food that has been dead sufficiently long for decay to have set in.
Its liking for frogs indicates, as does also the scutellation of the head, its
closer relationship with the copperhead and moccasin group (Agkislrodon)
than with the true rattlesnakes (Crotalns) which take only warm-blooded
prey.
It is a mild-tempered and rather sluggish species which much prefers
concealment or escape, to combat, and cases of bite in Ontario are exceed-
ingly rare and none of which we know were attended by very serious
consequences. However, its venom, according to a report of the Anti-
venin Institute of America, is about five times as toxic as that of the
Texas rattler (Crotalus cinereous). The shortness of its fangs and the
small quantity of venom injected at a bite must account for the relatively
mild results as compared with the bites of the larger rattlesnakes. The
foregoing facts taken together, while not giving cause for alarm over the
presence of the snake in a locality, indicate that the careless handling of
it is a dangerous pastime. It is now very scarce over much of its present
range in Ontario and has been exterminated over much of its former
range, and while its presence is not desirable in the immediate vicinity of
human habitation, destruction of it in other situations should be dis-
couraged. It is one of nature's agents in the control of rodents, and to
those who appreciate wild life in its entirety rattlesnakes are as interesting
as other natural forms. Persistent destruction of animals which are
restricted in their range and habitat, as is this snake, must eventually
lead to extermination, which, once accomplished is final, for a species so
destroyed has gone forever. There will be multitudes of serious-minded
people in the generations yet to come who will wish to see and study
rattlesnakes as they will other forms of life, so there is a responsibility
incumbent on us who are living today, and who by the very nature of the
case are trustees of an estate to be passed on, not to wantonly destroy any
living thing, regardless of whether from our point of view it is a desirable
creature or not.
The number of young in a litter is not large. Ditmars (1907, 438) and
Conant (1938, 116) record births of seven young and Conant records also
twelve embryos in one female. Atkinson and Netting (1927, 42) judge
the usual numbers to be from five to nine. The time of birth probably
ranges from late July to early September.
42 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
Timber or Banded Rattlesnake Crotalus horridus horridus (Linne)
Range: Southern Maine and New England States southwest to north-
ern Alabama and from southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wis-
consin to northeastern Texas (the southern limit of the range swings
northward in the Mississippi Valley into the southern tip of Illinois).
Found in extreme southern Ontario and on some of the islands in the
western end of Lake Erie, but not in Michigan.
Ontario records are from Niagara region and from Point Pelee, Essex
County, as follow : A specimen in the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
collection was taken in 1877 in Welland County, about one mile south-
west of Niagara Falls, by Dr. J. H. Gamier. A specimen in the National
Museum of Canada, Ottawa, was killed at Point Pelee on September 29,
1918, by Captain G. Wilkinson (Patch 1919, 61). Two specimens killed
in Niagara Glen were identified by Dr. W. P. Alexander of the Buffalo
Museum of Science in the years 1934 and 1936. The first of these was
killed on July 17, 1927, by Mr. Harold Ellison of Niagara Falls, N.Y.,
who informed us that it measured three feet, six and one-half inches in
length, and had a full-grown, half-digested rat in its stomach. For the
second of these specimens the data of capture was not available. We have
reports of this snake at Niagara Glen as late as the years 1936, 1937 and
1938 and know of no reason to doubt their validity. Residents of Niagara
Falls, Ontario, who know the Glen very well informed us that one or two
rattlesnakes are killed on "the flats" every year in July or August. We
have a number of reports from Sparrow Lake region but hesitate at the
present time to include any of them as positive records.
That the early distribution of this snake in Ontario was more exten-
sive and followed the outcroppings of limestone rock where they occur in
the southern part of the province seems likely, and if the odd specimen
should still be found in some such situations it would not surprise us
greatly although we know of no positive records aside from those cited
above. There are many references to rattlesnakes in the writings of
early travellers in Upper Canada (now Ontario) but most of such refer-
ences were probably to the massasauga.
The earliest identifiable reference specifically to the timber rattlesnake
in Ontario, of which we know, was in September, 1669, in the journal of
Rene de Brehart Galinee, who was attached to M. de La Salle's party,
and is from a translation by B. E. Charlton (1884, 51, 52). The locality,
according to Charlton, was near an Indian village called Otinaoustettaoua
which "appears to have been situated on the borders of a small lake in
the township of Nelson, about 10 miles from Hamilton, known as Lake
Medad, not far from Waterdown" (in Halton County). Charlton's trans-
lation follows:
The Reptiles of Ontario 43
"We waited here until the chief of the village came to meet us with
some men to carry our effects. M. de La Salle was seized, while hunting,
with a severe fever, which, in a few days reduced him very low.
"Some said it was caused by the sight of three large rattlesnakes which
he had encountered on his way while ascending a rocky eminence. At
any rate it is certain that it is a very ugly spectacle, for those animals are
not timid like other serpents, but firmly wait for a person, quickly assum-
ing an offensive attitude, coiling half the body from the tail to the middle
as if it were a large cord, keeping the remainder entirely straight, and
darting forward, sometimes 3 or 4 paces, all the time making a loud noise,
with the rattle which it carries at the end of its tail. There are many in
this place as large as the arm, six or seven feet long, and entirely black.
It vibrates its tail very rapidly, making a sound like a quantity of melon
or gourd seeds shaken in a box." There is no question here as to which
rattlesnake was referred to.
Robert Gourlay (1822, 185, 186) distinguishes between the massa-
sauga and timber rattlesnake, and writes, "There are two species of rattle-
snakes, vulgarly distinguished by the names of yellow, or large, and black,
or small, rattlesnake. The former is from four to five feet in length, and
the middle of the body seven or eight inches in circumference, from whence
it tapers toward the head and tail. The neck is small, head flattened,"
etc. Of the colour he writes, "the back is brown, beautifully variegated
with yellow and a tinge of red, and lined and barred with black; the belly
a sky blue." As to the relative abundance of the two species he says,
"Black rattlesnakes, though by no means common in the province, are
not so rare as the yellow species. Of the latter I have seen only one and
but few of the former. The yellow rattlesnake which I saw and exam-
ined, was kept in a cage, and as his keeper declared, had lived several
weeks without food." He does not state where the yellow rattlesnake was
seen or captured, but leaves one to understand that it was native to Upper
Canada (Ontario) and of occasional occurrence.
Size and structure: A large stout-bodied snake wThich occasionally
reaches a length of five feet or more. Body thickest near middle and
tapering toward neck and tail; head (Fig. 3, PI. V) broad and flat, tri-
angular, and distinct from the much narrower neck. A deep pit between
eye and nostril; scales on top of head between supraoculars small and
irregular; supraoculars protruding over eyes; pupil vertically elliptical.
Tail terminating in a rattle. The scutellation of our one Ontario speci-
men follows with some extralimital counts included in parenthesis. Nasals
2; loreals 2 (2 or 1) ; preoculars 2; supralabials 14, (10-16) ; infralabials 14,
(11-19); dorsal scales 26-25-23-21-19; ventrals 173 (158-178); anal plate
entire; subcaudals single.
44 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
Colour: We have little information as to the colour of Ontario speci-
mens. Garnier's specimen in our collection is bleached almost white but
still shows a trace of dark crossbanding. Some of those killed at Niagara
Glen were reported to us (verbally) to have been yellowish with dark
crossbands. Gourlay's account cited above furnishes the only colour
description that we know for Ontario material, while Galinee's account
indicates that a black colour phase also occurred here. For the species
in general the ground colour above varies from sulphur yellow to olive,
brown or black, with from fifteen to twenty-eight dark chevron-shaped
crossbands of brown or black (obscured in black specimens), these widest
on the mid-dorsal region and with their angles directed backward. The
bands may be broken to form three series of blotches — a large dorsal row
and two smaller lateral rows, or they may be interrupted by a brownish
median line; they are usually outlined with pale coloured margins. Belly
yellowish or mottled with black.
