CROCODILIANS, LIZARDS, AND SNAKES. 



059 



hifera has a similar distribution, except that it remains within the 

 boundaries of the Austroripariau district, not extending north of south- 

 ern Illinois and Indiana. K. eyclopium has not been found out of this 

 district, while the X. compress icauda and H. usta are restricted to 

 Florida. !{. taxispilota is confined to the eastern part of the Austrori- 

 pariau region and Florida, while N. rigida has a similar range, omitting 

 Florida, and apparently extending north to Pennsylvania. N. hisecta 

 is known from but one specimen. 



NATRIX TAXISPILOTA Holbrook. 



Nairix taxispilota Cope, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XI, 1888, p. .392. 

 Tropidonotus taxispilotus Holbrook, N. Amer. Herp., IV, 1842, p. 8.5, pi. viii. — 

 BouLENGER, Cat. Suakes Brit. Mus., I, 1893, p. 24.5. 



Head proportionally small, subtriangular, pointed on the snout. 

 Frontal i)late broad, subquadrangular; parietals small. Two post- 



Fig. 24(). 



Natihx taxispilota Holbrook. 



= 1. 



Kinston, North Carolina. 



Cat. No. 8361, U.S.N.M. 



orbital plates; anteorbital narrow. Dorsal rows of scales thirty-one, 

 all carinated. Brown, with three series of subcinadrangular blackish 

 blotches, which do not touch each other. 



The head is proportionally small, and conical forward. The eyes 

 also are small. The frontal plate lias the shape of an elongated (juad- 

 rangle. The parietal plates are quite small in consequence of lateral 

 and posterior subdivisions. Rostral low, twice as wide as high. Inter- 

 nasals much longer than wide; prefrontals nearly sijuare. Superior 

 labials eight, the middle of the orbit over the fourth i)late, the fifth 

 excluded by the lower i)osto('ular; sixth and seventh very large, some- 

 times subdivided. Inferior labials eleven, the seventh the largest. 

 Postgeneials not larger tliaii pre^cneials. There are two large post- 



