214 OPHIDIA. 



is rare, and confined to the neighbourhood of the French 

 frontiers. The authors of the ' Erpetologie Generale,' how- 

 ever, say that it occurs all over Italy and its islands. 



Coluber Dione. 



Elaphis Bione, Dum. et Bib. vol. vii. p. 248. 



Coluber Bione, Pallas, Zoog. Ross. As. vol. iii. p. 40, 



Desceiption. — Two anal plates : the body slim, cylindiical, 

 smaller near the origin of the tail than in the middle of the 

 body ; head small, squared ; snout very slightly compressed 

 at its extremity ; in front of the eye is a sort of furrow 

 formed by the concave surfaces of the two pre-ocular plates ; 

 twenty-five rows of scales along the body, eight along the 

 tail ; five gular plates, 198 ventral, two anal (or one divided), 

 sixty-two or sixty- three subcaudal divided plates. Maxil- 

 lary teeth, 18 above, 17 below ; palatines, 9 ; pterygoid, 12. 

 The colonizing, according to Pallas, is as follows : — 

 Yar. A. With three lighter longitudinal bands on the 

 general ash-grey tint of the upper surface ; between these 

 bands are round alternate spaces covered with a black net- 

 work, and arranged in two series ; along each flank to the 

 tail is another less distinct light Kne ; the abdomen is 

 white, with small black marks and red points ; the head 

 is reticulated ^vith black lines, which run especially along 

 the sutures of the plates. 



Yar. B. Foimd near the Eiver Cuma. Without light 

 bands ; on the head a round dark spot edged with black ; 

 before the eyes a long, linear brown space ; two longitu- 

 dinal spots edged with brown run doT\Ti from the nape of 

 the neck, and are good characteristics of the variety. M. 

 Eichwald describes the colour of the belly as distinctly 

 flesh-colour, with four or more regularly-disposed black 

 spots on each plate, and the upper surface of tlie tail with 

 transverse black bands. It is supposed that the three light 



