HERPETOLOGY OF JAPAN. 357 



Ophites, which, according to what has been shown , is equivalent 

 to Lycodon, as hitherto limited by Boulenger and others, is not rep- 

 resented with certainty within the territory covered by this work. 

 However, reference must be made to two species which have been 

 credited to it, namely, Ophites alhofuscus, of which Guenther says '^ that 

 it "occurs also in Formosa," the other being Mueller's '' Eumesodor. 

 carinatus Cope (?)" from Japan. ^ 



As to Opliites albofuscus, I have found no further corroborative 

 evidence, and as this species seems to be confined to Sumatra and 

 Borneo, Guenther's specimens probably belonged to some other 

 species. It is then permissible to guess that he referred to the two 

 specimens of Dinodon septentrionale ruhstrati, which Swinhoe sent 

 from Formosa. 



Mueller's " Eumesodon carinatus Cope (?),^ Japan, juv." in the Basel 

 Museum,'' judging from his description of the dentition ("the second 

 tooth and the one before the last are somewhat stouter and longer 

 than the others") is not a " Eumesodon" (Dinodon) at all, but in all 

 probability an Ophites. The description does not exactly tally with 

 any of the known species, but comes probably nearest to 0. suh- 

 cinctus, from which it differs, however, in having smooth scales 

 "except in the sacral region [Lendentheil], where there are three 

 rows of tectiform scales" and two anterior temporals. The most 

 noteworthy similarity is probably that the "upper preocular is fused 

 with prefrontal," a feature quite characteristic of 0. suhcinctus, with 

 which the rest of the scale formula also agrees, viz, Sc. 17; v. 211; 

 a. 1 (exceptional); c. 80. As for the locality, "Japan," it should 

 be noted that it is simply a surmise of Mueller's, based upon the fact 

 that the snake was found in a jar which also contained a Japanese 

 mole (Talpa wogura). The jar, however, was labeled "Java," and 

 Java is just the type-locality of Ophites suhcinctus. It should be 

 noted, however, that Mueller later « referred the specimen to Dinodon 

 orientale (Ophites japonicus) . 



Dinodon is a very compact little genus of four species. Its center 

 of distribution seems to be China. One species may extend as far 

 west as the Himalayas, one is thus far found only in Hondo, Japan, 

 another in Kiusiu and the Riu Kius, while a third extends from Hainan 

 in the south to Vladivostok in the north. 



a Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4), I, 1868, p. 426. 

 b As to Ophites [Lycodon] aulicus, see footnote on p. 358. 



c- Cope has given no sucli name, so far as I know; probably Mueller meant E. semi- 

 carinatus. 



d Verb. Naturf. Ges. Basel, VII, 1885, p. 685. 

 « Idem, VIII, Pt. 2, 1887, p. 270. 



