132 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



RHADIN.EA Cope. 



The genus Rhadintea is nearly coextensive with Henicognathiis Jan, and 

 Ablabes Giinther. Ablabes of Dum. Bibr. was, however, established on the 

 Coronella rufula of Schlegel. which has the prolonged series of gastric 

 hypapophjses, and is therefore quite different, while Henicognalhus is 

 characterized by a peculiar structure of the mandible, which so far as I am 

 aware occurs in only one American species, the H. a n n u I a t u s D. B. Conse- 

 quently the majority of species attached to this genus belong to Rhadinjiea, 

 as the E. melanocephala D. B. etc. In the description of this last 

 species, three are mingled, as I have ascertained both from a reading of the 

 same, and from an examination of the originals in Mus. Paris. One of these 

 is our R. obtusa, the other is the true R. m e 1 a n o c e p h a 1 a, which 

 should be described as follows, and the third is a species as yet undescribed, 

 which I call Lygophis n i c a g u s Cope. DumiSril and Bibron give both the 

 Island of Guadaloupe and Brazil as habitats of their species. I suspect, 

 however, that the specimen of R. obtusa was accidentally introduced into 

 the jar containing the other two, and that it is confined to South America, 

 where it is not uncommon. It is figured by Jan in his Iconographie, as the 

 second specimen ofR. melanocephala. His first specimen of the same 

 as figured, is our Lygophis n i c a g u s, a serpent with a diacranterian denti- 

 tion. 



The true R. m e 1 a n o c e p h a 1 a is probably confined to Guadaloupe and 

 the neighboring islands. Its description has been so mingled with those of 

 the two oiher species as to require a rediscription. It is to be regretted that 

 this, the type of the species, should not have been figured in the beautiful 

 work of Jan and Sordelli. 



Rhadin'.ea melanocephala. Enicognathus vielanocephalns D. and B., part. 



Head broader and shorter. Common pre- and postfrontal suture 2^ times 

 in length, from vertical ant. sut. to end occip. suture, and equal diam. eye. 

 Vertical a little longer than occip. Common sut. occip.= anterior sut. occip. ! 

 Postfront. descending low on (sides of) loreal seg. Loreal longer than 

 high, 8 and 9 sup. lab., 4 and 5 or 4? 5 and 6 in orbit; of the 3 behind the 

 5th or 6th — 1st is higher than long, 2d longer than high, 3d and last of all 

 twice as high as long. Temporals 2 | 2 | 2 | the infer, of 1st row between pe- 

 nult, and antepenult, labials. Yellow band round canthus rostralis and upper 

 part of rostr. plate edge of supcil. and across post, part of supcil. and vert. ; 

 brown area enclosed. Occips. brown, connected by long, line with broad 

 brown collar yellow edged, which is 6 scales long. Yellow vertebr. band on me- 

 dian row sc. with occasional round brown spot on a single scale, small round 

 spot on end gastrosteges. Labials yellow, edged above with brown. Tail 10''. 

 Total 32'' 5'". 



From Guadaloupe. Mus. Paris. 



LYGOPHIS (Fitz.) Cope. 



Lygophis nicagos Cope. Enicogyiathus rnelanocepfialus Jan, Iconographie Livr. 



xvi. Tab. 1, fig. 4, (not of Dum. Bibr.) 



Length of coram, suture of pre- and postfront. one-third dist. from anter. 

 suture vertic. to end of comm. sut. of occipitals. Vert, long, sides straight, 

 converg., as long as comm. sut. occip. Occip. long, a little divaricate at tips. 

 Diam. eye = comm. suture pre- and postfronts. ; 7 sup. lab. ; 3, 4, 5 in orbit ; 

 7th largest, higher than long, 8th longer than high. Loreal higher than long. 

 Temp. 1 I 2, 17 r. sc. Below yellow, immaculate, near end of gastrost. a 

 longit. spot, forming together longitud. line. Above this line brown, 

 darker to 4th row of sc, forming band with numerous light points mixed ; and 

 on 8, 9, 10 rows where a median longitud. band is formed with undnlatory 

 edges and varied with whitish points. On anter. part body the intermediate 



[March, 



