Western Ribbon Snake

Eutaenia proxima, (Say)

Colouration: The body is marked with three vividly defined stripes, on a black or dark brown ground, but the stripe on the back is quite different in shade from those on the sides. With the greater number of specimens the stripe on the back is deep orange-yellow, while the side stripes are pale greenish-yellow. Beneath the stripe on the side is a band of black or dark brown--covering the 1st and 2d rows of scales--and causing this paler stripe to appear in bold contrast.
Dimensions: The measurements given are of an adult female specimen, captured near Dallas City, Illinois.
Distribution: The Central States (the Mississippi Valley) including Indiana and Illinois in the East and Wisconsin in the North, thence southward to Louisana. Westward, throughout eastern Texas and eastern Mexico as far south as central Vera Cruz.
Habits: In habits this snake appeals to the two preceding species. It is very quick in its motions, and appears to be perfectly at home in the water, swimming with agility and extreme grace and diving to the bottom of a pond or stream and there secreting itself among aquatic plants.

In general outlines this species resembles the common ribbon snake, but the body is distinctly stouter, the tail proportionately shorter and the head broader.

The abdomen is immaculate greenish-white.

Variations.--The ground colour varies as does the colour of the stripes. Specimens from the Mississippi Valley are usually jet-black, or very dark brown, with an orange stripe on the back and pale greenish stripes on the sides. Frequent specimens from Texas possess a bright red stripe on the back. The ground colour of Texas and Mexican specimens varies into rich shades of green. There are no tessellated markings between the stripes, as seen with several of the commoner species of this genus.

Total Length . . . . . 30 1/2 inches.

Length of Tail . . . . . 8 1/2 inches.

Greatest Diameter . . . . . 5/8 inches.

Width of Head . . . . . 1/2 inches.

Length of Head . . . . . 13/16 inches.

Captive specimens are very hardy, and will live indefinitely upon a diet of small frogs or fishes. A number of specimens in the writer's collection were very fond of climbing into a small branch that had been placed in their cage. Here they would coil in a tight cluster, with heads protruding in every direction. Upon the introduction of food they would dart for the prey in frenzied fashion, the lucky individuals thrashing their tails violently as if to distract the attention of their hungry associates from the morsels in the jaws of the former. One of these snakes gave birth to fifteen young on the 24th of August.