Zoology of New-York, Or the New-York Fauna; Comprising Detailed Description of All the Animals Hitherto Observed Within the State of New-York, with ... Its Borders. Reptiles and amphibia Volume 3 - James E. de Kay, Paperback

• Release Date   9/13/2013
• ISBN-13   9781130405552 | 978-1-130-40555-2
• ISBN   1130405559 | 1-130-40555-9
• Format   Paperback
• Author(s)   James E. de Kay
• This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1842 edition. Excerpt: ...of ditferent stre"th and qualities. A good guide is much wanted to exhibit the cha"es which certain colors undergo after immersion in spirits. It has b"n ascertained that the brilliant green of reptiles changes to dull bl". yellow changes to white. the black, brown and metallic colors remain unaltered. red-ecomes brownish, or is finally obliterated. It may not be unimportant to ad, that by exposing a reptile which has been for some time in spirits, for a short time to the rays of the sun, we may, by the reflected light, form some judgmeat of the original marki"s. Var. a. Reddish above. spotted between the scales with dusky. the dorsal stripe bright red, the lateral ones yellowish. Var. b. Light-colored above, with a row of dark spots in place of dorsal and lateral stripes. We suppose this may have been possibly intended for the triple rang of Lacépéde, cited above. Var. c. The dorsal stripe alone visible, with two series of alternate black spots on each side. It is this variety which we have selected, as it has often been confounded with another species not found in these latitudes. Var. d. The whole under surface of a deep mahogany color. Abdominal plates, _ _ 145-155. Length, ______ _ _ _ _ _ _-_ 42 ' 0. Caudal plates, _ _ _ _ 55--65. Ditto of tail, _-_--_ _ _-_ 7'0-Thé short linnean description of C. sirtalis, from a specimen furnished by Kalm, may p08sibly have been intended for this species. but the characters are too insuficient and too inaccurate to authorize the adoption of that name. On the authority of my lamented friend, the late Mr. Say, (in letters to me,) I had been disposed to refer the species under consideration to the ordinatus. Linneus, however, had evidently some small southern...