DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF BLIND-SNAKES (TYPHLO- 

 PIDiE) FROM THE CONGO FREE STATE. 



BV 



Leonhard Stejneokr, 

 Curator of the Department of lU-ptilcH and Batracliiaus. 



The National Museum is under obligations to Mr. J. H. Cam]) for a 

 small, but very interesting collection of reptiles and batracbinns from 

 Leoj^oklville and Stanley Pool. One of the species sent proves to be 

 new and may be described as follows: 



Typhlops piEeocularis, sp. nov. 



DiAtrNOSis. — A preocular, not in contact with supralabials; no sub- 

 oculars; ocular in contact with nasal below preocular, reaching Ii]» 

 behind second supralabial; snout with sharp liorizontal edge. 



Habitat. — Congo Free State, Africa. 



Type. — U. S. National Museum, No. 20799; Leopoldville, or Stanley 

 Pool, Congo Free State; f). H. Camp coll. 



Description. — Snout very prominent and pointed, but not hooked, 

 with sharp cutting edge: nostrils inferior, situated Just beneath the 

 cutting edge, between two Uirge nasals almost at the point where the 

 internasal suture joins the rostral; rostral very large, about two-thirds 

 the width of the head, the ])ortion visible from below wider than long; 

 labial border of rostral concave, without the usual central prolongation 

 backwards; anterior nasal half-moon shaped, the outer edge nearly 

 parallel with the rostral, the nasal cleft proceeding from the lower 

 border of the rostral, ending at the rostral Just below the cutting 

 edge; posterior nasal at the cutting edge as wide as the preocular and 

 ocular together, b«M'OMiing luirrower above and below, in contact above 

 with prefrontal and supraocular, below with second supralabial and 

 ocular; preocular about as wide as ocular, below widely separated from 

 the supralabials by the i)Osterior nasal and ocular; ocular rather nar 

 row, below anteriorly in contact with posterior nasal, and second su 

 jnalabial reaching the lip behind the latter; eyes indistinguishable; 

 first su[)ralabial exceedingly small, forming the edge of the lip below 

 the anterior nasal, anteriorly receding within the mouth behiml the ros- 

 tral, being separated from the corresi)onding labial (m the other side 

 by a small squarish scale behind the rostral; second sui)ralabial rather 

 larger, in contact with tirst supralabial, anterior and i)osterior nasal 

 and ocular, its upper posterior corner wedged in between the two last 

 mentioned shields; a long and narrow shield behind the lower ]>osterior 



I'fd.-iMMliii-s Xiitiniiiil ^riisi'iiiii. Vol. XVI— Xi). '.(til). 



709 



