116 BULLETIN : MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 



lines and bands. Longitudinal lines three in number, very distinct, 

 dark brown or black, extending throughout length of body, except 

 on head. Lines i)laced symmetrically on body, one in dorso-median 

 line ; other two placed on or a little beneath lateral margins. Mark- 

 ings often have a velvety lustre, and in some lights appear iridescent 

 or show a rich, dark blue reflection. Median line much broader 

 than the others ; it extends forward to extreme tip of snout, joining 

 narrow transverse terminal line of same color. Longitudinal lines 

 continue through transverse bands, or rings, usually expanding a 

 little as the rings are joined. Median line occuj)ies perha])s one 

 seventh the diameter of body in intestinal region. 



liateral, or marginal, lines commence at the broad neck band (the 

 first transverse band). Lateral Unes scarcely more than one third 

 as wide as median line, but yet sharp and clear cut in anterior por- 

 tion of body, becoming more irregular in outline in intestinal region. 

 On anterior third of body longitudinal Unes are situated directly in 

 the yellow ground color, but in intestinal region the median line is 

 separated from the rose colored ground color of the mature females 

 by an irregular border of sage green thickly flecked with whitish 

 dots. Green color probably represents the general ground color 

 when sexual ])roducts are absent ; rose color is apparently due to 

 thickly placed sacs of rose colored ova. 



Transverse markings very numerous and of various ^adths ; first 

 two bands more than half as mde as body, those back of fourth 

 miich narrower, becoming extremely fine in some cases and incom- 

 plete in others. Wider bands commonly se}»arated by one or two 

 much finer ones. First transverse marking narrow, bordering ex- 

 treme tip of head, distinctly visible only from in front. Second 

 transverse marking broad and shield-shaped on dorsal surface, nar- 

 rower laterally, interrupted on the ventral surface by mouth. Per- 

 haps seventy to one hundred transverse bands occur in an individual 

 measuring 50 cm. in length. 



Ventral surface anteriorly of same color as dorsal surface, but 

 showing a more conspicuous flecking of minute whitish dots. In 

 intestinal region yellow color gradually assumes a shade of sage 

 green or very light olive green, this color extending through to end 

 of body. Green color is more or less obscured by an irregular coating 

 of very fine whitish dots. 



After preservation in formalin or in alcohol the portion of body 