Habits and habitat: This snake prefers timbered situations with rocky
ledges where deep and secure hiding places may be found. It is in such
rocky places that they congregate in the autumn for hibernation, and
according to Ditmars (1907, 444) when they scatter in the summer they
follow the smaller outcroppings of the same rock system and rarely wander
very far from them. In southern Ohio, Conant (1938, 119) found a fav-
ourite habitat to be dry hillsides and hilltops covered mostly with deci-
duous trees.
The food of the timber rattlesnake consists chiefly of small mammals.
Stomach analyses by Surface (1906, 196) shows these to constitute ninety-
four per cent in the stomachs examined, and snakes six per cent (this last
item may be considered as unusual; it is shown in the diagram but not
mentioned in the itemized table.) Of the mammals, thirty-seven and one-
half per cent were field mice and six per cent common rats. Other rodents
found in the stomachs included other species of mice, red squirrels and
rabbits. The food habits of this snake place it on the economically valu-
able list, and while because of its venomous nature it is not desirable
about human habitations or camping sites, it should not be destroyed
when encountered in lonely, out-of-the-way places. People who wish to
camp in such places should keep their eyes open for their own safety.
The young, according to the records of Ditmars (1907, 446) may
number from seven to twelve in a litter, and he gives birth dates ranging
from September 6 to 18.
The Reptiles of Ontario 45
THE TURTLES
The turtles are represented in Ontario by eight species and one sub-
species, a total of nine forms belonging to four families, and all more or
less aquatic.
KEY TO THE TURTLES OF ONTARIO
A. Carapace with rigid margins and covered with horny scutes (Fig. 1, PI. VII,
Figs. 8, 9, PI. VIII).
B. Plastron small, not nearly filling opening of carapace (Figs. 3, 4, PI. VI).
C. Bridge of plastron short and wide (Fig. 3, PI. VI) ; lower jaw only hooked at
tip (Fig. 1, PI. VIII); carapace not serrated; tail short, no dorsal tubercles.
Musk Turtle Sternotherus odoratus. P. 46.
CC. Bridge of plastron long and narrow (Fig. 4, PI. VI); both jaws hooked at
tip (Fig. 2, PI. VIII); carapace serrated behind, tail long with prominent
dorsal tubercles (Fig. 1, PI. VII). Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina.
P. 47.
BB. Plastron large, filling or nearly filling opening of carapace (Figs. 2, 5, 6, PI. VI).
D. Plastron rigid, not movably attached to carapace; no transverse
hinge.
E. Carapace rounded above, without keel, not serrated behind
(Fig. 8, PI. VIII).
F. Notch at front of upper jaw with a sharp tooth at either
side (Fig. 6, PI. VIII); marginal scutes brilliantly streaked
with red or yellow.
G. Central dark blotch on plastron very large extending
outward along sutures (Fig. 6, PI. VI), vertebral and
costal scutes crossed by wavy yellowish lines; neck
and limbs striped with yellow or red. Bell's Turtle
Chrysemys bcllii bellii. P. 54,
GG. Central dark blotch of plastron small or absent, no
extensions along sutures (Fig. 5, PI. VI) ; vertebral and
costal scutes not crossed by yellowish lines; neck and
limbs striped with red. Painted Turtle Chrysemys
bellii marginata. P. 55.
FF. Notch of upper jaw without teeth at either side (Fig. 3,
PI. VIII); marginal scutes not streaked with red or yellow.
H. Carapace (Fig. 8, PI. VIII), head and limbs
with rounded brilliant orange spots. Spotted
Turtle Clemmys guttata. P. 49.
EE. Carapace roof-shaped with a median keel, serrated behind (Fig.
9, PI. VIII).
I. Scutes with strong concentric grooves;
upper jaw arched downwards in front and
notched at tip (Fig. 4, PI. VIII); neck and
limbs unstriped. Wood Turtle Clemmys
insculpta. P. 50.
II. Scutes without strong concentric grooves;
upper jaw neither arched downward nor
notched in front (Fig. 5, PI. VIII); head,
46 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
neck and limbs striped with greenish yellow
Map Turtle Graptemys geographica. P. 53
DD. Plastron movably attached to carapace; a transverse hinge between
abdominal and pectoral scutes. Blanding's Turtle Emys bland
ingii. P. 51.
AA. Carapace with flexible margins and covered with leathery skin (Fig. 2, PI. VII)
snout produced into tube-like process with nostrils at tip (Fig. 7, PI. VIII)
Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle Amyda spinifera. P. 56.
Family KINOSTERNIDAE. MUSK TURTLES
Musk Turtle Sternotherus odoratus (Latreille)
Range: Eastern North America from the New England States to
Florida (not in peninsular Florida), west to southeastern Kansas, eastern
Oklahoma and eastern Texas, north to southeastern Wisconsin and
southern Michigan and in Ontario into Parry Sound district.
Ontario records are from Parry Sound district and Muskoka County
at Georgian Bay, Essex, Wentworth, Prince Edward, Frontenac and
Leeds counties. There is no doubt that its distribution is more general
than this would indicate, although it appears to miss the Toronto region
by a wide radius.
Size and structure: A small turtle which attains a carapace length of
about five inches. Carapace rigid, rather oval in outline, arched and
rounded above (except in very young specimens which have a median
keel), covered with horny scutes; margins not flaring. Plastron small,
not nearly filling opening of carapace (Fig. 3, Pl.VI) ; anterior lobe rounded
and somewhat movable on a transverse hinge; posterior lobe rigid, obtu-
sely notched behind; all plastral sutures in adults covered by areas of skin
which may be wide and extensive. Bridge short and wide. Head large;
snout conical, protruding; lower jaw hooked at tip (Fig. 1, PI. VIII) ; two
or four barbels on chin, and a pair on throat. Skin soft with small fleshy
papillae; about three long, curved scales on inner anterior side of front
limb above foot, and several on heel. Tail short.
Colour: Carapace usually darkish brown and without pattern, but
occasionally of a lighter grayish or yellowish hue with mottling of darker
streaks and spots. Head and limbs dark above; two light yellowish lines
pass backward from snout, one above the eye and ear, the other below
them. Plastron yellowish; under fleshy parts grayish.
Habits and habitat: This very equatic little turtle frequents quiet
water in lakes, slow streams, marshes and ponds. It is mainly carnivorous
taking any sort of animal food that it may find, living or dead, but also a
certain amount of green aquatic weeds. Food that is too large to be swal-
The Reptiles of Ontario 47
lowed whole is seized in the jaws and torn to pieces with the claws of the
front feet, a common practice with all of our turtles. The musk turtle is
so named because of the musky odour which it emits when annoyed. The
musk glands are situated beneath the edge of the carapace, a pair on each
side, one in front of and one behind the bridge. It appears to be a surly-
tempered little reptile and even individuals which have been kept as pets
for months may open their jaws and assume a threatening attitude when
handled.
The eggs are laid in June and may be placed in the soil, in the soft
wood of decaying stumps, or beneath drifted trash at the edge of the
water. At the Point Pelee marsh we found them in exceedingly wet loca-
tions. They number usually from three to six in a set; are white, or
faintly pinkish about the middle, elliptical, about an inch or slightly more
in length, and have a brittle shell. Hatching occurs in late August or in
September.
Family CHELYDRIDAE. SNAPPING TURTLES
Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina (Linne)
Range: Eastern North America from Nova Scotia to the Rocky
Mountains, and from the southern prairie provinces through the United
States, Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica.
Common in southern Ontario north to Lake Nipissing. We have seen
no specimens from anywhere in Ontario north of Lake Nipissing, but have
reports from Long Lac and from Adrian township about forty miles west
of Port Arthur, Thunder Bay district. The former of these was obtained
verbally from a woodsman at Lake Nipigon who told us of very large
turtles which he had occasionally seen resting on logs or rocks in Long
Lac. The Adrian township report appeared in the Mail and Empire,
Toronto, May 26, 1934, and told of a large "mud turtle" with a shell
measurement of seventeen by eighteen inches having been killed with a
pike pole by a fisherman named Fred Robillard in a small lake in Adrian
township, the name of which he did not know. If these reports are cor-
rect they can refer only to the snapping turtle.
