119 



COLUBER ABACURUS. 



Plate XXIII. 



Characters. Head short, thick, as large as the neck, and not distinct; eyes 

 and nostrils superior and near the snout: body bluish-black above; flanks marked 

 with transverse bands of bright red; beneath red, with black spots disposed 

 with some regularity: tail very short, thick, conical, rounded at the apex with 

 a slight point, one-tenth of total length. PI. 195 — Sc. 34. 



Description. The head is short, thick, a little flattened above, and not 

 distinct from the neck. The vertical plate is short, broad and pentangular; the 

 occipital plates are very large; the supra-orbital are small, nearly rectangular; 

 the frontal plates are almost square, with the posterior external angle lengthened, 

 to form a part of the orbit; there is but one anterior-frontal or nasal plate; 

 the posterior orbital are two in number; the anterior orbital are wanting, and 

 the loral is narrow and elongated; the rostral plate is very broad; the nostril 

 plates are nearly rectangular. The mouth is small: the nostrils are latero-superior 

 and near the snout; the eyes are small, also directed obliquely upwards, and placed 

 near the snout; the pupil is black, and the iris gray with a tinge of red. The 

 body is elongated and almost perfectly cylindrical, tapering only towards the 

 commencement of the tail; the scales are all smooth, shining, broad, and obtuse at 

 the apex, and even more uniform in size than in the preceding species. The tail 

 is remarkably short, conical, terminating rather abruptly in a slight point. 



Colours. The head above is dark blue, with the plates tinged with red at their 

 junction: the marginal plates of the upper lip are reddish, each with a dark blue 

 spot in the centre; most of those of the lower lip are likewise spotted. The 



