488 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ACADEMY OF 



OPHIDIA. 



Sub. ord. Opisthoglypb.es. 



Gen. Megalops nob. 



Gen. char. Mandibular teeth, increasing in length posteriorly, recurved, 

 nearly straight; two internasals much smaller than the prefrontals ; frontal a 

 little loager than broad, pentangular; a frenal ; two antoculars, two post- 

 oculars; eye resting on the fourth supra-labial; pupil ovoid: eyes very 

 prominent ; body slender, much compressed ; abdomen angular ; tail rather 

 short. 



Megalops macolatus nob. 



Spec. char. Twenty-one rows of smooth scales ; body presenting numerous 

 sub-quadrangular and oblique blotches above, of a brown color ; intermediate 

 spaces white with a tinge of yellow ; under surface white. 



Abdom. scuta 170. A bifid praeanal; 61 subcaudal scutellas. 



Dimensions. Length of head, neck and body 1 foot, 2 inches, 10 lines ; length 

 of tail 3| inches. 



Habitat. Tahiti. One specimen, collected by Mr. Adams. 



Gen. remarks. The posterior teeth in the upper jaw have been destroyed in 

 the specimen, so that it is impossible to determine the family to which it 

 belongs ; most probably of the order Opisthoglyphes ; the head is otherwise 

 much injured. A small and not very prepossessing looking serpent. 



Sub. ord. Serp. Aglyphodontes ou Azemiophides, D. $ B. 



Gen. Aepidea nob. 



Char. Head long and narrow, broader posteriorly, almost truncate in front," 

 teeth smooth recurved, the anterior, both in the upper and lower jaw, longer 

 than the posterior; the same is the case with the palatines, equally spaced ; 

 nine plates upon the top of the head, the prefrontals remarkable for their large 

 size; frontal longer than broad; two large occipitals ; body very long, much 

 thicker in the middle, compressed, with smooth scales, broader and shorter upon 

 the back than upon the sides ; abdomen angular; tail about one-third the 

 length of head and body; urostega bifid ; praeanal scute bifid. 



Aepidea robusta nob. 



Description. The teeth are strong, sharp-pointed, much inclined backward, 

 the eyes are of moderate size, the pupil round; the rostral plate is triangular 

 in shape, broader than high, the internasals of moderate size, the prefrontals 

 very large, and more or less rhomboidal in shape ; the frontal quite broad 

 anteriorly, its latero-superior angles bevelled, presenting an obtuse angle 

 posteriorly; the supra-oculars long, of moderate breadth behind ; the occipitals 

 much longer than broad ; nostrils between two plates, large ; the posterior the 

 larger of the two ; the frenal is remarkable for its great length and unusual 

 position ; its upper margin is curved, terminating in a point posteriorly, about 

 one-half of it passing below the antocular; there are ten superior labials ; the 

 eye resting on the sixth and seventh ; the seventh is larger and of quite a 

 different shape from the others, its posterior portion being prolonged upward 

 and backward to meet the inferior postocular; the antocular is remarkable for 

 its very large size ; it is more or less rhomboidal in shape, in contact in front 

 with the prefrontal, above with the frontal and supra-ocular, below by the 

 greater part of its extent with the frenal, and with the fifth and sixth supra- 

 labials ; of the two postoculars the superior is somewhat larger than the 

 inferior; the anterior genials are much larger than the posterior ; the neck is 

 long and slender, the body much thicker, compressed en toit ; scales smooth, 

 those upon the sides lanceolate, the four or five rows upon the back larger ; 

 abdomen very angular; tail of moderate length, scales hexagonal; the "two 



[Oct. 



