THE HERPETOLOGY OF HISPANIOLA 353 



It is probable that the two specimens from San Domingo listed 

 by Meerwarth as Dromicus sanctae-crucis portoricensis are either 

 Alsophis melanichnus or an entirely new species. If they are true 

 melanichnus then the range of ventral scales for that species would 

 be from 174 to 189, quite overlapping that of portoricensis, so that in 

 future the presence or absence of a groove on the side of the head 

 would have to be used to differentiate the two species, instead of the 

 scale formula. 



Garman ^^ lists Alsophis melanichnus from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, 

 but the specimens he had were probably portoricensis, certainly not 

 true melanichnus. 



Specimens examined. — M.C.Z. No. 7836 (adult male), Santiago de 

 la Vega, Dominican Republic, A. H. Verrill, 17 scale rows, 189 ventrals, 

 108 caudals, 8-9 labials. 



Genus LEIMADOPHIS Fitzinger 



1842. Dromicus Bibron, in de la Sagra's Historia fisica, politica y natural de la 

 isla de Cuba, vol. 4, Reptiles, p. 133 (type Coluber cursor) (not Dromica 

 Dejean, 1826). 



1843. Leimadophis Fitzinger, Systema reptilium, p. 26 (type, Coronella alma- 

 densis'=L. reginae). 



1843. Calophis Fitzinger, idem (type, Herpetodryas cursor). 

 1894, Liophis Boulenger, Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum, vol. 2, 

 p. 126 (type, L. poecilogyrus) (not of Wagler, 1830). 



The members of this genus from Hispaniola are much alike as far as 

 the head scalation is concerned. It is by the coloration and by the 

 number of ventrals that the subspecies are told apart. 



On the mainland of Hispaniola the parvifrons group seems to be 

 stni in process of breaking up into three subspecies geographically 

 separated but with integrading individuals not yet eliminated. The 

 same small differences coupled with complete separation from the 

 mainland have eventually resulted in the formation of the more 

 readily separable subspecies alleni and tortuganus known from Gonave 

 Island and Tortue Island, respectively. On the mainland the least 

 depauperate form, L. parvifrons protenus, shows the greatest variation 

 in scale count and in color pattern, occupies the central position, and 

 has the widest range, occurring over most of the island. In the 

 northeastern part of the Dominican Republic on the Samand Peninsula 

 and inland over the low area to La Vega, its type locality, occurs the 

 melanistic form described by Dunn as Leimadophis p. niger. Numer- 

 ous partly melanistic specimens with a fairly low ventral count may 

 be found that cannot be definitely assigned to either protenus or 

 niger. At the extreme tip of the southwestern peninsula, around 

 Jer^mie, Haiti, is found L. p. parvifrons. The difference between 



19 Proc, Amer. PhUos. Soc, vol, 24, p, 283, 1887. 



