1050 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 



EUTiENIA EQUES EQUES Reuss. 



Eutwnia cxjrtopsis Kennkott, I'roc. Acad. Nat. Sen. Pbila., 1860, p. ,3.33.— Cope, 

 Check-list N. Amer. P.ati-. Kept., 1875, p. 41. 



Form very slender, but little stouter than that of E. saurita, but 

 with shorter tail, one-fourth the total length. Head large. Eye very 

 large. Superior labials eight, sixth and seventh largest. Three post 

 orbitals, upper much the largest. Scales in nineteen rows. Color 

 above olive brown, appearance of a zigzag line. Dorsal stripe whitish, 

 narrow, distinct to the tip of the tail. Lateral stripe on the second 

 and third rows of the same color, broad, distinct from head to anus. 

 A series of black spots on the tirst dorsal row; abdomen uniform green- 

 ish white. Orbitals whitish ; occipital spots obsolete. 



This si^pcios somewhat resembles TJ. marciana in the pattern of col- 

 oration, which, however, has the lateral stripe upon the third row only, 



instead of the third and sec- 

 ond. The difference in form 

 is most striking, the body 

 being almost as slender as in 

 E. saurita. The scales are 

 rather larger than in E. mar- 

 (ianaj and those of the first 

 row more elongated. The 

 ground color above the 

 lateral stripe is olive brown. 

 The first dorsal row is whitish 

 olive or greenish white. The 

 abdomen is uniform greenish 

 white, exce^it a small black 

 marginal spot near the ex 

 tremity of each abdominal 

 scute. The whitish dorsal 

 row occupies one, and less 

 tliau two half rows of scales, and is encroached upon by the black 

 dorsal blotches, which sometimes reach the central row. The lateral 

 stripe is also encroached upon by the spots above and below it, 

 thongh never entirely interrupted by them near the head, as in E. mar- 

 ciana. The head is dark olive above; labials margined vertically with 

 black, somewhat as in E. marciana^ except the seventh plate, which 

 in the former is heavily bordered with black on both edges; in the 

 latter slightly upon the anterior edge alone. There is a vertical light 

 patch at the angle of the mouth crossing the posterior upper labial, 

 and confluent with the white of the neck and not<listinct and crescent- 

 shaped, as in E. marciana. Behind the occipital plates is a very large 

 double black blotch. Behind this there are three or four perfect square 

 blotches extending quite from the dorsal to the lateral stripe, each three 

 scales in length, and separated by intervals of about two scales wide. 

 Behind these the general pattern of spots is seen. It consists of two 



V\'r. 291. 



EUT.KNIA EQUES EQUES KeUSS. 



=r 1. 



Duraiigo, Mexico. 



C.it. No. J(068, U.S.N. M. 



