980 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 



l)ifer^ and does not taper from tlie anus, but narrows abruptly at one- 

 tliird its length from the base. Dorsal rows twenty-one, all distinctly 

 carinate. The scales are rather broad and much rounded posteriorly, 

 those of the first dorsal row disproportionately small. The head is 

 elongate and rather narrow posteriorly, but very deep and but little 

 depressed on the snout. All the plates of the crown are large; the 

 frontal very broad and short, the loreal longer than high, the upper and 

 lower postorbitals small, but the central elongated so as to reach the 

 labial plates. 



The ground color is light olive brown, crossed on the anterior half of 

 the body by wavings or somewhat zigzag transverse black bands, cov- 

 ering two or three scales longitudinally, and separated by intervals of 

 one or two scales. These bands do not taper regularly on the sides, as 

 in T. sipedon, but are constricted upon the sixth row on each side, but 

 are wide upon the third, as upon the vertebral row. Posteriorly these 

 bands become narrower, and finally break up into a dorsal series of 

 vertically elongated spots, and a lateral series of small circular ones, 

 which do not alternate with the dorsal series, as in IV.f. sipedon, taxispi- 

 lota, and others. For two inches behind the head the transverse 

 bands are replaced by four distinct longitudinal black lines, the lateral 

 ones covering the third, fourth, and part of the second rows, the upper 

 ones covering the seventh, eighth, ninth, and part of the tenth rows; 

 these black lines are separated by a little over one scale of ground 

 color. None of the black markings involve the first dorsal row, which is 

 yellowish olive, excepting some irregular dark mottlings. The head is 

 yellowish olive, with the middle of the parietals and frontal and a 

 patch extending from the eye back above the labials black. The ros- 

 tral is yellow, distinctly margined above with black. All the labials 

 above and below, and the inframaxillary plates are yellow, ijromineutly 

 margined with black. The abdomen is yellow, with two lines of black 

 blotches. 



Cat. Nos. Gastrosteges. Urosteges. Length. Tail. 



mm. mm. 



1348 125 + 1. 63. 540. 133. 



13659 131 + 1. 93. 



13687 126 + 1. . 80. 



Some specimens from Georgiana, Florida, present the following char- 

 acters: They represent the supposed form Mvitatus, but are only young 

 of the typical form. Head oval, distinct from neck ; tail long, moder- 

 ately compressed at base; less than in types. Eostral plate elevated; 

 internasals longer than wide; frontal elongate and with parallel sides. 

 Loreal oblique, longer than high; oculars, 1-3, the inferior posterior not 

 below the orbit, but nearly cutting the fifth superior labial out of its 

 border. Temporals, 1-3; superior labials, eight; middle of orbit above 

 suture between fourth and fifth. Inferior labials, ten; postgeneials 

 larger than pregeneials. Scales of body in twenty-one series, all keeled. 



Ground color above, light brownish ash ; below, light yellow. The 



