HEEPETOLOGY OF JAPAN. 469 



white-edged spots, consisting of two halves, one on each side of 

 median line and not always evenly joined, in which case sometimes 

 a zigzag band is forming by connection with succeeding spots; 

 directly under each dorsal spot a smaller lateral spot of the same color, 

 these lateral spots disappearing on sides of neck and tail; top of 

 head with a distinct pattern of dark brown lines diverging from 

 snout backward and forming a lozenge-shaped figure on occiput 

 in the center of which an elongate dark line; a narrow dark line 

 from upper corner of the crescentic subocular over the temporal 

 region to beyond the angle of mouth passing above it on the scale 

 above the last supralabial; lips unifonn pale; underside pale drab 

 with several irregular series of large roundish, dark-edged whitish 

 spots, often transversely oblong, and not extending over more than 



one shield. 



Dimensions. 



mm. 



Total length 780 



Snout to vent 588 



Vent to tip of tail 192 



This snake undoubtedly grows to be more than 1 meter long. 



The young (Sci. Coll. Mus. Tokyo, No. 18) is colored essentially 

 as the adult, but the contrast between ground-color and the dark 

 spots is greater, and on the former, between the latter, there is on 

 the sides a shadowy pale brownish gray vertical line; the sides 

 of head, including labials, are not pale, but. dark brown, especially 

 a broad vertical band on second supralabial, though not as dark 

 as the postocular stripe w^hich is bounded below by a whitish line 

 and several of the labials and temporals are bordered behind by a 

 narrow whitish mark. 



Structurally the only difference from the adults consists in the 

 upturned outer edge of the supraocular. 



Variation. — The number of scale rows in this form is fairly constant, 

 nine out of eleven specimens having 27 and only two 25 rows; in 

 the same number of specimens the ventrals vary only between 200 

 and 216, and the subcaudals between 76 and 95. The supralabials 

 are more variable, namely, 8 to 11. U.S.N.M. No. 36515 has 10 on each 

 side, a small labial having been interpolated between third and fourth. 



Habitat. — T. mucros'iuamatus , as here understood, is only known 

 with absolute certainty from Formosa, where it seems to be fairly 

 common in the lowlands, since nearly all who have collected there 

 obtained specimens. It is assumed that it is the same form which 

 was originally described by Cantor, in 1839, from the Naga Hills in 

 Assam, but it has not been collected there since that time, nor has it 

 been found in the intermediate territory of the Chinese mainland. 



It is unquestionably related, however, to a species which occurs 

 from Assam and Tibet as far east as Icliang on the Yangtse, viz, 



