296 REPTILIA OPHIDIA. [ANGUIS. 



with squamous plates; frontal large; parietal and interparietal plates 

 moderately developed, the latter of a triangular form, with the apex 

 directed backwards : sides of the head, throat, and all the upper as 

 well as under surface of the body and tail, covered with small imbri- 

 cated scales of a rounded form and not keeled ; those on the sides set 

 obliquely with respect to the axis of the body. (Colours.) Glistening 

 brownish gray above, inclining to reddish on the sides; bluish black 

 beneath : along the back several parallel rows of small dark spots : 

 sometimes all the upper surface light yellowish brown without spots; 

 the sides only marked with a dusky fascia, commencing behind the eyes, 

 and reaching to the extremity of the tail. Obs. The markings are most 

 distinct in young specimens. 



Common in most parts of the country. Frequents woods and gardens. 

 Feeds on worms and insects. Is ovoviviparous. Motion slow. 



(4.) A. Eryx, Linn. Syst. Nat. torn. i. p. 392. Aberdeen Snake, 

 Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. HI. p. 35. 



" Length fifteen inches : tongue broad and forked : nostrils small, round, 

 and placed near the tip of the nose : eyes lodged in oblong fissures above 

 the angle of the mouth : belly of a bluish lead-colour, marked with small 

 white spots irregularly disposed : the rest of the body grayish brown, with 

 three longitudinal dusky lines, one extending from the head along the 

 back to the point of the tail ; the others broader, and extending the whole 

 length of the sides : no scuta ; but entirely covered with small scales ; 

 largest on the upper part of the head." PENN. 



The above is a description of a Snake, communicated to Linnaeus and 

 Pennant by the late Dr. David Skene, and said to inhabit Aberdeenshire . 

 It is probably nothing more than a variety of the common A.fragilis. 



GEN. 5. NATRIX, Flem. 



6. N. torquata, Ray. (Ringed Snake.) Dorsal 

 scales carinated : a lunulate yellow spot on each side of 

 the nape, with a black one behind. 



N. torquata, Ray, Syn. Quad. p. 334. Flem. Brit. An. p. 156. 

 Coluber Natrix, Linn. Syst. Nat. torn. i. p. 380. Turt. Brit. 

 Faun. p. 81. Ringed Snake, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. in. p. 33. 

 pi. 4. no. 13. Shaw, Gen. Zool. vol. in. p. 446. Couleuvre a 

 collier, Cuv. Reg. An. torn. n. p. 83. 



DIMENS. Length from three to four feet; sometimes more. Obs. 

 The female is always much larger than the male. 



DESCRIPT. (Form.) Head depressed, and broader than the neck; 

 body slender, elongated, thickest in the middle, gradually tapering pos- 

 teriorly ; tail about one-fifth of the entire length, rather sharp-pointed at 

 the extremity : gape the length of the head, arched, ascending upwards 

 behind : teeth very small, serrated, arranged in two rows on each side of 

 the jaws : upper part of the head protected by large squamous plates ; 

 the frontal and fronto-parietal plates of considerable size ; seven plates 

 on each side of the upper jaw : dorsal scales imbricated, oval, with an 

 elevated keel down the middle; becoming broader and larger at the sides, 

 with the keel obsolete : plates of the belly broad, transverse, oblong, in 

 number about one hundred and seventy ; subcaudal plates arranged in 

 pairs, from sixty to sixty-five on each side. (Colours.) Upper parts cine- 



