The present sample of _T. gracilis_ from Kansas is clearly within the geographic range of _T. g. hallowelli_ as mapped by Kirn _et al._ (1949:241). However, for the sample from Kansas, the mean number of subcaudals of males is well within the diagnostic range for _T. g. gracilis_ (Table 6), the mean number of subcaudals of females is closer to the mean of _gracilis_ than it is to the mean of _hallowelli_ (Table 5), and the mean of the ratio of tail length to total length of both sexes is within or very close to the diagnostic range for _gracilis_ (Table 6). [Illustration: FIG. 6. Frequency polygons presenting ratios of tail length to total length for males of _T. g. gracilis_ and _T. g. hallowelli_ from Kirn, _et al._ (1949). The dotted vertical lines represent the means given by Kirn, _et al._ (1949) for _gracilis_ (left) and _hallowelli_ (right); the solid vertical lines represent the recalculated means for _gracilis_ and _hallowelli_, respectively, using the data of Kirn, _et al._ The hatched bars represent the range included by Kirn, _et al._ (1949) in their diagnoses of _gracilis_ (left) and _hallowelli_ (right).] TABLE 6. Comparison of the Means of Some Characteristics of the Sample of _Tantilla gracilis_ from Kansas (Our Data) with Some of the Diagnostic Characteristics (Kirn _et al._, 1949:240) of _Tantilla gracilis gracilis_. ============================================================ |Diagnostic range for | Mean of the sample CHARACTERISTIC | _T. g. gracilis_ |("_T. g. hallowelli_") | | from Kansas ---------------+---------------------+---------------------- No. of | | subcaudals | 40-50 | 48.4 (N = 109) males | | | | Tail L./ | | Total L. | .160-.200 | .20 (N = 79) females | | | | Tail L./ | | Total L. | .200-.235 | .23 (N = 109) males | | ---------------+---------------------+---------------------- Smith and Sanders (1952:218) pointed out an error in the range of subcaudals in female _T. g. gracilis_ as stated in table 1 (p. 247) of Kirn _et al._ We add some additional corrections that should be made on the same page. In table two, column two ("Sex"), the words "male" and "female" are reversed for each characteristic. Also, in table two, column four ("Means from data of Force"), the means for caudals should be corrected from 33.61 to 43.61 in females and from 39.99 to 50.32 in males, as based on our recalculations from Force's data; we did not recalculate the means of Force's data for the other characteristics.