THE HERPETOLOGY OF HISPANIOLA 373 



138 ventrals; anal single; 50 paired subcaudals, with a pointed scale 

 at the tip. The type is unique. 



"Color in alcohol. — Body color ecru-drab, with a decided seal-brown 

 dorsal stripe 3 scales in width from the occiput to the end of the body, 

 narrowing on the tail; another much narrower brown stripe down the 

 sides on the upper half of the fourth and lower half of the fifth scale 

 rows; each scale of the third, fourth and fifth rows with a very dark 

 median line down its center; a series of very conspicuous small black- 

 edged white spots covering about one scale on the seventh scale-row; 

 on the anterior part of the body these white spots are separated by an 

 interval about four scales in length, this interval somewhat increased 

 toward midbody and decreased toward the tail ; head dark seal-brown, 

 the lateral parietal regions lightening to wood-brown; labials wood- 

 brown with a black irregular line edged below with white beginning 

 at the eye, continuing on the posterior upper labials and fading out 

 below the commissure of the jaw; chin, throat and latero-ventral 

 regions pale-drab, most of the scales edged with darker; the mid- 

 ventral region from the neck backwards seal-brown mottled with 

 black, this color extending over the whole of the gastrosteges except 

 for their extreme outer borders anteriorly, and posteriorly covering 

 them entirely; urosteges uniform dark seal-brown. 



"Measurements. — Head and body, 195 mm.; tail, 88 mm. 



"Relationships. — While the new genus does not closely resemble any 

 other genus of snake known from the West Indies or on the mainland 

 of America, it is probably an offshoot of ancestral Dromicus [i. e., 

 Leimadophis] stock, and may occupy the same niche in Haiti that 

 Arrhyton does in Cuba." 



Genus lALTRIS Cope 



1862. laltris Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1862, p. 73 (type, laltris 



vultuosa ['= dorsalis]) . 

 1879. Jaltris Cope, Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc, vol. 18, p. 273 (emend.). 



Although this genus is one of the opisthoglyphs, it has not been 

 regarded as dangerously poisonous to man. No record of its ever 

 having attempted to bite has come to my knowledge. The adult 

 female laltris dorsalis from Damien was sent alive to the National 

 Museum by Dr. Vinson, and during the several weeks that I had it in 

 my possession it showed only a gentle, unexcitable disposition. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES OF lALTRIS 



Frontal longer than its distance from end of snout; ventrals 



179-191 dorsalis (p. 374) 



Frontal equal to its distance from end of snout; ventrals 163 parishi (p. 376) 