Size and structure: Our largest turtle, sometimes attaining a weight
of forty pounds and a shell length of probably more than sixteen inches.
A twenty-nine and three-quarter pound specimen* from the Rideau river,
measured at the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology, had a carapace
sixteen inches long and twelve and a half inches wide, and a total length
from snout to end of tail of thirty-eight and one-eighth inches. Carapace
*Sent to Toronto Parks Department by Mr. W. P. Bull, June, 1938.
48 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
rigid, covered with horny scutes and serrated behind. Young specimens
have three prominent undulating keels — a vertebral and two costal,
which form a peak at the rear margin of each vertebral and costal scute,
and each scute is rugose with ridges radiating forward from this high
point (Fig. 1, PI. VI I). These sculpturings gradually disappear with growth
until in old specimens the shell is smooth. Plastron small, not nearly
filling opening of carapace (Fig. 4, PI. VI) ; bridge narrow and long. Head
large, flattened on top and with bony ridges; snout rather pointed and
protruding; both jaws hooked at tips (Fig. 2, PI. VIII); chin with two
small barbels; neck with papillae. Tail long with a median row of
prominent dorsal tubercles and a row of smaller tubercles on either
side. Limbs scaly, scales prominent on anterior surface of front leg;
large, curved scales on heel.
Colour: Carapace medium to very dark brown ; upper surface of head
and limbs brown; under parts dull yellow in adults, grayish in small speci-
mens and practically black in recently hatched young. Sides of head
lighter brown, spotted and streaked with darker brown or black, and with
two lightish bands, one backward from behind the eye, the other obli-
quely downward from beneath eye to angle of mouth.
Habits and habitat: The snapping turtle inhabits lakes, marshes and
the quiet parts of streams. It is very aquatic, rarely leaving the water
except to lay its eggs. Its food consists of any kind of small animal that
may come within range of its jaws, including insects, crustaceans, fish,
amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. It will eat animals that are
dead and decaying and is probably a natural scavenger. Young captive
specimens take green aquatic weeds and lettuce in small quantities.
Surface (1906, 128, 29) found some vegetable food in five out of nineteen
stomachs examined. The snapping turtle is unable to swallow except
with its head under water.
The eggs are laid in June in holes dug by the females in soft earth or
sand, often at some little distance from the water, and are not infre-
quently turned out by farmers when ploughing. The eggs in a set usually
number from twenty to thirty ; we have counts ranging from six to sixty-
four. Hatching usually occurs in late August or September, but the
young may winter in the ground as embryo, or as fully developed young
in the case of late hatching. The eggs are spherical, white, with one
hemisphere pinkish, and measure about an inch or a shade more in diam-
eter. The shell is hard, tough, and somewhat brittle, and the eggs will
bounce on a hard surface.
Because the snapping turtle takes some toll of water-fowl and fish,
some "conservationists" advocate its destruction, but any such measure
should be pursued with caution and only after proper ecological study of
The Reptiles of Ontario 49
the particular situation. While it cannot be tolerated in hatchery ponds
or water-fowl enclosures, it must be remembered that in the open marshes,
rivers and lakes the great bulk of its food is neither water-fowl nor game
fish, but all sorts of miscellaneous things including snails, crayfish, insects,
frogs, snakes, young turtles, etc., and much of its fish food would naturally
consist of such forms as minnow, catfish, suckers, carp, sunfish and other
species frequenting the shallower muddy-bottomed waters to which the
snapping turtle resorts. Carrion, also, is no doubt extensively eaten,
since rotting fish and other animal garbage seems to make such good bait
for it. In pioneer days our lakes and rivers were alive with game fish and
our marshes with water-fowl, and all this in spite of multitudes of turtles
and snakes and other predacious animals which the white man now often
wrongly blames with reducing the numbers of game.
Family TESTUDINIDAE. TERRAPINS AND TORTOISES
Spotted Turtle Clemmys guttata (Schneider)
Range: Maine to Florida through the Atlantic coast states, and
westward in the northern United States and the western peninsula of
southern Ontario to Lake Michigan; north in Ontario to southern Geor-
gian Bay.
Ontario records are from Essex, Kent, Norfolk, Welland and Muskoka
counties. Common in the Lake Erie region.
Size and structure: A small turtle attaining a shell length of four
inches or a little more. Carapace rigid, covered with horny scutes, oval,
widest behind the middle, flaring above the hind legs, without keels or
serrations (Fig. 8, PI. VIII). Plastron large, rigid, obtusely notched be-
hind. Limbs scaly. Head small, upper jaw notched in front, without
teeth bordering notch (Fig. 3, PI. VIII).
Colour: Carapace and upper surface of head and limbs dark brown or
black with rounded orange spots (Fig. 8, PI. VIII); a large spot on each
side of head above and behind ear. Plastron brown or black, usually with
an irregular orange area centrally, which may be extensive, much reduced
or absent; under surface of limbs orange, more or less mottled with black;
throat marbled with orange and black or almost entirely black, generally
darkest in males.
Habits and habitat: The spotted turtle seems to prefer small bodies
of shallow water such as ponds and brooks. We have taken it in the big
marshes of Point Pelee, Long Point and Turkey Point on Lake Erie, but
always either in very shallow water or on dry land. At Turkey Point we
found the greatest numbers in woodland ponds and about a decidedly
50 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
cool trout stream which rises in the cedar swamp and flows for some dis-
tance along the eastern edge of the marsh. Dr. A. L. Tester (unpublished
MS) found it common in weedy bays at Go Home Bay, Georgian Bay,
in the summer of 1928. It is only moderately aquatic, and spends
much time on land.
The spotted turtle eats both animal and vegetable food: insects, snails,
crustaceans, earthworms, spiders, frogs, fish and various green leaves
enter its diet. Mr. W. J. LeRay informed the writer that he has seen it
feeding on Daphnia when this entomostracan was present in swarms in
the woodland ponds referred to above.
Egg-laying occurs in June when the eggs, up to three or less often four
in number, are deposited in a hole dug in the ground by the female and
covered over with earth. At Point Pelee a female was seen digging a hole
with her hind feet in the sandy sod beside the marsh at about eight o'clock
in the evening of June 22nd. The eggs are white, elliptical and about an
inch and a quarter in length.
Wood Turtle Clemmys insculpta (Le Conte)
Range: "Eastern North America from Nova Scotia to Virginia, west
to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa; southwestern Ontario. Not found in
Indiana or Illinois." (Stejneger and Barbour 1939, 158).
Conant (1938) does not record it from Ohio, but suggests (page 8) the
possibility of its occurrence in the northeastern part of that state, and its
natural occurrence is not known with certainty from any Ontario locality
east of Huron County,* so it appears that the eastern population is iso-
lated from the western one. The western population is split by Lake
Michigan.
Ontario records of recent years are all from the vicinity of Clinton
and Holmesville, Huron County, and number only six. Nash (1908, 18)
reported it, apparently on J. H. Garnier's authority, as "tolerably com-
mon in western Ontario, less frequently found eastward" but cites no
localities nor dates. Gamier died in 1898, and since his time we know of
none having been found east of Huron County in Ontario.
Size and structure: A smallish to medium-sized turtle attaining a
shell length of six to eight inches. Carapace rigid, strongly keeled, ser-
rated and flaring behind, covered with horny scutes which are marked
with strong concentric corrugations and less prominent radiating ones
(Fig. 9, PI. VIII). Plastron large, rigid, deeply notched behind. Head
*C. L. Patch reported to us a specimen having been found on a street in Ottawa,
possibly an escape, and gave Sherbrook, P.Q., as the nearest Canadian locality of record
to Ottawa, a distance of about 180 miles.
The Reptiles of Ontario 51
small, flat above, upper jaw arched downwards in front and notched
at tip (Fig. 4, PI. VIII). Limbs scaly.
