56 BULLETIN 61;, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM, 



The lateral stripe is then dark and nearly obscured, the dorsal stripe 

 represented only by dark 3"ello\v keels on the median rows of scales, 

 the head black, parietal spots lacking, labials very dark brown, belly 

 dark bluish, chin and throat yellow, and the supralabials brownish. 

 (1097, Field Museum.) 



Third. The ground color is dark yellow, the black spots on the 

 skin also conspicuous on the scales, and covering all but the keels of 

 those involved. The stripes are only indicated by the fact that the 

 spots do not encroach as much upon the scales of certain rows. The 

 dorsal stripe is wide, covering from three to five rows. The head is 

 brownish yellow, parietal spots ver}' small, labials dark yellow and 

 narrowly margined with black, the belly, chin, and throat bright 

 creamy yellow. (1098, Field Museum.) 



Fourth. The ground color is light brownish olive; the lateral 

 spots occur only on the edges of the scales, and the stripes are bright 

 yellow and very distinct. The head is light brown, the parietal 

 spots small, and the labials bright yellow, as are also the pre- and 

 postoculars, and a postoral crescent. Distinct nuchal blotches. 

 The belly is greenish yellow, and the chin and throat bright yellow. 

 (1320, Field Museum.) 



Kennicott's type of macrostemma corresponds in color to that 

 which we have described as phase 1. In 1866 Professor Cope (1866, 

 306) described a new species which he called Jlavilahris, from two 

 specimens sent to the Smithsonian Institution by Doctor Sartorius, 

 which were labeled ''Tableland or Southern Mountains of Mexico." 

 Unfortunately the types are now lost, but according to the descrip- 

 tion there can be little doubt but that they were identical with color 

 phase 4 as described above. There are at the present time three 

 specimens in the U. S. National Museum (24993-4-5) which are 

 labeled ''South Mountains or Micrador Vera Cruz," and were col- 

 lected by Doctor Sartorius. These are probably the specimens 

 referred to by Cope (1866, 307), which, although he does not mention 

 the resemblance, also seem to be referable to this phase. 



In 1885 Cope (1885b, 172) again established a new species (insig- 

 niarum) on the basis of a specimen taken by himself at Chapultepec, 

 Mexico, giving as its principal characteristics the absence of the dorsal 

 stripe and occipital spots. It is impossible to distingvush the particular 

 form he had in mind from this description, but fortunately both the 

 type and cotype are available and correspond to our color phase No. 

 3; the cotype especially being a very good example of this style of 

 coloration. In that paper (p. 173), in an attempt to give compara- 

 tive diagnoses of the forms of this group, he distinguishes insigniarum 

 from Jlavilahris by the absence of the dorsal stripe and occipital spots 

 in the former. It will be seen, however, that this can not be done, 

 since there is a dark phase (No. 2) which is similarily characterized 



