VOL. XVI 



1893. 



] PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 725 



name, however, seems to have the priority by a few mouths. I would 

 state, however, that the number of the Wiener Sitzungsberichte con- 

 taining the description (Matli. Nat. CI., Vol. C, V-vii heft, May — Jul}^, 

 1891) did not reach the library of the Smithsonian Institution until 

 June .30, 1892, while the " Anzeiger" was never received at all. 



SERPETsTES. 



Typhlops schlegelii Bianc. 



Two specimens, a large one (U. S. National Museum, No. 20123) and 

 one half-grown (No. 20121) were collected by Mr. Denhardt on the Island 

 of Manda, both alike in all essential points. Color above, dark olive; 

 below, yellow ; the outline between the two colors irregular, and the four 

 lowest olive scale rows on each side with a yellow^ spot in the middle 

 forming four narrow yellow longitudinal lines. 



No. 20123 is 430mm long; diameter, 15mm; scale row^s, about 36. 



No. 20121, 200mm long; diameter, 7mm; scale rows, about 30. 



Typhlops maudensis, sp. nov. 



Diagnosis. — Nasal large, semidivided, nasal cleft proceeding from 

 the first labial; four supralabials; i)reocular present, narrower than 

 the nasal or the ocular; no subocular; ej^enot distinguishable; rostral 

 large; snout not hooked, with obtusely angular horizontal edge; nos- 

 trils inferior, just below the edge; prefrontal, frontal, and interparietal 

 of equal size, much larger than the scales on the body; supraoculars 

 and one pair of ])arietals still larger; diameter of body 23 times in the 

 total length; tail exceedingly short, much wider than long; 31 scale 

 rows round the middle of the body, the median dorsal row not en- 

 larged. Color above, uniform pale greenish gray; below, pale butt". 



Total length 135 mm. 



Habitat. — Wange, Island of Manda, north of Lamu, East Africa. 



Type. — U. S. National Museum, No. 20125; Gustav Denhardt coll. 



Remarlcs. — This new species is apparently nearly related to T. hal- 

 lowelli Jan, which, however, has only 3 supralabials and 28 scales 

 round the body. The scutellation of the head is very much as figured 

 by Sordelii (Jan, Icon. Ophid., livr. 4, 18G4, pi. V, fig. 6) except that in 

 T. haUoweUi the prefrontal, frontal and interparietal decrease in size 

 backwards, the latter being scarcely larger than the scales of the body, 

 while in the present species these three shields are of equal size and 

 much larger than the scales of the body. The supraoculars and pari- 

 etals are also proportionally larger in the latter. 



The only specimen collected has a small abnormal scale on the right 

 side at the junction of the sutures between the preocular and ocular 

 on the one hand, and the second and third supralabials on the other. 