Colour: Carapace dull brown, or dull grayish or yellowish brown;
scutes with radiating dark pencillings. Plastron yellow with a large black
blotch on outer posterior portion of each scute. The head is dark above,
the neck, limbs and ventral fleshy surfaces are grayish and orange (in
Ontario specimens).
Habits and habitat: In the early summer this turtle frequents ponds
and streams and leads a rather aquatic existence. Later in the season it
wanders off through meadows and woodlands where it lives as a land
tortoise until the autumn, when it again returns to the water. Some of
the Huron County specimens were found within six or eight feet of a
stream which is flanked on one side by a wooded hill and on the other by
a low, wet meadow, and were taken on the hill side of the stream among
roots and debris that had been washed up by the spring floods.
Its food includes insects, snails, earthworms, fish, etc., and various
berries and leaves.
We have no information as to egg-laying in Ontario. Babcock (1938,
24) gives the season as June in the New England States and the number
of eggs as from four to seven. They are elliptical in shape.
Blanding's Turtle Emys blandingii (Holbrook)
Range: South shore of Lake Erie west to Nebraska, north to Minne-
sota, Michigan and southern Ontario. New England States and Long
Island. (See p. 14).
In Ontario it ranges north to Lake Nipissing; it is common along Lake
Erie and in the eastern counties of Frontenac and Leeds. Along the north
shore of Lake Ontario we have no records west of Prince Edward and
Hastings counties.*
• Size and structure: A rather large turtle with a carapace length occa-
sionally exceeding ten inches. Carapace rigid, covered with horny
scutes, high and convex, or somewhat depressed on top in old specimens
(keeled in the very young). Young specimens up to about six or seven-
inch carapace length show concentric rings on the scutes which gradually
smoothen with age. Plastron large, filling opening of carapace and
attached to it by a ligament; the lobes movable, united by a transverse
hinge; posterior lobe obtusely notched. Head moderately large; upper
*Except at Toronto, and the significance of these records is open to question. They
were all close to the city, and two of them (seen in 1932 and 1939) are known to have
been liberated or escaped specimens, and the other two (seen in 1937 and 1939) are
suspected of so being. Prior to these recent cases this turtle was not known in the
Toronto region.
52 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
jaw notched at tip but without tooth at either side of notch. Tail of
moderate length ; limbs scaly.
Colour: Carapace dark brown or nearly black with numerous irre-
gular spots or streaks of dull yellow radiating forward on the vertebrals
and forward and downward on the costals. The size and extent of the
yellow markings is variable. In a recently hatched specimen in our pos-
session the carapace is brown with some irregular black speckling. Head
and limbs dark olive or brown above; head with light olivaceous spots;
throat and chin abruptly yellow. Plastron yellow with a large dark blotch
on outer posterior portion of each scute.
Habits and habitat: We have taken this turtle commonly in the shal-
low water of marshes and in ponds, and on the land in the vicinity of such
waters. It is often to be found foraging in water so shallow as to barely
cover its shell, or wandering on the land, or sunning itself near the water.
When first picked up it hisses and withdraws the head and limbs beneath
the carapace, closing the movable lobes of the plastron, but never under
any circumstances have we known it to bite in self-defence. In captivity
it soon loses its shyness and becomes very tame, feeding readily from the
hand.
It is an omnivorous feeder, taking both animal and vegetable food,
but more of the former. We have kept captive specimens on a diet of
raw liver, beet, fish, earthworms and lettuce. It is able to swallow with-
out submerging its head.
Egg-laying occurs in June. Snyder (1921, 17) observed nest-digging
at Point Pelee: "At 6:30 P.M. on the 22nd of June I found two turtles
preparing to deposit their eggs. ... I kept one specimen under observa-
tion until excavation was fairly under way. Then crawling within ten
feet of the turtle, I watched the procedure without its showing any signs
of fear.
"Bracing itself up with its front feet, it dug with the hind feet, slowly
carrying the sand to the surface on the upturned sole. In digging, the
feet were always used alternately, the sand being placed first to the right
and then to the left of the hole. While using one hind foot in scooping
from the bottom, the other was rested against the side of the hole, helping
the turtle to raise itself in order to lift the sand to the surface. After the
hole was two or three inches deep, the turtle settled back so that the edge
of the carapace rested on the rim of the hole. In this position, and by
extending the hind legs, quite a depth was attained. After three quarters
of an hour this operation was completed. . . .
"I estimated the hole to be seven inches deep with a surface opening
of three and one half to four inches in diameter. This broadened out
The Reptiles of Ontario 53
below the surface, making a flask-shaped chamber about seven inches in
diameter. After one egg had been dropped I returned to camp."
Mr. Snyder in company with the writer returned to the nest later in
the evening, when upon digging it out we found eleven eggs. The eggs
had a white, dull shell, were a little larger than those of the painted turtle,
perhaps an inch and three-eighths in length, and elliptical in shape. They
were set to hatch in a box of sand, but met with an accident on August
26th when the little turtles were nearly ready to emerge.
Map Turtle Graptemys geographica (Le Sueur)
Range: Mississippi Valley from northern Louisiana north to southern
Wisconsin, southern Michigan and southern Ontario; from the St. Law-
rence and Ottawa rivers, Lake Champlain, New York, Pennsylvania and
southwestern Virginia west to Iowa, eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma
and northwestern Texas.
In Ontario it ranges northern to southern Parry Sound district and
the Ottawa region. Eastern records are from Leeds, Frontenac and
Prince Edward counties, and from the Ottawa river at Norway Bay on
the Quebec side (C. L. Patch 1925, 95, 96) about forty miles west of
Ottawa; western records are from southern Parry Sound district and
Muskoka County at Georgian Bay, Wellington, Wentworth, Norfolk,
Kent and Essex counties, one of the Kent County localities being at
Lake St. Clair. We have at present no records from the central portion
of southern Ontario between Georgian Bay and Frontenac County nor
from any point on the north shore of Lake Ontario west of Prince Edward
County.
Size and structure: A rather large turtle with a shell length of some-
times ten inches or more. Carapace rigid, covered with horny scutes,
keeled, obtusely notched in front, serrate behind, flaring above hind legs.
Plastron large, rigid, notched behind, nearly filling opening of carapace.
Head large in females, smaller in males; upper jaw without notch at tip
(Fig. 5, PI. VIII). Feet broadly webbed; tail rather short.
Colour: Carapace olive to brown, marked with a network of greenish
or yellowish lines which are very conspicuous in young specimens but
may become obsolete in old ones; under surface of marginals with blotches
of concentric markings — a blotch centred forward of each suture. Plas-
tron yellow, gray or brown on the sutures. Head, neck and limbs dark
olive green with longitudinal greenish yellow lines; a greenish yellow spot
behind eye.
Habits and habitat: This decidedly aquatic and exceedingly wary
turtle inhabits lakes and the larger rivers. It is fond of basking and
selects rocks or timbers commanding a good view, and from which it can
54 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
drop immediately into the water, and being alert, is most difficult to
approach. Any unaccustomed movement even at several hundred feet
away, or any sudden sound, will cause it to take fright and dive. The
splashing of one individual into the water is a signal to all others in sight
or earshot and they too promptly dive, and when their heads break the
surface again they are always a long distance from where they dived in.
Snails and clams enter largely into the food of this turtle, and the
broad crushing surfaces of the jaws appear to be a special adaptation for
breaking the shells of such prey. It also takes other aquatic forms such
as fish, crustaceans and water insects. Conant (1938, 144) reports cap-
tive specimens nibbling at such greens as lettuce, spinach and beet tops,
and Ditmars (1907, 44) records it as eating the edges of water lily pads.
Food is swallowed with the head submerged.
We have no observations as to nesting in Ontario. According to
Newman (1906, 140, 41) it begins early in June and the time of day
selected is early morning. A flask-shaped hole is dug in the ground with
the hind feet of the female, often at some distance from the water, and
the eggs are deposited in it in two layers and covered over with earth.
They are white, elliptical in shape, with a soft flexible shell, and according
to Babcock (1938, 34) may number from twelve to twenty in a set and
average thirty-two millimetres (one and one-quarter inches) in length.
