138 ON THE PHYSIOaNOMY OF SERPENTS. 



to 180 + 60. K. S. 19. The lung extends behind the 

 heart mto the abdominal cavity. The colours of this 

 Xenodon are very subject to variation : they are found 

 brown, red, and sometimes of a very uniform olive-grey. 



3. Xenodon inornatus inliabits Java, where it is very 

 rare. It is of an uniform olive-brown, and has very nearly 

 the form of the Xenodon Severus, although it is very in- 

 ferior in size; S. 120 -}- 38. R. S. 19. The young have 

 the upper ()arts relieved by very indisthict transverse bands, 

 and there are several bands on the occiput, which unite 

 into an angle. 



4. Xenodon purpurascens, an inhabitant of Java, as 

 rare as the preceding, is distinguished from all the rest 

 by a system of colouring extremely beautiful. The form 

 recalls that of Coronella btvis ; but our Xenodon is more 

 robust, and of a habit more \igorous. It has the rostral 

 plate very large, vaulted, and salient ; the muzzle is a 

 little truncated at the extremity, and the abdomen is 

 slightly angular. 'J'he general colour is a brick-red, 

 covered ^^ ith dark marblings ; above it has eighteen broad 

 bands or sjiots of a reddish white, punctured A^dth black ; 

 S. 176 -h 45. II. S. 19. 



There exists in Brazil a third species, the 



5. Xenodon Schottis, which presents a more attenu- 

 ated form than the preceding, and its narroAV head is ter- 

 minated by a rostral plate, slightly salient. Above olive- 

 brown ; below yellowish. S. 178 + 46. R. S. 19. 



6. Xenodon Michahellis is the only species of Xeno- 

 don known in Europe ; it inhabits Spain and the south 

 of France. It is distinguished by its short and conical 

 head, terminated by a prominent rostral plate ; by scales 

 disposed in twenty-seven rows, and by the large number 

 of its scuta (216 + 60), by its short and conical tail, and 

 by its olive-brown colour, relieved by two dorsal rays of 

 a dark hue ; several other rays descending on the sides of 

 the head. The system of colouring in the young differs 

 entirely from that of the adults, inasmuch as the tints are 

 very clear, and reheved by large spots. 



7. Xenodon Typhlos of Guyana unites to the habit of 

 a Coronella the form of the Xen. Severus m every thing, 



