HERPETOLOGY OF JAPAN. 297 



ACHALINUS SPINALIS^ Peters. 



1869. Achalimis spinalis Peters, Mon. Ber. Berlin Akad. Wiss., 1869, p. 436, 

 pi. — , fig. 1 (type-locality unknown). — Boulenger, Cat. Sn. Brit. Mus., 

 I, p. 309 (Japan?).— N AMI YE, Annot. Zool. Japon., II, Pt. 1, 1898, p. 29, 

 fig. (Kiusiu). — BoETTGER, Kat. Schl. Mus. Senckenberg. , 1898, p. 33 

 (Hakone Mts.).— Wall, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1903, pp. 88, 100 (Mt. 

 Fuji). 



'' Description (figs. 257-259). — Adult female; U.S.N.M. No. 34046; 

 Mount Fuji, Hondo; August, 1898; A. Owston, collector. Rostral 

 scarcely visible from above, wider than high, and so much hollowed 

 out below that the surface laterally is represented as a ridge only; 

 internasals very small, narrow anteriorly, the suture with rostral less 

 than half that of the latter with anterior nasal; prefrontals very large, 

 the suture between them twice as long as the one between the inter- 

 nasals, broadly in contact with supraoculars, and with second supra- 

 labial; frontal pentagonal, straight anteriorly, posterior angle acute, 



Figs. 257-259.^Achalinus spinalis. 2h x nat. size. 2.57, top of head; 258, side of head; 259, 



UNDERSIDE OF HEAD. NO. 30731. U.S.N.M. 



as wide as long, shorter than distance from tip of snout, scarcely one- 

 half as long as parietals; supraoculars very small, their width less than 

 one-fourth that of the frontal; parietals exceedingly large, twice as 

 long as distance of eye from tip of snout, pointed posteriorly; nostril 

 large, horizontally oval in the anterior of two nostrils which are deeph^ 

 hollowed out; loreal longer than high, entering eye and in contact 

 with prefrontal and supraocular but not with posterior nasal; no 

 preocular; eye very small, smaller than loreal; a crescentic trace of 

 a postocular in angle between two anterior temporals; 2 + 2 tempo- 

 rals, upper anterior smaller than the others, in contact with supraoc- 

 ular; a large, elongate shield bordering the posterior half of the 

 parietals; six supralabials, first exceedingl}" small, sixth exceedingly 

 large, as large as the other five together, fourth and fifth entering eye; 

 mental deeply hollowed out, the surf ace forming a V-shaped ridge; 

 3 lower labials in contact with anterior chin-shields, which together 



a Pertaining to the spine or backbone, referring to the black line along the middle of 

 the back. 