Hatching usually occurs in late August or early September, but in the
case of late laying may be retarded until the following spring (Newman,
loc. cit.).
Bell's Turtle Chrysemys bellii bellii (Gray)
Range: Thunder Bay district of Ontario and northern peninsula of
Michigan west to Vancouver Island, south into New Mexico and Texas,
east to western Illinois.
Ontario specimens are from Blackwater river and Orient bay at Lake
Nipigon (Logier 1928, 290), and Whitefish Lake about forty miles south-
west of Port Arthur, Thunder Bay district. It was reported to us by
Mr. W. H. Bennett as common at Whitefish bay, Kenora district.
Size and structure: In structural festures this turtle is similar to the
subspecies marginata, and these features will be discussed under that
form (page 55), which is the common pond turtle of southern Ontario.
Bellii reaches a larger size than marginata, attaining a shell length of
about eight inches, and differs also in colour and pattern.
Colour: Carapace olive green to dark brown; scutes narrowly mar-
gined with yellow and crossed by more or less crescentic wavy yellow
lines; marginals marked with red, yellow and black, the red in our speci-
mens was restricted to a central blotch on the lower side of each marginal.
The Reptiles of Ontario 55
Plastron yellowish to pinkish with a very large central dark blotch which
occupies most of its surface (Fig. 6, PI. VI); this blotch is usually of a
marbled pattern, and sends extensions outward along the sutures between
the scutes to near the edge of the shell, and may enclose a light area in
the centre. Head, neck and limbs marked with yellow longitudinal lines
and spots.
Habits and habitat: We have no notes on the habits of this turtle in
Ontario. It frequents similar kinds of situations to marginata and its
habits are probably quite similar. It may lay a larger complement of
eggs, up to thirteen have been recorded for it in British Columbia.
(Thacker 1924, 164-67).
Western Painted Turtle Chrysemys bellii marginata Agassiz
Range: Southern Ontario and western Quebec north to Timagami
and Biscotasing, west to Lake Superior; lower peninsula of Michigan
south through Indiana to southeastern Illinois and northern Kentucky,
east through Ohio to western Pennsylvania and northwestern New York.
Very common in southern Ontario. We have in our collection two
specimens, one from Lake George, Algoma district, and one from Bisco-
tasing, Sudbury district, which are intermediate between bellii and mar-
ginata. In these the dorsal markings agree with marginata but the plas-
tral dark blotch is very large and more like that of bellii. Bishop and
Schmidt (1931, 131) found intermediates between these two forms to
occur in southeastern Wisconsin and northern and western Illinois.
Size and structure: A small turtle attaining a shell length of about six
inches. Carapace rigid, covered with horny scutes, broad, depressed,
subovate in outline, widest behind the middle, flaring posteriorly. Plas-
tron rigid, large, nearly filling opening of carapace. Head moderate in
size; upper jaw notched in front with a sharp tooth on either side of notch
(Fig. 6, PI. VIII). Tail medium; limbs scaly.
Colour: Carapace olive to brown or black, scutes with yellowish
margins; usually a narrow mid-dorsal stripe of yellowish or reddish.
Marginals brilliantly marked with red and black; crescentic-shaped
streaks and spots of red and black on upper surface, and a central red
blotch on lower surface with smaller red marks around it. Plastron yellow
to pinkish, usually with a dark central blotch (Fig. 5, PI. VI), smaller than
that of bellii and not sending projections outward along the sutures.
This blotch may be absent. Head with yellow stripes changing to red
as they pass backward on the neck. Limbs and tail striped and spotted
with red.
Habits and habitat: This rather aquatic little turtle is common in
ponds, rivers and lakes all over southern Ontario, and may be seen on
56 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
sunny days basking on logs, rocks, muskrat houses, or along the banks.
It is pretty wary and usually drops into the water before one gets very
close to it. It prefers the quiet, weedy and more stagnant situations in
the waters which it inhabits and is common about marshes. When first
picked up it commonly hisses and withdraws the head. Some individuals
will attempt to bite. After a few weeks in captivity it generally becomes
tame and feeds readily from the fingers, but individuals vary in this
respect and some remain nervous and wild.
It is a general feeder, taking both animal and vegetable food, but much
more of the former. Such items as insects, earthworms, fish, snails, cray-
fish, frogs, carrion, and aquatic weeds enter its diet. It swallows with
the head submerged.
Egg-laying takes place about the middle of June, when the females
wander over beaches and fields seeking nesting sites. A flask-shaped hole
is dug in the ground with the hind feet and the eggs, four to eight in
number, usually about six, are deposited in it and covered over with soil
which is trampled and smoothed down. When digging a nest in dry
ground, the excavated earth, as we noted on several occasions, may be
moistened with water ejected by the turtle, apparently to prevent it slip-
ping back into the hole while digging was in process. Late afternoon
appears to be the preferred time for nesting. The eggs are elliptical,
about an inch and an eighth or slightly more in length, have a dullish
white and rather smooth shell, which is easily indented. The young
usually hatch out late in the same summer, but may winter in the ground
as embryos.
Family TRIONYCHIDAE. SOFT-SHELLED TURTLES
Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle Amy da spinijera (Le Sueur)
Range: From the Gulf of Mexico northward spreading fanwise in the
drainage systems of the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers north to
southeastern Montana, southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Lake
Erie and southern Ontario, and eastward in the St. Lawrence drainage
southward of Lake Ontario to Vermont.
Ontario locality records are: Hamilton Bay and Dundas marsh in
Wentworth County; Thames river at Beachville, Oxford County; Grand
river at Dunnville, Haldimand County; Long Point, Norfolk County and
Point Pelee, Essex County. Mr. C. L. Patch informs us that there are
in the National Museum of Canada two specimens labelled "Ottawa",
which were acquired from the old Fisheries Museum, but that "no local
specimens have come to hand during the twenty-five years I have been
The Reptiles of Ontario 57
here." If these specimens were correctly labelled as to locality they are
interesting as the only ones we know of from that locality and as indicating
the occurrence of the soft-shelled turtle on the north side of the St. Law-
rence river. Nash (1908, 17) states that there is one record from the
Ottawa river but cites no data; the reference may be to the above. It
will be noted that most of our records are from Lake Erie or the Lake
Erie drainage. A report of Amyda mutica (Le Sueur) from Lake Erie by
Nash (loc. cit.) for which no authority of other data are given was without
doubt based on misidentification of spinifera.
Size and structure: A large turtle which attains a carapace length of
fourteen inches or more. Form broad and flat (Fig. 2, PI. VII). Carapace
roundly oval in outline and covered with leathery skin instead of horny
scutes, margins flexible; some small spines at anterior end in adults.
Plastron small and set forward so that its anterior margin is about equal
with that of the carapace, but leaving much of the posterior fleshy parts
exposed. Head rather small, slender; snout produced into a narrow,
flexible tube (Fig. 7, PI. VIII) with the nostrils opening at the tip; the
sharp-edged, horny jaws concealed by fleshy lips. Feet with five digits
but with claws on only the first three, extensively webbed, the webs ex-
tending backward as a broad fringe; three large curved scales on anterior
surface of forearm; a large scale on heel, and another above it posteriorly.
Colour: Carapace olive to grayish or brownish with a yellow margin
bordered inside by a black line which narrows and disappears at the front,
and marked with numerous dark spots which are small and solid black
near its margin, but toward the middle of the back become larger and
take the form of black rings with dusky centres. Plastron white or pale
yellow. Head and limbs olive; a dark-bordered yellow line on each side
of snout, through eye, and on to neck; neck more or less spotted with black
and marbled on the sides with black and yellow. Limbs marbled and
spotted with black. Tail with a black-bordered yellow line on either side.
Habits and habitat: A very aquatic species inhabiting lakes and larger
rivers and preferring a muddy or sandy bottom. It is at home in either
deep or shallow water, but has a liking for shallow situations where it can
bury itself in the soft bottom with only its head uncovered, and where by
stretching its long neck the tip of the snout may emerge through the sur-
face of the water for convenience of breathing without disturbing itself.
