SNAKES. 81 



D. Head covered with small scales : tail ivith one row of shields below : 

 abdominal shields broad, rounded, smooth : nostrils anterior, in 

 a shield : scales granular, with longitudinal series of larger scales. 

 Xenodermina. 



38. Xenodermus. 



Head ovate, depressed, covered with small rather acute scales, 

 with two pairs of small frontal plates just over the rostral in front ; 

 rostral small, triangular, concave in the centre : nostrils large, rather 

 anterior, in the middle of a large plate, with a slight slit to the 

 hinder edge : labial scales rather larger than the dorsal, the lower 

 ones with a concavity in the middle of each scale : upper rostral 

 plate broad, triangular, erect, concave, surrounded by small scales : 

 eyes convex, rather large ; pupil round : throat with small acute 

 scales : body elongate, compressed, subpentangular ; back covered 

 with very small semicircular scales, with a row of larger, ovate, 

 keeled scales on each side, and two or three rows of similar larger 

 keeled scales over the vertebral line ; the sides covered with mode- 

 rate, ovate, keeled scales, rather larger beneath : the ventral shields 

 transverse, rounded : tail elongate, rather compressed, subpentan- 

 gular, tapering like the back above ; subcaudal shield one-rowed , 

 rounded. 



This genus appears inteimediate between the Hydridce and the 

 BoidcB. It has the general external appearance of the former, com- 

 bined with many of the characters of the latter family, but I cannot 

 find any appearance of spurs. 



Xenodermus, Reinh. Oversigten Videns. Sels. Forsk. 1836. 

 Wiegm. Arch. Ill, 1837, 136. K. Dansk. V. Sels. x. 1843, 253. 

 Gonionotus, Gray, in Stokes s Australia, Appendix, 5, 1846 (not 

 White). 



1. The GoNiONOTE. Xenodermus Javanicus, Reinh. K. Dansk. 

 V. Sels. X. 1843, 253, t. 2, f. 1 — 8. Gonionotus plumbeus, Gray, 

 in Stokes's Australia, App. 5, t. 4. 



Bluish gray ; belly and beneath white. Length of body 9 

 inches, tail 4 inches = 13 inches. 



a. In spirits. Java. Purchased in Rotterdam. 



