TROPIDONOTUS 163 



several times in Dalmatia, has been described as 

 var. flavescens, Werner. Yellowish-white or brownish- 

 yellow above, with small blackish spots ; belly 

 whitish in the middle, with a series of black spots, 

 bright yellow on the sides ; eye and tongue red. 



Size. — This snake occasionally reaches a length of 

 4 feet, but specimens over 3 feet are rare. The 

 largest specimen in the British Museum measures 

 3 feet 10 inches. 



Distribution. — The Tessellated Snake has a wide 

 range in Europe and Asia. It is found south of the 

 Alps, from Liguria to Naples, and eastwards, extend- 

 ing northwards over the greater part of Austria- 

 Hungary, and even as far as Saxony, and again re- 

 appears to the west in various localities of the Middle 

 Rhine district (from Bingen to Coblenz and Kreuz- 

 nach, from Nassau to Lahnstein) and of the Moselle. 

 From Southern Russia it extends into Siberia as far as 

 the Altai, the extreme west of China, and the extreme 

 north-west of India; it is also found in Asia Minor, 

 Transcaucasia, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, and the 

 neighbouring parts of Egypt. Italy and the Rhine 

 constitute the western limit of its range in Europe. 

 It does not ascend to any considerable altitude 

 in the mountains of Europe, but it is on record from 

 6,000 feet elevation in Chitral. 



Habits. — This is a far more aquatic species than 

 the preceding, being seldom found in summer away 

 from the water, in which it swims and dives to 



