960 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 



orbital plates. The superciliaries are narrow and elongated. Tem- 

 porals more numerous tbau in any other species of the genus; two in 

 the first row smooth, the remainder small, keeled, and nearly similar to 

 the body scales. 



Ground color reddish brown, with three series of subquadrangular 

 blackish blotches about forty-six in number, the twenty-sixth opposite 

 the anus. They embrace transversely from seven to ten rows of scales, 

 and longitudinally three scales on the two anterior thirds of the body, 

 and two scales on the posterior third. The space between the blotches 

 is equal to the blotches themselves. The lateral series are isolated ; that 

 is to say, not contiguous to the dorsal series except sometimes toward 

 the origin of the tail and along the latter region. The blotches extend 

 over nine or ten lateral rows of scales, and affect from three to five 

 scales. Equilateral on the anterior part of the body, they become nar- 

 rower on the posterior part, and taper upward. The space between is 

 narrower by one scale. On the tail the dorsal series of blotches has 

 almost entirely disappeared; now and then an irregular patch may be 

 seen confluent with the lateral series, which remain conspicuous to the 

 very tip of that organ. The lower surface of the body is yellow, with 

 irregular deep chestnut blackish-brown patches, the lateral ones con- 

 tiguous to the lateral series. These may be so extended as to cover 

 the greater part of the gastrosteges. Head uniform dark-brown; gulai' 

 region thickly dusted with yellow and blackish. 



Cat.Xos. Gaatrosteges. Urosteges. Scales. Length. Tail 



mm. mm. 



464 139-fl. 72. 31. 779. 193. 



1344 150 + 1. 99. 29. 



6409 146 + 1. 72. 33. 825. 223. 



10700 147 + 1. 70. 33. 1,408. 336. 



13887 151 + 1. 95. 31. 1,328. 310. 



This species is a very distinct one and is remarkable for various 

 peculiarities. One of these is the great reduction in size of the parietal 

 scuta, which frequently do not exceed the prefrontals in dimensions. 

 This reduction has been supposed by Professor Heilprin to be excep- 

 tional in the species, and he has accordingly named a specimen from 

 Florida as a variety hrocTcii. The character is, however, normal in the 

 species. The sixth and seventh superior labials are very large, and 

 their superior portions are occasionally cut oft', as in Cat. No. 13887. In 

 Cat. No. 10700 there are abnormally three postoculars on both sides, 

 but this abnormality reaches a remarkable degree in Cat. No. 6109. 

 Here a complete circle of scales which surrounds the eye, as in X. cijclo- 

 pium^ consists of three preoculars and four or five postoculars. There 

 are ten superior labials, of which the last three are divided longitudi- 

 nally. The frontal plate has an incomplete median gro )ve and the 

 parietals two incomplete grooves, pointing to a subdivision of head 

 plates, such as occurs in some of the East Indian water snakes, as the 

 genus Cerberus. 



