400 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 



• This species is of a dark olive-gieeu color, with a light greenish- white 

 line on each side, separated by fourteen or fifteen rows of scales. 

 Between these are two series of snbcjuadrate or dark blotches, separated 

 by a faint dorsal greenish line, the blotches bordered behind by branches 

 from the upper lateral stripe. Below the light lateral line is a blue-black 

 stripe beginning narrowly back of the eye and widening on the sides, 

 its lower edge not sharply defined. In the male there is a well-defined 

 elongated black ellipse on each side the belly; those of opposite sides 

 very nearly in contact and the upper i)art wanting or diflused in the 

 dusky of the sides. This anteriorly runs into a large, intensely black 

 l)atch in and above the axilla and extending along the posterior face of 

 the arm; ^posteriorly it reaches the groin, but does not extend on the 

 femur. The central portion of the ellipse is whitish, with a violet 

 shade in the alcoholic si^ecimen. There is a well-defined narrow yellow 

 line running perpendicularly from the lateral stripe to the insertion of 

 the arm above. The under parts are whitish, irregularly dotted with 

 blue-black, most so on the chin, which appears speckled with whitish. 

 There is a trace of a short white line on the cheek in line with the gape 

 of mouth. 



In the series before me there are no females from the same localities 

 with the males. Those referred to the same si)ecies are what Dr. Hallo- 

 well and Baird and Girard have called S. scalaris of Wagler. These 

 are similar in general character, but lack the ventral elliptical marks 

 and the distinct lateral black band. There is, however, the same short, 

 light line at tlie shoulder, perpendicular to but not confluent with the 

 lateral light stripe. 



It maybe proper to state that the specimen on which the description 

 has been based (Cat. No. 2889) has rather a blunter snout than the 

 others and the scales on the back appear rather smaller, but I can find 

 no other characters of importance. 



This species ranges throughout the damjjer parts of eastern and 

 southern Mexico, and in southwestern Texas as far north as the lati- 

 tude of San Antonio. The locality "Salt Lake" of the Smithsonian 

 record, as given below, is probably incorrect. Stejneger was the first 

 to discover that this species is the iV. dclicatissimns of Hallowell; and 

 both Hallowell and Baird and Girard had regarded other examples of it 

 as the S. scalaris. 



The S. variabilis is i)robably named on account of the wide difierence 

 in color between the males and females. It is one of the handsomest 

 species of the genus. 



