242 BULLETIN 17 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



"Head olive-gray with some round black spots on the sutures of the 

 head-shields; body light olive-gray, with ten dark brown stripes on 

 back and sides running from the head onto the tail ; three lateral white 

 stripes between the brown ones on each side, the lowest white stripe 

 running from in front of the shoulder to the groin and down the hind- 

 leg; the middle white stripe beginning in front of the eye, passing 

 through the eye, through the ear and along the body onto the tail; the 

 uppermost white stripe beginning at the upper posterior border of the 

 eye, passing above the ear and along tbe body onto the tail. Ventral 

 scales peppered with very minute gray dots, some of the scales with 

 light bluish centers. Throat iridescent pale violet and green, with 

 some small widely scattered gray spots. Upper and lower lips edged 

 with black. 



" Variations. — In five paratypes from the same locality taken by the 

 same collector the scalation shows remarkably little variation, as all 

 without exception conform in number of supraoculars, in number 

 and position of medial scales on the center of the snout and in having 

 ten dorsal scales in a head-length. The scales around the body are 

 about 40 or 41 in number, although the excessive irregularity of the 

 longitudinal rows make it difficult to be definite about this count, as 

 it will differ if taken a quarter of an inch away in either direction. 

 There are from 40 to 42 scales in a row from the occiput to a point 

 directly above the vent. In two of the paratypes (69184 and 69185) 

 the internasal plates, which are very elongate in the other four speci- 

 mens, have divided transversely so that there are two scales between 

 the first supraocular and that portion of the internasal actually in 

 contact with the rostral. The largest individual, 69184, has a head- 

 length of 12 mm. and from occiput to base of tail it measures 42 mm. 



"The stripes of some of the paratypes are not so evenly developed 

 as in the type. In two specimens, the middle one of the three white 

 lateral stripes is almost obsolete, while the brown stripe above the 

 uppermost white lateral stripe is broadened and emphasized. The 

 borders to the lips are not conspicuously darkened in some cases and 

 the gray spots on the throat are not always evident, the throat being 

 suffused with gray occasionally. None of the specimens show any 

 traces whatever of the black bars or chevrons across the back which 

 are usually so pronounced in most species of the genus Leiocephalus." 



Since the original description appeared we have been fortunate in 

 securing 33 additional examples from San Michel and two others 

 from L'Atalaye. Two of the San Michel females as well as both 

 of the L'Atalaye specimens show absolutely no pattern whatsoever. 

 The entire upper surfaces are a uniform bister-brown, fading gradually 

 to an immaculate olive-buff below, with the throat faintly suffused 

 with olive-gray. Sixteen other topotypes are females of all sizes from 

 32 mm. in length up to the maximum for females of 52 mm. — in 



