ZAMENIS 173 



garia, Roumania, Greece, Turkey, Southern Russia, 

 Northern Asia Minor, and North-West Persia, the 

 upper parts are pale olive or reddish-brown, with or 

 without brown or black spots, and each scale bears a 

 yellowish or pale brown longitudinal streak ; there is 

 often a dark longitudinal streak on the nape ; the 

 belly is uniform orange or red. 



Another variety, var. asianus, Boettger, from Asia 

 Minor, Rhodes. Cyprus, and Syria, has the upper 

 parts brown or olive, each scale with a longitudinal 

 light streak, and there are usually 'large black 

 spots relieved by yellowish shafts ; the belly is red, 

 spotted or dotted with black. Melanism is frequent 

 in this form, such specimens being entirely black 

 except on the chin and throat, which are yellow 

 variegated with red. 



The very young of the typical form, as well 

 as that of the var. viridiflavus, has a striking livery 

 (Plate IV., first figure), the head and nape black 

 with yellow markings, or olive with black-edged yellow 

 markings, contrasting sharply with the pale olive-grey 

 of the body ; the most conspicuous and constant of the 

 yellow markings consist of a bar between the eyes, 

 interrupted on the frontal shield, but sometimes con- 

 tinuous with the yellow of the postoculars, five or six 

 small round spots on the parietal shields, and a 

 V- or W-shaped line just behind the parietals, fol- 

 lowed by one or two others separating the dark 

 cross-bars which may be present on the nape, and 



