1856.] 95 



Unio Buojvnii. Testa Irevi, obovata, valde compressa, valde in?cqinlaterali ; 

 valvulis sabcrassis; natibus proiuinulis, costis divaricatis; epidermide tenebroso- 

 viridi, striata; dentibus cardinalibns submagnis, in utraque valvis duplicis ; 

 lateralibus lamellatis, sublongis curvisque ; margarita alba. 



Hab. Mocha? Asia. Capt. George Brown. 



Unio suavidicus. Testa IsEvi, oblonga, subcompressa, valde insequilaterali, 

 antice rotvindata, postice tnmcata, natibus subpromincntibus, costis elevatis ; 

 epidermide luteo-oliva, minute striata ; dentibus cardinalibus parvis, compressis, 

 crcnulatis, in utraque valvis duplicis, lateralibus longis, lamellatis subrectisque; 

 margarita ca.'ruleo-alba et iride'scente. 



Hab. River Amazon. Mr. E. Verreau, Paris. 



Unio umbrosus. Testa Insvi, elliptica, subinflata, ina?quilaterali ; valvulis 

 subcrassis ; natibus prominulis ; epidermide castanea, polita, transverse fasciata; 

 dentibus cardinalibus magnis, subelevatis ; lateralibus longis, lamellatis sub- 

 curvisque ; margariti vel purpurea vel rosei et iridescente. 



Ilab. Medellin River, Mexico. M. Burrougb, M. D. 



Description of a nere Snake from Illinoig. 

 By Robert Kennicott. 

 Regina Kirtlandii. 



The body of this species is somewhat trigonal in cross sections, (flattened on 

 the abdomen.) and tapers gently from the middle to either extremity. .There is 

 no distinction of neck, and the very small head calls to mind that of the Colultr 

 amoenus of Say. It is, however, much larger, and the scales are very strongly 

 coirinated. The carinie are found on all the longitudinal rows of scales, of which 

 there are nineteen exclusive of the belly scales ; the external row is almost as 

 sharply keeled as those on the back, even to the tip of the tail. The dorsal 

 scales are narrow and elongated, the sides nearly parallel except near the ends. 



As already stated, the head is very small. The vertical plate is sub-hexago- 

 nal, the two anterior sides forming a very obtuse angle ; the external edges are 

 slightly convergent posteriorly. The nostrils in the middle of the two plate.?. 

 Tb.ere is one ante-orbital and two post-orbitals ; there are six labials above and 

 seven below, in addition to the rostrals. 



The ground color of this snake is a light purplish brown, with four rows of 

 large nearly circular blotches covering the whole back and sides. They are 

 arranged so as to alternate ; the outer blotches on the outer row are a little 

 larger than those on the two central ones, and are of the width of four or five 

 scales. The belly is of a pale brick red, (fading to brownish yellow in alcohol.) 

 with a well defined blotch of black near the exterior of each scale. These give 

 rise to a series of very well defined round black spots on either side of the abdo- 

 men ; and there is also an obscure series of dark blotches on the anterior edge 

 of the scales in the exterior dorsal row. The dots in this series are separated 

 by intervals of two unmarked scales. The spots of this row alternate with those 

 of the larger series immediately above. 



On separating the scales, the skin is seen to be colored like the adjacent scales. 

 It is black in the dark blotches and very light in the intermediate space, giving 

 rise to the appearance of whitish edges to the scales. 



There are thus four series of large spots on the back and sides, two on the 

 belly, and two in the exterior dorsal rows, making eight in all. The last men- 

 tioned row is sometimes very obscure, the others are always distinct. 



I refer this serpent to the genus Regina of B. and G., although it is different 

 in some respects from the other known species. It is somewhat like the R. rigida^ 

 but is differently marked ; the latter having the two abdominal rows close to- 

 gether on the middle of the belly, instead of being separated. Neither is there 



