374 BULLETIN 58, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



alternating series of vertical brown spots between the lower end of the 

 cross-bars; top of head uniform dark brown; lower part of supra- 

 labials and entire temporal region, including the posterior lateral 

 portion of the parietals, whitish; underside whitish with a few dusky 

 inarblings on the middle and occasional dark spots on the sides of the 

 ventrals of the posterior half; dorsal cross-bars nearly meeting on 

 underside of tail. 



Dimensions. 



mm. 



Total length 290 



Snout to vent 235 



Vent to tip of tail 55 



The adult specimens are essentially like the one described above, 

 but this snake does not seem to reach any considerable size. Bou- 

 lenger measures a total length of 660 mm. and the species probably 

 does not grow much larger. 



Variation. — Comparatively little variation is shown in the scutel- 

 lation of this species, and then mostly in the temporals, the second 

 row occasionally having only two scales. There seems also to be 

 some variability in the number of . supralabials in touch with the 

 eye, inasmuch as both Hilgendorf and Boulenger state that in their 

 specimens the third also enters into relation with it. In all those 

 specimens in our museum, however, the third supralabial is excluded 

 from the eye, the loreal being in broad contact with the -fourth supra- 

 labial. Ventrals vary between 199 and 208; subcaudals between 68 

 and 75 pairs. 



Habitat. — Apparently restricted to Japan proper. Hilgendorf in 

 describing the species mentioned seven specimens from the neighbor- 

 hood of Tokyo, mostly from the Botanical Garden, and for this reason 

 he suspected that the species had been accidentally introduced. 

 This suspicion seems to be unfounded in view of the many specimens 

 which have been found in various localities both in Hondo and Kiu- 

 siu. The two specimens in the British Musum were collected by Mr. 

 Maries at Nikko; Doctor Nordquist found a specimen at Murayama, 

 and United States National Museum has a specimen each from Isobe 

 near Yokohama and from "Mount Fuji;" a specimen (No. 5) from 

 the province of Iga is in the Imperial Museum, Ueno Park, Tokyo. 

 Finally Doctor Wall mentions one specimen from Yamanashi, Hondo, 

 and one from Kiusiu. It was collected there as early as 1879 by Dr. O. 

 Nordquist near Nagasaki, where another specimen, now in the St. 

 Petersburg Museum, was collected by Doctor Slunin in 1888. Both 

 the Nordquist specimens are in the Riksmuseum at Stockholm, where 

 I was permitted to examine them in 1905, thanks to the khidness of 

 the curator. Dr. Einai- Loennberg. 



