264 COLUBEID^. 



between the praefrontals ; frontal once and a half as long as broad, 

 nearly twice as broad as the supraocular, as long as its distance 

 from the end of the snout, and much shorter than the parietala ; 

 loreal, if present, small, longer than deep; one praj- and one post- 

 ocular ; temporals 1 + 1 ; seven upper labials, third and fourth 

 entering the eye ; four or five lower labials in contact with the 

 anterior chin-shields, which are longer than the posterior. Scales 

 in 15 rows. Ventrals 211-235; aaal divided; subcaudals 73-82. 

 Pale olive or reddish above, anteriorly with more or less distinct 

 black transverse lines, posteriorly uniform or with small black spots ; 

 head sometimes black above ; lower parts white. 



Total length 450 millim. ; tail 110. 



Transcaspia and Sind. 



a. Hgr. (V. 235; C. 73). Ashkabad, Trans- M. P. A. Warent- 



caspia. zoff [C.]. 



b. 9 . (V. 211 ; C. 78). Kolustau, Sind. W. T. Blanford, Esq. 



[P.]. 



11. Contia coronella. 



Calamaria coronella, Schleg. Phys. Serp. ii. p. 48 (1837). 

 Homalosoma coronelloides, Jmi, Arch. Zool. Anat. Phys. ii. 1862, 



p. 34, and Icon. Gen. 13, pi. iii. fig. 5 (1865). 

 coronella, Jan, II. cc. p. 36, pi. iv. fig. 3 ; Lortet, Arch. Mus. 



Lyon, iii. 1883, p. 184, pi. xix. fig. 3 ; Peracca, Boll. Mus. Torino, 



ix. 1894, no. 167, p. 13. 

 Ablabes coronella, Gi'mth. P-oc. Zool. Soc. 1864, p. 489; Boettg. 



Ber. Senck. Ges. 1879-80, p. 140. 



Rostral much broader than deep, well visible from above ; suture 

 between the internasals as long as or shorter than that between 

 the prsefrontals ; nasal undivided ; frontal longer than its distance 

 from the end of the snout, nearly as long as or longer than the 

 parietals, not more than once and a half as broad as the supra- 

 ocular; a small square loreal present or absent; one prteocular ; 

 one postocular (rarely two); temporals 1 + 1 or 1 + 2; seven upper 

 labials, third and fourth entering the eye ; anterior chin-shields 

 short and in contact with three or four labials, second pair very 

 small and separated by a scale. Scales in 17 rows (rarely 15 or 

 19). Ventrals 103-148 ; anal divided : subcaudals 24-52. Pale 

 brown above, with brown spots which may be confluent into 

 transverse bands ; a broad crescentic dark brown collar, descending 

 to and sometimes extending across the throat ; lips yellowish, with a 

 blackish vertical streak below the eye and another between the two 

 last labials ; yellowish white iuferiorly ; belly with round brown spots. 



Total length 295 millim. ; tail 45. 



Syria. 



a. 5 (Sc.l7 ; V.128 ; C. 29). Merom. Canon Tristram [C.]. 



6-c. J (Sc. 17; V. 103, Lake of Galilee. Canon Tristram [C.]. 



103 ; C. 28, 29). 



d. $ (Sc.l9 ; V.123 ; C. 24). Lebanon. Canon Tristram [C.]. 



e-g. 2 (Sc. 17; V. 120; Haifa. Senckenberg Museum 



C. 31) & yg. (Sc. 17 ; [E.]. 



V. 127, 123 ; C. 32, 27). 



I 



