174 COLUBRID^: 



occasionally even continue some way down the 

 anterior part of the body. This livery persists in 

 some half-grown specimens. 



In young individuals from Syria (var. asianus) the 

 head is not differently coloured from the olive-brown 

 body, and the markings described above appear as 

 mere traces ; on the other hand, the whole body has 

 black and yellow spots or cross-bars above, and the 

 belly is profusely marked with round black spots. 



In the new-born of the var. caspius, of which I 

 have examined only one specimen, n inches long, 

 from the Crimea, the head is olive-brown like the 

 body, which bears dark brown spots and narrow 

 cross-bars ; and there is a dark brown streak along 

 the middle of the nape, as is sometimes the case in 

 the typical form. The belly is unspotted. A young 

 from Malta is intermediate in its markings between 

 the typical form and this variety. 



The young of the so-called black variety are not 

 black at birth, but similar to the normal young of the 

 races to which they belong. 



The four principal forms — viridiflavus, gemonensis, 

 caspius, and asianus — are so completely connected that 

 I cannot regard them as more than geographical 

 races or varieties. 



Size. — This handsome snake grows to a length of 

 6 feet, the var. caspius even to 8 feet. I have seen a 

 specimen of this variety, from Salonica, which 

 measures 7§ feet. 



