CORONELLA 



197 



14. Coronella austriaca, Laurenti 

 (Coluber Iczvis, Lacepede) 

 The Smooth Snake 



Form. — Moderately slender ; snout more or less 

 prominent, sometimes decidedly pointed ; tail one- 

 fourth (males) to one-sixth (females) of the total 

 length. The considerable differences to be observed 

 in the shape of the snout are merely individual, speci- 

 mens with more prominent snout and a corresponding 

 development of the 

 rostral shield (C. 

 italica, Fitz.,fitzin- 

 geri, Bonap.) oc- 



Fig. 27 (after Sordelli) 



curring over the 

 greater part of 

 the range of the 

 species. 



Head - Shields. — 

 Rostral at least as 

 deep as broad, more or less produced posteriorly 

 between the internasals, the portion visible from 

 above at least half as long (in some specimens 

 quite as long) as its distance from the frontal, 

 rarely separating the internasals. Frontal once and 

 one-fourth to once and a half as long as broad* 

 much broader than the supraocular, as long as 

 or longer than its distance from the end of the 

 snout, shorter than the parietals, widely separated 



