CORONELLA 199 



A colour variety, of which I have examined a single 

 specimen from near Vienna, is pale brown above, 

 with four black lines along the anterior part of the 

 body, and two small, yellowish, dark-edged spots 

 close together on the back of the head, separated by 

 the suture between the parietal shields. 



Werner has described another variety, also from 

 near Vienna, which resembles Coluber leopardinus, 

 having two series of large, brown, dark - edged 

 spots along the back, some of the spots alternating, 

 others uniting across the back. Apparently very 

 similar to the last variety, and also said to be 

 suggestive of Coluber leopardinus, is the var. scalaris, 

 Sternfeld, from Liineburg in Hanover, reddish- 

 brown above, with two row r s of bright red, black- 

 edged spots, partly confluent and connected across 

 the spine by transverse bars producing a ladder- 

 like pattern. Specimens of a uniform greyish- 

 brown, without any markings, are very rare. The 

 var. veithi, Schreiber, established on a single speci- 

 men from Carinthia, represents a case of melanism : 

 bluish-black, with the normal markings of an intense 

 black. Two specimens of a " black variety " are said 

 to have been found in this country, near Poole. 



Size. — Seldom exceeds a length of 2 feet, and in 

 many districts, in England for instance, does not 

 appear to often reach that size. The largest speci- 

 men, from Austria, examined by me, measures 

 25 inches ; one from Hampshire measures 24 inches. 



