LÖNNBERG AND ANDERSSON, REPTILES FROM KISMAYU. 3 



almost as long as its distance from the rostral, longer than 

 the praef rontals but much shorter than the parietals; loreal 

 slightly longer than deep ; one prae- and two postoculars, the 

 praeocular is, however, on one side semidivided, the lower 

 portion being much the smaller; temporals 1 + 2, the first 

 widely separating the parietal from the fifth labial ; seven 

 upper labials, third and fourth entering the eye; five lower 

 labials in contact with the anterior chinshields which are 

 longer than the posterior. Scales strongly keeled, in 15 rows. 

 The enlarged bicarinate scales of the median row are provided 

 with a more or less continuous secondary keel on either side, 

 and sometimes with a faint trace of another. The lateral 

 scales show more or less pronounced traces of a secondary 

 keel on either side in the shape of a series of small tubercles. 

 The scales of the row next to the gastrosteges are enlarged, 

 smooth on the lower, and with traces of a secondary keel 

 on the upper half. The scales of next row are hardly broader 

 than the scales of the other lateral rows. Ventrals 221, anal 

 entire, subcaudals 62. Uniformly dark slate brown above, 

 paler, greyish brown below with light edges to the gastrosteges, 

 throat whitish. 



This snake is evidently closely related to M . [SJ butleri 

 Blgr. from the Bahr-el-Ghasal province, but the latter has 

 the loreal deeper than long, three postoculars, the first tem- 

 poral only narrowly separating the parietal and the fifth 

 labial, and white basal spöts on the scales etc. 



M. [SJ unicolor Blgr. from the Kenia district has two 

 superposed loreals, three postoculars, and the frontal only 

 slightly shorter than the parietals. 



M. [SJ chanleri Stejneger from the island Manda north 

 of Lamu, Brit. E. Africa has three postoculars, the row of 

 scales next to the gastrosteges with secondary keels on both 

 sides, and the scales of the adjoining row with two secondary 

 keels on the lower half. The vertebral row of scales has two 

 secondary keels on either side. The scales in the second 

 row from the gastrosteges have also quite another shape than 

 in the new species being »scarcely longer than wide». 



M. [SJ nyassce Gthr. from Nyassa land and Zanzibar 

 has only one postocular, and only 171 — 178 ventrals. 



In a future most probably the present and several other 

 »species» of this genus will prove to be only geographic sub- 



