455 



Dendraspis viamha n. sp. 



Rostral once and one third broader than deep, praefrontals twice 

 as long as the internasals, frontal as long as broad, shorter than its 

 distance from the end of the snout, shorter than the parietals , forming 

 a short suture with the upper praeocular ; three praeoculars , the upper 

 broadest, the middle one nearly three times as long as broad, simulating 

 a loreal, just separated from the posterior nasal, the lowest smallest, 

 with a small subocular below it wedged in between the fourth and fifth 

 upper labials; three postoculars, upper largest, a subocular, below and 

 in front of the lowest postocular, in contact with the 4th and 5th upper 

 labials; a large upjjer temporal, followed by two or three enlarged scales 

 bordering the parietal, two large lower temporals, together as long as 

 the upper temporal , followed by two superimposed enlarged scales the 

 lower margin of the anterior lower temporal is wedged in between the 

 6th and 7th upper labials ; nine upper labials , fourth entering the eye, 

 second twice as deep as the first, just in contact with the praefrontal; 

 three lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields which are 

 almost twice as long as the posterior, the anterior chin-shields are 

 separated from each other by very minute scales, the posterior ones by 

 small scales. Scales in twenty five rows , twenty nine around the neck, 

 Ventrals 269, anal divided, subcaudals 116 pairs. Dark olive green 

 above, blueish green below, skin between the scales very dark purple. 



The inhabitants of the Transvaal relate terrible stories of a very 

 poisonous, common and aggressive tree-snake occurring in the low veldt, 

 and which they call "Jfamoa". However the name seems to be applied 

 to all tree-snakes indiscriminately, whether poisonous or no, and also 

 sometimes to snakes found on the ground, the term being applied to 

 any particular snake probably more according to the terror it inspires 

 in the observer than on account of its appearance. 



This is only the second specimen of the genus Dendraspis which has 

 passed through my hands among more than one thousand South African 

 snakes examined in the Transvaal Museum, the other specimen was a 

 typical D. angusticeps (Smith). 



The basis of truth underlying the fable of the aggressive and 

 poisonous tree-snake, the '''' Mamba'-'- ^ is probably to be traced to examples 

 of the genus Dendraspis, hence the application of the name in this case. 



Pretoria, 2. Oktober 1907. 



