8 l'}ii7rrs}ty of Micliu/an 



first row of scales. The basal shading- is not evident on a few 

 of the lower scales, but is usually conspicuous and often oc- 

 cupies as much as half the area of a scale. The belly presents 

 the appearance of l>eing checkered with large quadrate black 

 and white areas. This is due to the fact that the black and white 

 annuli often jjartly. and sometimes completely, alternate with 

 each other. The white ventral scutes are usually dark brown 

 at the base, and this shading is progressively intensified pos- 

 teriorly. The ground color of the head is black. Across the 

 prefrontals and internasals is a broad transverse bar of white; 

 the rostral is white with a black border on the sides and above; 

 the nasals, loreals, oculars, first two left temporals, and upper 

 first right temporal have each a white center; the lowest tem- 

 porals of the second rows each have a white spot ; there is a 

 white spot, antero-ventrally, on each supraocular. The contig- 

 uous edges of the labials and of the chin shields are black. The 

 common black borders of the third and fourth and of the fifth 

 and sixth upi)er labials are much widened. 



General Description : On the numerous other specimens at 

 hand the following description has been based : Ventral plates 

 2 1 6-24 [; subcaudals 44 to 57 (males, 50-57, average 54; 

 females 44 to 51. average 48) ; supralabials 7 (rarely 8) ; m- 

 fralabials 9, sometimes 10; oculars i and 2; temporals usually 

 2-I-3+4; posterior chin shields but little more than half as 

 long and half as wide as anterior, and separated from each 

 other by two small scales ; loreal longer than high. Dorsal scale 

 rows usually 23-21-19, sometimes 23-25-23-21-19 or 23-21-23- 

 21-19. "^^^^ t^'l varies from .09 to .14 of the total length 

 (males, .121 to .132, average .127; females, .093 to .128, aver- 

 age .117). The whitish annuli vary in number from 29 to 45, 

 the average being about 37. 



