1915.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 131 



length of No. 9,256, U. S. N. M., which is given by Cope as tyiDical. 

 A table of measurements of various parts of the body shows a close 

 agreement in the relative sizes of body parts. The plates of the 

 head agree fairly well in number, but differ greatly in size and shape. 

 One of the most variable of the plates is the first supraorbital, which 

 may be entire, cleft, parted or completely divided, cutting off a small 

 caudolateral portion as a separate plate. The frontoparietals are 

 usually subequal to the parietals, but are sometimes smaller, seldom 

 larger. The frontal is usually pentagonal in shape, but the surface 

 varies from a deeply three-ridged condition, which is the most 

 common, through an obsoletely three-ridged surface to one practically 

 flat or slightly convex. The interparietal plate is sometimes bifid, 

 sometimes flat, but oftenest high at the centre and at the edge, 

 wdth a submarginal depression or moat which is well defined. Pos- 

 terior to the parietals and interparietal the plates are most irregular 

 and variable. In some specimens one or two distinct rows of plates 

 are found in this region, with from five to eight plates in a row; in 

 others only one well-defined row is present, and this is often inter- 

 spaced with very small plates or scales; more often all of the plates 

 of this region are small and indefinite in arrangement. The super- 

 ciliaries of the orbit vary from three to six, the usual number appear- 

 ing to be five. Of these the anterior two are carinate and the others 

 are convex or flat. The inferior orbitals range from three to five, 

 the anterior and posterior being usually small. The superior labials 

 are generally five in number; one specimen examined showed seven, 

 two had six, and one, four. One of the most constant of the charac- 

 ters of the species seemed to be the femoral pores, of which fifteen 

 were found in the most typical specimens, the range being from 

 thirteen to seventeen, but other numbers than fifteen appearing 

 very rarely. The anal plates, on the other hand, were decidedly 

 variable. In the majority of cases these plates agree with Cope's 

 description: "three large scales, placed in a triangle, two posterior 

 to the other and with smaller scales behind." This arrangement 

 seems to be typical, but even in the comparatively small series from 

 the Okefinokee one specimen was found with only one anal plate, 

 four with two — one posterior to the other — one with three in a 

 longitudinal row, and several showed a wide granular space between 

 the plates and the vent. In other regions the plates are quite 

 uniform and agree well with the arrangements noted by Cope. 



The color is quite constant and the stripes persist through life, 

 never becoming obsolete. A faint brownish band, sometimes 



