66 COLUBER GUTTATUS. 



behind. The superior orbital is elongated, quadrilateral, with its outer margin 

 but slightly projecting. The occipital plates are irregularly triangular, with their 

 apices rounded and their bases directed forwards, and joined to the vertical and 

 superior orbital. The frontal plates are pentagonal, and broadest internally and 

 narrow externally, where they join a small rhomboidal loral plate. The anterior 

 frontal are sub-round; the temporal are small and variable. The rostral is 

 pentagonal, large, projecting and obtuse. There is one large anterior orbital and 

 two small posterior orbital plates. The upper jaw is covered with eight quadri- 

 lateral plates, two of which (the fifth and sixth) form the lower margin of the orbit. 



The nostrils are lateral, large, near the snout, and open between two nasal 

 plates, of which the anterior is quadrilateral, and the posterior pentagonal. The 

 eyes also are lateral and rather small; the pupil black, the iris reddish. The neck 

 is cylindrical, contracted, smaller than the head. The body is greatly elongated. 

 The tail is small, and tapers to a point. 



Colour. The head is of a brick-dust colour above, with two bands of a much 

 darker shade bordered with brown; the larger of these lines forms a semicircle, 

 the convexity of which is near the snout, and the two ends passing across the 

 eyes terminate at the occiput. The other forms an oval on the top of the head, 

 following the figure of the anterior; in the midst of this is an oval spot of the 

 same colour as the circles. The whole superior surface of the body is light brown, 

 in which appears a reddish tinge; along the back is a row of large sub-quadrate 

 spots of a deep brick-dust colour, bordered with the darkest brown. The sides 

 are of a lighter shade than the back, with small spots; these also are lighter than 

 the spots on the superior surface. The abdomen is silver-white, with black 

 squares irregularly dispersed and of unequal size; two or three close together 

 occur on one side, and then on the other. Below the vent is a longitudinal line 

 on each side, formed by a black spot on each scale; these become irregular, and 

 meet across as they arrive at the tip. 



Dimensions. Length of head, 1 inch 2 lines; breadth of head, 7 lines; length of 



