494 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [AugllSt^ 



Scales in 33 rows, with two pits; the outer row very slightly 

 enlarged; 27 to 29 rows faintly keeled. 



Ventrals 270; anal divided; subcaudals 70 pairs. 



Total length 1,590 mm. (tail 190). 



Color bright yellowish buff, with an orange tinge anteriorly; 

 head more ashy, without markings on top or sides. Two very dis- 

 tinct black stripes, two or three scales wide, separated by three and 

 two hall rows, begin on the neck and run back to the tail, becom- 

 ing blackish brown posteriorly. At intervals of about eight scales 

 they are connected by narrow crossbars of the same color, the 

 first of which is about three inches behind the head. The stripes 

 are at first jet black, but after a short distance the portion mid- 

 way between the crossbars fades to maroon, leaving the black 

 sections outlined as a series of H-shaped dorsal blotches, the cen- 

 tres of both the crossbars and the lateral arms being paler. There 

 are 24 of these spots on the body and 8 on the tail, where they 

 lose much of their characteristic shaj^e. On each side is a row of 

 ill-defined, cloudy spots, rather higher than long, extending to the 

 ends of the ventrals; they mostly alternate with the dorsal spots, 

 but an occasioual one is opposite. Traces of a short, broken black 

 line on the sides of the neck suggest a second stripe parallel to 

 that on the back. Belly white with a faint yellowish tinge, 

 unmarked, except for a dusky shade on the suture between the 

 subcaudals, and a cloudy spot on the hinder margin of each scutum 

 on the anterior half of the tail. Chin and throat pure wliite. 



The above color description was taken from the type in life, 

 ■when freshly caught, but much of the intensity has already faded, 

 after two weeks' immersion in spirits. 



The largest of the three specimens now living in the Zoological 

 Society's collection measures 915 mm. (tail 125). It has 35 rows 

 of scales, of which about 15 are very faintly keeled. As 

 nearly as it is possible to count them in a living snake, the ven- 

 trals are about 240; subcaudals about 77. There are 25 dorsal 

 spots and 8 on the tail, and the body color is paler and more ashy 

 than in the type. 



The third specimen is 684 mm. long (tail 98) ; the scales are in 

 31 rows, about 13 of which are faintly keeled; ventrals about 

 245; subcaudals about 68. The color is similar to the last 

 described, but there is a small dusky spot at each of the anterior 



