468 BULLETIN 58, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



of the Himalayan region it would be too rash to deny the possi- 

 bility of their identity. 



Nevertheless, I wish to put on record my suspicion that the Naga 

 Hills and the Formosa specimens represent separate local develop- 

 ments of Trimeresurus jerdonii of Guenther,^ also from Assam, but 

 occurring all the way from Tibet to Ichang on the upper Yangtsc- 

 kiang. The scale formula of Cantor's specimen, the type of T. 

 mucrosquamatus, precludes its being identical with T. jerdonii, 

 but the latter comes pretty close to T. elegans, from the southern 

 Rill Kius, with which it also agrees very well in coloration. 



Description. — Adult Tnalc; Science College Museum, Tokyo, No. 6; 

 Taipa, Formosa; October, 1897; T. Tada, collector. Rostral some- 

 what broader than high, barely visible from above; three small 

 scales behind the truncate upper edge of the rostral between the 

 anterior nasals; six scales, including the turned-over upper anterior 

 corner of anterior nasal, covering the canthus rostralis, the one 

 adjoining the latter being elongate and largest; supraoculars rather 

 narrow, about one-third as wide as interocular space; 15 scales in 

 a line between supraoculars; nostril in the posterior margin of the 

 anterior nasal which is much larger than the posterior, its upper 

 anterior corner being turned over on the canthus rostralis; two 

 small loreals, one behind the other, on a line with and of the same 

 width as the upper preocular; two long preoculars, of which the 

 lower is much narrower than the upper, but as long as the latter 

 and posterior loreal together, and forming the upper edge of the pit ; 

 three postoculars, including a long, narrow, crescentic subocular 

 which anteriorly is separated by one scale from the subfoveal shield ; 

 subocular separated from third supralabial by one scale and from 

 fourth by two series of scales; temporals numerous, the upper 

 smaller, scale-like, convex, the lower somewhat larger, flat; 9 supra- 

 labials (on left side only 8 by fusion of fifth and sixth), second forming 

 the anterior border of pit, and with third, fourth, and fifth the 

 largest supralabials, sixth to tenth suddenly much smaller, not 

 larger than the adjacent temporals; first supralabial which is sepa- 

 rated from anterior loreal by two scales is of the same size as the 

 last ones; two lower labials only in contact with anterior chin- 

 shields, third and following ones being separated from them by 

 scales; posterior, chin-shields scarcely differentiated and separated 

 by a pair of scales; 27 rows of pointed scales, all strongly keeled 

 and with two faint apical pores, except the outer one which is only 

 feebly keeled at base; 206 ventrals; anal entire; 95 pairs of sub- 

 caudals. Color (in alcohol) above drab with a median series of 

 irregular transverse, dark brown, black-rimmed and very narrowly 



a Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1875, p. 233, pi. xxxiv (type-locality, Khasi Hills, 

 Assam; types in Brit. Mus. ; Dr. T. C. Jerdon, collector). 



