HERPETOLOGT OF JAPAN. 227 



supralabials from the rostral to the anterior border of the subociilar 

 siiprahibial deeply depressed, forming a slightly arched groove; 

 eight supralabials, seventh very high, sixth longest, forming a long and 

 low subocular; eye surrounded by granules and above by three elon- 

 gate narrow scales; a large upper temporal adjoining parietal; ear- 

 opening round, smaller than eye, without projecting lobules; mental 

 small; a large, pentagonal postmental followed by three pairs of 

 large submandibidars, the last of which is very long; 24 row^s of 

 scales around the middle of the back, laterals smallest, and the two 

 median dorsals largest, the dorsals faintly multicarinate ; preanal 

 scales somewhat enlarged ; hind leg about two and a half times in dis- 

 tance from snout to vent ; fore and hind legs when pressed against the 

 sides overlap by more than. length of longest toe; tail cylindrical, w^ith 

 a median series of transversely enlarged scales underneath. Color (in 

 alcohol) above pale olive brown, with numerous irregular blackish 

 brown elongated spots, many of which are edged with paler spots; 

 flanks dark brown, with similar pale spots which at the upper edge col- 

 lect so as to form a somewhat irregular pale dorso-lateral line; legs 

 above like the flanks; lower surface bluish white with scattered dark 

 spots on legs and tail. 



Dill tensions. 



mm. 



Total length 143 



Snout to vent 54 



Vent to tips of tail 89 



Snout to ear-opening 10.5 



Greatest width of h^ad 8 



Axilla to groin 28 



Fore leg .^ 17 



Hind leg 23 



Variation. — There is a great deal of variation in the size and relation 

 of the head shields. Thus in about one-half of the specimens before 

 me the fronto-nasal and the frontal are in touch ; on the other hand, 

 the suture between the prefrontals in No. 23897 is so wide as to nearly 

 equal the length of the fronto-nasal, while the frontal is so reduced in 

 size as to equal the anterior supraocular and to lose contact with the 

 frontal parietal, the second supraoculars being in contact behind it. 

 All have a distinct postnasal, but none show signs of a supranasal. 

 The number of supralabials is also slightly variable. In most speci- 

 mens there are four supralabials in front of the subocular, but in the 

 specimen described above as well as in one of the Chichi shima speci- 

 mens in the Science College Museum, Tokyo, there are five on both 

 sides. In our No. 23897, from the latter island, there are foiu' on one 

 side and five on the other. The coloration is very variabl(>, not only 

 the ground color, which varies from pale clay color to dark brown, but 

 also in the amount of spotting, some specimens being nearly unspotted, 