It feeds very largely upon crayfish but takes other aquatic animals too,
and is not averse to any kind of meat or fish food. Newman (1906, 131)
records the finding of a few plant buds in the stomach of one specimen,
but suggests that they were accidental. Surface (1908, 123) records seeing
the species feeding on grains of corn, and the finding of a considerable
quantity of both white and red corn in the stomach of a specimen exam-
58 The Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology
ined. Like most other turtles, it probably uses a small amount of vege-
table food. The soft-shelled turtle, like the snapper, is of savage temper-
ament and capable of biting severely. Large specimens are dangerous to
handle and remain sullen for a long time in captivity. Small specimens
soon become tame.
Nesting takes place near the middle of June. At Point Pelee the
fishermen told us that that was the only time when the turtles were ever
seen to come ashore, or seen at all unless caught in the pound nets. We
have no observations on the nesting process in Ontario, but this would not
differ from that observed for the species in Indiana by Newman (1906,
132-35). According to this author the majority of nests are in soft beach
sand and not more than six feet from the water. The warmest hours of
the day are selected for nesting, when the females come ashore and deposit
their eggs in holes dug with the hind feet; the nests are then covered with
sand and tamped down with the knuckles of the hind feet. The sets, he
states, number from nine to twenty-four eggs each, and average eighteen.
The eggs are spherical, "of a delicate pink color and with a very thin
brittle shell." Most of the eggs probably hatch in the late summer or
early autumn of the same year.
The Reptiles of Ontario 59
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Canadian Inst., vol. 18, pt. 1, pp. 229-236.
Logier, E. B. S., 1939. Butler's garter-snake, Thamnophis butleri, in Ontario. Copeia,
1939, no. 1, pp. 20-23.
Nash, C. W., 1908. A manual of vertebrates of Ontario. Batrachians and reptiles of
Ontario. Department of Education, Toronto.
Newman, H. H., 1906. The habits of certain tortoises. Journ. Comp. Neurol, and
Psychol., vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 126-152.
Patch, Clyde L., 1919. A rattlesnake, melano garter snakes and other reptiles from
Point Pelee, Ontario. Can. Field-Nat., vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 60-61.
Patch, Clyde L., 1925. Graptemys geographica in Canada. Copeia, no. 147, pp.
95-96.
Patch, Clyde L., 1934. Eumeces in Canada. Copeia, 1934, no. 1, p. 50.
Ridgway, Robert, 1912. Color standards and color nomenclature. Publ. by the
author, pp. i-iv + 1-44, pis. 1-53.
Ruthven, Alexander G., 1908. Variations and genetic relationships of the garterr
snakes. U. S. Nat. Mus., Bull. 61, pp. i-xi + 1-201, figs. 1-82, pi. 1.
Ruthven, Alexander G., Crystal Thompson and Helen T. Gaige, 1928. The
herpetology of Michigan. Mich. Handbook Ser., Univ. Mich. Mus., no. 3, pp.
i-x + 1-229, figs. 1-52, pis. 1-19.
Schaefer, Walter H., 1934. Diagnosis of sex in snakes. Copeia, 1934, no. 4, p. 181,
figs. 1-2.
Schmidt, Karl P., 1938. Herpetological evidence for the postglacial eastward extension
of the steppe in North America. Ecology, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 396-407, figs. 1-9.
Snyder, L. L., 1921. Some observations on Blanding's turtle. Can. Field-Nat., vol.
35, no. 1, pp. 17-18.
Stejneger, Leonard and Thomas Barbour, 1939. A checklist of North American
amphibians and reptiles. Fourth edition. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge.
pp. i-xvi + 1-207.
Surface, H. A., 1906. The serpents of Pennsylvania, Zool. Bull., Div. Zool., Penna.
State Dept. Agric, vol. 4, nos. 4 and 5, pp. 113-208, figs. 4-23, pis. 15-42.
Surface, H. A., 1908. First report on the economic features of turtles of Pennsylvania.
Zool. Bull., Div. Zool., Penna. Dept. Agric, vol. 6, nos. 4 and 5, pp. 105-196, figs.
1-16, pis. 4-12.
Taylor, Edward H., 1935. A taxonomic study of the cosmopolitan scincoid lizards of
the genus Eumeces. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 1-643, figs. 1-84,
pis. 1-43.
The Reptiles of Ontario 61
Thacker, T. L., 1924. Notes on Bell's painted turtles (Chrysemys marginata bellii) in
British Columbia. Can. Field-Nat., vol. 38, no. 9, pp. 164-167, 1 fig.
Toner, G. C, 1934. Pilot black-snake, Elaphe o. obsoleta, in Ontario. Copeia, 1934,
no. 1, p. 47.
Toner, G. C, 1935, Notes on the snakes of Leeds and Frontenac counties, Ontario.
Copeia, 1935, no. 1, pp. 42-43.
Toner, G. C. and W. E. Edwards, 1938. Cold-blooded vertebrates of Grippen lake,
Leeds county, Ontario. Can. Field-Nat., vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 40-43.
Trapido, Harold and Robert T. Clausen, 1938. Amphibians and reptiles of eastern
Quebec. Copeia, 1938, no. 3, pp. 117-125.
Wallace, George J., 1938. A garter-snake with a brood of 73 young. Copeia, 1938,
no. 4, p. 203.
APPENDIX
COLLECTING AND PRESERVING OF SPECIMENS
Collecting: Reptiles may be found in a great variety of natural country that has
not been affected or altered too much by the activities of man. Light, open woods,
clearings, meadows, farms, swamps, marshes, streams, ponds and the shore regions
of lakes are often good collecting grounds. The more aquatic kinds such as turtles
and water snakes, should, of course, be looked for in the vicinity of water. Snakes
are most often found by turning logs, stones, planks or other cover lying on the ground,
or within rotted logs or stumps or beneath loose bark. All our snakes except rattle-
snakes may be picked up by hand. Gloves may be desirable when collecting the larger
kinds of harmless snakes as some are disposed to bite. Rattlesnakes should not be
collected alive by inexperienced persons ; they are best picked up with a snake hook
or a slip noose at the end of a stick. Turtles may be found on land when sunning
themselves or searching for nesting sites, or may be taken in the water by means of
a landing net or a seine, or in cone traps made of mosquito or chicken wire netting,
set in shallow water and baited with meat or dead fish.
Cloth bags are the most satisfactory containers for carrying specimens in the
field. Sugar or flour bags (rehemmed around the edges by a sewing machine) are
very good, or inexpensive bags of assorted sizes may be made of factory cotton. A
stout tie-string of about twenty-four inches in length should be attached by its middle,
about two or three inches below the top of the bag. Bags containing specimens should
not be left in the sun.
Killing: Reptiles may be killed with anaesthetics or by drowing. For the latter
method enclose the specimens in a jar, perforated can, or weighted cloth bag, sub-
merge in tepid or cool water, taking care to liberate all air bubbles. Drowning may
require several hours. The quickest, most humane and convenient method of killing-
is by anaesthesia with the vapour of chloroform, ether or carbon tetrachloride. Carbon
tetrachloride is the most satisfactory because it leaves the specimens limp in death
(and incidentally is both non-inflammable and inexpensive). Place the specimen in
an air-tight can or jar with a wisp of cloth or paper moistened with carbon tetra-
chloride. Snakes and lizards will be unconscious in about five minutes and will die
in about half an hour. Turtles will require several hours.
The killing of reptiles in a formalin or strong alcohol solution is a cruel, barbaric
method for which there is no excuse.
Preservatives: Dilute formalin is the cheapest and most convenient temporary
preservative, and the solution used should not be weaker than five per cent (1 part
formalin to 19 parts water) for immersing specimens; ten per cent is recommended
for injecting. For permanent preservation it is best to use alcohol of seventy-five
or eight per cent strength. If pure alcohol cannot be obtained a good grade of
denatured alcohol will serve the purpose.
