^^''s'Ji!^'] PROCEEDINGS OV Till; NATIONAL MUSKUM. 505 



The occurreuco of T. iuuatmn m ilic \cr.v city of Si. Louis is so 

 iiilcrostiM};" that I askc<l ]Mi'. lliutrr lor more detailed information, which 

 lie kindly fnrnished in a letter of October 11, ISOO, in which he writes 

 as follows: 



Tills suako is only fouml, to my knowledge, along the river Trout near the Arsenal 

 grounds in tho city of St. Luiiis. The placu in which it is found covers a space of 

 ahout three blocks and consists of an aljundoncd and jiartly relilled «inarry. Here 

 tlu'V live among rocks,in the ground and under bushes, feeding on worms aiid insects, 

 a fact which I ascertained by examining tho contents of their stomachs. They were 

 very commun some three years ago, but are now getting scarce owing to tho location 

 being utilized for railroad purposes. Having kept specimens in captivity I am able 

 to state that this species is viviparous, one of them bringing forth as many as six 

 young ones. 



Couiophanes imperialis (Bairi>). 



Two specimens of this rare snake have recently been collected in 

 Cameron County, Texas (L'. S. Xat. Mus., Xos. 170G7, 17008). 



I have but little hesitation in referring to this species as a synonym 

 Peters' Dromkus davatus* for although the reference of the latter to 

 the genus 7>roMjV«.s' implies that the posterior teeth are not grooved, 

 yet the descriptions and figures agree so absolutely with my specimens 

 of C imperialis, in which the posterior teeth are certainly grooved, that 

 I am forcied to believe that Peters did not examine the dentition, or, 

 what is more likely, that the posterior teeth had been broken olf in the 

 nnitpie exam[>le at his disposal. How natural it would be for Peters 

 to refer this species to Dromicus (or rather to KhatUnaa, the species of 

 which both Peters and Giinther refer to Drouiicus) when ignorant of its 

 dentition, may be easily understood when one reflects that Co[)e has 

 repeatedly referred to the present species as '' Rhadimca imperialis.^'' 



Leptodeira septentrionalis (Kenn.). 



An additional specMinen (U. iS. Xat. Mus. Xo. 170GG) has recently 

 been received from Cameron County, Texas, not far from the locality 

 of the original type. The tail is less than one-fourth the total length; 

 twenty-three scale rows. 



•Cope, Bull U. S. Nat. Mus.. No. :V», 1S87, p. 7t). .[ii..tes " DromUus davatun Giin- 

 flier," with the habitat (iuatemala. Is this intended to be the same species f Peters' 

 speeinun caino from " Mexico." 



