26 REPTILES. 



Var. F. Belly uniform whitish ; above purple ; in younger 

 individuals a dorsal series of whitish escutcheon-like spots, the 

 tip of which is turned towards the front, emitting on each side 

 an oblique whitish streak towards the belly; an obsolete, very 

 narrow, whitish streak always between two spots. In older indi- 

 viduals the spots are narrow, on the back broader, whitish, darker- 

 edged cross bands, alternating with much narrower whitish trans- 

 verse streaks. 



I. Adult. Singapore. Presented by General Hardwicke. 

 m. Half-grown. Singapore. From the Haslar Collection. 



5. SiMOTES COCCINEUS. 



Bead-snake, Catesby, Nat. Hist, of Carol, pi. 60. Coluber 

 coccineus, Blumenbach in Voigt's Magazin, v. pi. 5 ; Gmel. Syst. 

 Nat. p. 1097; Harlan in Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. v. 1827, 

 p. 356, and Med. Phys. Researches, 1835, p. 119; Latr. Rept. iv. 

 p. 138; Daud. Rept. vii. pi. 83. f. 1. Elaps coccineus, Merr. 

 Tent. p. 145. Harlequin-snake, Audubon, Birds, t. 52. Hete- 

 rodon coccineus, Schleg. Ess. pi. 3. f. 15, 16. Rhinostoma coc- 

 cinea, Holbr. N. Amer. Herpet. iii. pi. 30; Baird <^ Girard, 

 Catal. p. 118. Simotes coccineus, Dum. Sf Bibr. vii. p. 637. 

 pi. 82. f. 2. 



Rostral very prominent, but rounded, and not compressed into 

 a ridge. Whitish (in spirits), crossed by pairs of narrow black 

 bands, the posterior of each pair always forming with the ante- 

 rior of the next pair a complete ring. 



a. Adult. Charlestown. From M. Parzudaki's Collection. 



b. Half-grown. North Carolina. Old Collection. 



c. Half-grown. South America. From the Leyden Museum. 



d. e. Adult : discoloured. America. Old Collection. 

 /. Adult : very bad state. America. 



g. Half-grown. America, 



h-l. Adult. America. Presented by the College of Surgeons. 



Var. Back with equidistant black cross bars, not reaching the 

 side of belly ; sides irregularly black-spotted ; belly with a black 

 medial band. Scales in seventeen rows. Perhaps a distinct species. 



m. Half-grown : bad state. Venezuela. From Mr. Dyson's 

 Collection. 



6. Simotes diadema. 



Heterodon diadema, Dum. ^ Bibr. p. 770. 



Three anterior, two posterior oculars. Whitish, with a dorsal 