Preservation: To preserve a specimen inject the body cavity with ten per cent
formalin and immerse in five per cent formalin (straightening or coiling the specimen
into the desired position, for it cannot be changed afterwards). Allow some days for
the formalin to penetrate and thoroughly harden the tissues ; the time will depend on
the size of the specimen. When well hardened rince in water for a few hours and
transfer to seventy-five or eight per cent alcohol (which should be renewed after a
few weeks). Snakes and lizards should be injected ventrally by means of a hypo-
62
The Reptiles of Ontario 63
dermic syringe — snakes at intervals of one or two inches along the entire length of the
body, and large specimens should also be injected in the basal part of the tail. Turtles
should be injected into the sides of the abdominal cavity in front of the hind legs
and into the thoracic region between the insertion of the front legs and the neck. If
a hypodermic syringe is not available incisions should be made in the body cavity and
base of tail to allow the preserving fluid to enter, otherwise the viscera will decay
before the fluid penetrates the body wall. In snakes, incisions of about an inch in
length should be made at one or two inch intervals for the entire body length; in
turtles they will have to be made in the sides of the body.
Labelling: Before specimens are placed in preservative, a label should be tied to
each, giving the date and locality in which it was captured and the collector's name.
Labels should be of strong paper or parchment and written with a soft graphite pencil
or India ink. Never use ordinary ink for writing labels since it soon bleaches out
in formalin. Several specimens taken at the same time and place may be wrapped
together in cheesecloth and a common label enclosed. Such lots of specimens should
be carefully wrapped and tied to prevent them rubbing together, or against the label.
Containers: Glass jars are the best permanent containers for small specimens;
large specimens may be stored in earthenware crocks, the tops being sealed down with
heavy grease (a mixture of vaseline and bee's wax heated together and containing
enough valenine to remain pliable when cold), or with cloth soaked in hot paraffin
wax and applied hot. Wooden pails with tightly fitting lids make good containers in
the field, or even a box lined with table oilcloth will serve for temporary purposes
so long as the preserving fluid is only formalin in water.
Shipping: When packing specimens for shipment sufficient soft material such
as cotton batting, cheesecloth, or rags should be included to prevent them from rubbing
against each other or against the labels when in transit. Moss, excelsior or paper
will do for packing material. The wrappings and packing should be well saturated
with the preserving fluid, the surplus of which may then be drained off in order to
reduce weight and danger of leakage. After specimens have been thoroughly hardened
in formalin they may be removed from the solution and shipped long distances if
packed to prevent drying. Corks of bottles should be tied down.
Specimens for the museum should be addressed : Royal Ontario Museum of
Zoology, Queen's Park at Bloor Street, Toronto, Canada.
PLATE I
SCUTELLATION OF BLUE-TAILED SKINK
Fig. 1. Side view of head.
Fig. 2. Top view of head.
Fig. 3. Under surface of lower jaw.
Fig. 4. Anal region, showing pair of enlarged preanal scales.
PLATE I
SUPERClLlARlES
PREOCULAR
POSTERIOR LOREAL
ANTERIOR LOREAL
POSTNASAL
SUPRANASAL
NASAL
ROSTRAL
MENTAL
POSTMENTAL (dividw)
CHIN-SHIELDS
ROSTRAL
NASAL
POSTNASAL
ANTERIOR LOREAL
POSTERIOR LOREAL
SUPERCILIARIES
POST OCULARS
PRIMARY TEMPORAL
SECONDARY TEMPORALS
r-POSTLABlALS
Fie. 1
POSTGENIAL
SUPRANASAL
FRONTONASAL
PREFRONTAL
FRONTAL
UPPER LABIALS
LOWER LABIALS
PRIMARY
TEMPORAL
SECONDARY
TEMPORALS
SUPRAOCULARS
FRONTOPARIETAL
INTERPARIETAL
PARIETAL
Fig. 2
MENTAL
POSTMENTAL
(divided)
CHIN-SHIELDS
POSTGENIAL
ENLARGED
PREANAL SCALES
Fie. 3
Fig. 4
PLATE II
SCUTELLATION OF SNAKE
Fig. 1. Side view of head and forward part of body.
Fig. 2. Top view of head.
Fig. 3. Under surface of head.
Fig. 4. Under surface of anal region showing ventral, anal and subcaudal plates.
PLATE II
j
2 5
< _
o in
•- snvigviva jni
J 2
< <
Of
h- "■ <
o
K
z j o ^ 3 < § 3
n»yKuoaS
zSttqaaDO
Of H H
zajamiiaa
II
18
PLATE III
Details of Snakes
Fig. 1. Head of hog-nosed snake showing pointed, protruding snout and the narrow
azygous scale separating the internasals.
Fig. 2. Head of milk snake showing pattern.
Fig. 3. Head of fox snake showing pattern.
Fig. 4. Head of DeKay's snake showing two nasal scales with nostril between; no loreal
plate.
Fig. 5. Head of smooth green snake showing single nasal scale with nostril in middle;
loreal scale present and distinct from nasal.
Fig. 6. Head of smooth green snake showing loreal scale fused with nasal.
Fig. 7. Section of snake's body showing keeled scales.
Fig. 8. Section of snake's body showing smooth (unkeeled) scales.
Fig. 9. Under surface at anal region showing divided anal plate.
Fig. 10. Under surface at anal region showing entire (undivided) anal plate.
Fig. 11. Outline of tails of male and female snakes.
A. Female, tail tapering at base.
B. Male, tail swollen at base.
PLATE III
FlG.l
FiS.2
F.g.3
Fig.4
F.g.5
Fig.6
Fis.7
Fis.9
Fie.8
Fig. 10
Wi]}WiMIM^^^^^^s^^^
F.G.H
B
PLATE IV
Colour Patterns of Snakes
Common garter-snake, side view.
A. Head and neck region.
B. Middle of body.
Butler's garter-snake, side view.
A. Head and neck region.
B. Middle of body.
Ribbon snake, side view.
A. Head and neck region.
B. Middle of body.
Red-barred garter-snake, side view, middle of body, showing typical pattern.
Queen snake.
A. Side view at middle of body.
B. Ventral view at middle of body.
Fig. 6. Common water snake.
A. Side view, forward part of body.
B. Side view, middle of body.
C. Ventral view, middle of body.
Fig.
1.
Fig.
2.
Fig.
3.
Fig.
Fig.
4.
5.
PLATE IV
f*^^^'~'^r-^^r-^('^^^~~iv^~~^^^**^*~^r-^~-^^*^-*'
fJSS^t'-v*
g?aj2
2^£*3
iSj>^^?«*fS>j*
*&^jt^^
Fie. 1 B
F.g. 4
Fig. 2 B
Fie. 5 B
B
Fig. 3 B
F.g. 6 C
PLATE V
Features of Rattlesnakes
Fig. 1. Head of massasauga, side view, showing pit and vertical eye pupil.
Fig. 2. Head of massasauga, top view, showing large symmetrical scales between eyes.
Fig. 3. Head of timber rattlesnake, top view, showing small irregular scales between
eyes.
Fig. 4. Diagram of venom apparatus of rattlesnake.
Fig. 5. Diagram of bones involved in biting mechanism of rattlesnake.
A. Jaws closed, fang folded back against roof of mouth.
B. Jaws open and fang erected for biting.
Fig. 6. Rattle of timber rattlesnake.
Fig. 7. Diagram of section through basal portion of rattle showing interlocking attach-
ment of rattle segments.
PLATE V
FlG.1
VENOM DUCT
COMMUNICATES
WITH FRONT OF
BASE OF FANG
FLESHY
SHEATH
ORIFICE OF FANG
VENOM DUCT
-•--7/ ^PHANTOM SKETCH OF TONGUE
,y (not extruded WHEN BITING)
Fig. 4
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
F.G.5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
PLATE VI
Details of Turtles
Fig. 1. Scutes of carapace.
Fig. 2. Scutes of plastron (showing also the axillary and inguinal scutes which are
interposed between the carapace and plastron at the edges of the bridge.)
