CROCODILIANS, LIZARDS, AND 8NAKES. 



809 



mens maintain the characters exactly. Specimens Cat. Xos. 1972, 1974, 

 and 19812, from Texas, Nnevo Leon, and Oregon, enumerated in Yarrow's 

 Check-list under this species, do not belong to it. 



ZAMENIS LATERALIS FULIGINOSUS Cope. 



Zamenis lateraUn fuHyitiosiis Cope, Amer. Naturalist, XXIX, 1895, p. 679. 

 Bascanium laierale Hallowell, Cope, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XII, 1889, p. 147. 



Scales in seventeen longitudinal rows; superior labials eight, the 

 fourth and fifth entering the orbit. Muzzle depressed, narrow, and 

 rather prominent. Frontal plate much narrowed posteriorly, its width 

 equal one-half that of a superciliary plate. Seventh and eighth supe- 

 rior labials about equal, of rather wide parallelogrammic form. Tempo- 

 rals, 2-2-2; the last superior large, subquadrate, their posterior borders 

 continuous with that of the parietals. Gastrosteges strongly angu- 

 lated; tail entering 3.58 times in total length. Scuta, scutellse, and 

 dimensions : 



Cat. No. 15135; gastrosteges, 201 ; ? total length, 815 mm. ; tail injured. 



Cat. No. 15736 ; gastrosteges, 205 ; urosteges, 108 ; total length, 665 mm. ; tail, 253 mm. 



Color above blackish brown, anteriorly becoming lighter posteriorly 

 to the end of the tail. The dark color extends on each end of the 

 gastrosteges to the angulation, 

 thiougliout the length, and in the 

 younger specimen appeared as a 

 row of spots on either side of the 

 middle part of the gastrosteges, 

 failing out beyond the middle of 

 the length. In the larger speci- 

 men the dark brown predomi- 

 nates on the inferior surfaces, 

 yielding gradually to the ground 

 color, which predominates on 

 the inferior surface of the tail. 

 Ground color of bellj^ yellow. A 

 yellow spot on the preocular, and 

 in the younger specimen, on the 

 postoculars and labial plates. 

 Gular and geneial i)lates yellow-sjmtted in the younger specimen, 

 nearly uniform dark brown in the older. On the anterior part of the 

 body of the younger specimen the lateral scales to the third and fourth 

 rows have brown shades, with an obscure trace of cross-banding. On 

 the same siDecimen, near the middle of the body, there are two pale 

 semicross bands near together. In the same the center of each parie- 

 tal plate is brown. 



This subspecies differs widely from the typical form in color characters. 



Tig. 178. 



Zamenis lateralis kuliginosus Cope. 



= 1. 



Santa Margarita iHlaud. 



Via. N... ir,l3:., U.s.N.M. 



