18 LEPTOPHIS iESTIVUS. 



Description. The head is much elongated, oval, narrow, and rather pointed in 

 front, and covered with plates, of which the vertical is elongated, pentagonal, 

 broadest in front and pointed behind. The superior orbital is oblong, quadrilateral, 

 and projects slightly over the eye. The occipital plates are very large and 

 irregularly pentagonal. The frontal plates are pentagonal, and narrow externally, 

 where they descend to join a small, quadrilateral, loral plate. The anterior 

 frontal are quadrilateral, with their posterior and external angles prolonged. The 

 rostral plate is semicircular, concave below and convex above. The nasal plate is 

 single on each side, regularly quadrilateral, and perforated in the centre for the 

 nostril. There is one anterior orbital plate, large, quadrilateral, concave behind, 

 and two smaller posterior orbital plates. The inferior margin of the orbit is 

 completed by the third and fourth labial plates, which are six in number; the last 

 is a parallelogram, and very large. 



The nostrils are large, and placed laterally. The eyes are large; the pupil 

 black, the iris golden. The neck is much contracted. The body is greatly elon- 

 gated, and covered with carinated scales above and on the sides; the two or 

 three inferior rows only are smooth. The tail is very long, cylindrical, and 

 pointed at the tip. 



Colour. The colour of the whole animal above is golden-green, more or less 

 bright, according to the age of the animal or season of the year; below it is a 

 milky-white. 



Dimensions. Length of head, 1 lines; greatest breadth of head, 4 lines; length 

 of body, 22 inches; length of tail, 12 inches; circumference of body, 1 inch. In 

 the individual here described there were 160 abdominal plates and 140 sub-caudal 

 bifid plates. 



Habits. This beautiful snake is perfectly harmless and gentle, easily domesti- 

 cated, and takes readily its food from the hand. I have seen it carried in the 

 pocket, or twisted round the arm or neck as a plaything, without ever evincing 