Fig. 3. Plastron of musk turtle showing small size in relation to carapace (dotted).
and relatively short, wide bridge.
Fig. 4. Plastron of snapping turtle showing small size in relation to carapace (dotted),
and relatively long, narrow bridge.
Fig. 5. Plastron of western painted turtle. Median dark blotch restricted to central
region.
Fig. 6. Plastron of Bell's turtle. Median dark blotch covering most of plastron, with
extensions outward along sutures.
PLATE VI
AXILLARY
NGUINAL
Fig. 1
Fig.2
F.g.3
Fig. 4-
F.g.5
F,g 6
PLATE VII
Figures of Turtles
Fig. 1. Young snapping turtle, showing sculpturing of carapace, and long tail with
dorsal tubercles.
Fig. 2. Soft-shelled turtle, showing roundly oval outline of carapace and dorsal
markings.
PLATE VII
Fig. 1
fe"r
Fig. 2
PLATE VIII
Details of Turtles
Fig. 1. Head of musk turtle. Lower jaw only hooked at tip.
Fig. 2. Head of snapping turtle. Upper and lower jaws hooked at tip.
Fig. 3. Head of spotted turtle. Upper jaw notched at tip, but without teeth at sides
of notch.
Fig. 4. Head of wood turtle. Upper arched downwards in front and notched at tip.
Fig. 5. Head of map turtle. Upper jaw without notch, lower not hooked at tip.
Fig. 6. Head of painted turtle. Upper jaw notched at tip, a sharp tooth at either
side of notch.
Fig. 7. Head of soft-shelled turtle. Snout produced into tube-like form.
Fig. 8. Carapace of spotted turtle. Covered with smooth (or nearly smooth) horny
scutes, neither keeled or serrated.
Fig. 9. Carapace of wood turtle. Scutes deeply sculptured; carapace serrated behind,
and with a median keel.
Fig. 10. Profile outline of male turtle (spotted). Plastron concave; vent distant from
base of tail.
Fig. 11. Profile outline of female turtle (spotted). Plastron slightly convex (or flat);
vent close to base of tail.
PLATE VIII
F.&l
F.e.5
Fie. 7
Fie.3
Fig. 6
Fig.8
Fig. 9
Fie. 10
Fl6.ll
INDEX
Acknowledgments 11. 12
Alcohol 62
Amphibians, Differences from 5
Atnyda mutica 57
Amyda spiriifera 46, 56
Anal plate 1-
Anus 12
Bell's turtle 45, 54
Blanding's turtle 14, 46, 51
Blowing adder 21
Blue racer 19, 23
Blue-tailed skink 14, 16
Body form and specialization 6
Bridge 13
Butler's Garter-snake 19, 33
Carapace 13
Chelydra serpentina 45, 47
Chelydridae, Family 47
Chrysemys bellii bcllii 45, 54
Chrysemys bellii marginata 45, 55
Cold-blooded, meaning of 5
Collecting and preserving of speci-
mens 62
Coluber constrictor flaviventris .... 19, 23
Colubridae 18, 20
Common Garter-snake 19, 36
Common water snake 18, 19, 29
Containers 63
Copperheads 18, 26
Copulatory organs 10, 13
Counties, index to 2
Crocodiles 8
Crotalidae, Family 8, 18, 38
Crotahts cinereous 41
Crotalus horridus horridus 20, 42
Defence of harmless snakes 8
DeKay's snake 18, 31
Descriptions 15
Diadophis punctatus edwardsii 19, 20
Differences from amphibians 5
Distribution 14
Dorsal scales 12, 13
Ears 9
Eggs of amphibians 5
Eggs of reptiles 5
Elaphe obsolcta obsolcta 19, 24
Elaphe vulpina 19, 25
Emys blandingii 46, 51
Eumeces anthracinus 16, 17
Eumcccs fasciafus 16
Eumeces scptentrionalis scptcntricnalis
16, 17
Eyes 9
Fangs 8, 38, 39, 41
Feet of turtles 6, 7
Fertilization of eggs 10
Food and methods of feeding 7, 8
Foreword 5
Formalin 62
Fox snake 18, 19, 25
Garter-snake, Butler's 19, 33
Garter-snake, Common 19, 36
Garter-snake, Prairie 37
Garter-snake, Red-barred 19, 37
Gastrosteges 12
Gills 5
Graptemys geographica 46, 53
Hardwood rattler 18, 26
Harmless snakes 20
Harmless snakes, Defence of 8
Hearing, Sense of 9, 10
Heat toleration of reptiles 6
Hcterodon contortrix 20, 21
Hemipenes 13
Hog-nosed snake 20, 21
Hoop-snake 26
Identification, Characters used in.. 12, 13
Introduction 5
Island water snake 19, 30
Jacobson's organ
10
Keys to the reptiles, How to use 15
Key to the snakes of Ontario 18
Key to the turtles of Ontario 45
Killing of prey by snakes 8
Killing of specimens 62
Kinosternidae, Family 46
Labelling 63
Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum
19, 26
Limbs of turtles 6, 7
Literature 59
Little brown snake 15, 18, 31
Little Gray rattlesnake 39
Lizards, Generalized form of 6
Maps 2, 3
Map turtle 46, 53
Massasauga 20, 39
Metamorphosis 5
Milk snake 19, 26
Moccasin, Water 18
Musk turtle 45, 46
Matrix scptemvittata
19, 28
Index
Natrix sipedon insularum 19, 30
Matrix sipedon sipedon 19, 29
Northern Water Snake 29
Ontario, Subdivisions of 3
Opheodrys vernalis 19, 23
Oviparous 10
Ovoviviparous 10
Painted turtle 45, 55
Pilot black snake 14, 15, 19, 24
Pit vipers 38
Plastron 13
Prairie Garter-snake 37
Preservation 62
Queen snake 19, 28
Rattle 38, 39
Rattler, Hardwood 18, 26
Rattlesnakes 8, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43
Rattlesnake, Swamp or Little Gray.... 39
Rattlesnake, Timber or Banded .... 20, 42
Red-barred Garter-snake 19, 37
Red-bellied snake 18, 32
Reptiles in general 5
Reproduction 10
Respiration 5
Ribbon Snake 19, 35
Ring-necked Snake 19, 20
Scales 5, 12, 13, 16
Scent glands 8, 13
Scincidae, Family 16
Scutes 6, 10, 13
Senses 9, 10
Sex, Determination of 13
Shedding of skin 10, 39
Shell (of turtles) 6, 13
Shipping 63
Sight, Sense of 9
Sistrnriis catenatus catenatus 20, 39
Skinks, The 16
Skin of reptiles 5
Smell, Sense of 10
Smooth Green Snake 19, 23
Snakes of Ontario, Key to the 18
Snapping Turtle 7, 45, 47
Soft-shelled Turtle, Spiny 7, 46, 56
Specialization 6
Spotted Turtle 45, 49
Stcrnothcrus odoratus 45, 46
Stcrcria dekayi 18, 31
Storeria occipito-maculata 18, 32
Striped Water Snake 19, 28
Subcaudals 13
Swallowing apparatus of snakes 7
Tail 13
Teeth 7, 8
Temperature, Body 5, 6
Terrapins 49
Testudinidae, Family 49
Thamnophis butleri 19, 33
Thamnophis sauritus sauritus 19, 35
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis 19, 36
Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis 19, 37
Timber Rattlesnake 20, 42
Tongue 9
Tortoise 6, 8
Tortoises .... 49
Trionychidae, Family 56
Turtle 6, 8
Turtles of Ontario, Key to the 45
Venom 41
Venom apparatus of snakes 8
Vent 12, 13
Ventrals 7, 12, 16
Vertebrates 5
Viperidae, Family 8
Vipers 8, 38
Water Moccasin 18
Water Snake, Common 18, 19, 29
Water Snake, Island 19, 30
Water Snake, Striped 28
Western Painted Turtle 55
Womper 26
Wood Turtle 14, 45, 50
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