2<S4 Mr. G. A. "Boulenger on the 



being unable, thiougli want of material, to deal with speci- 

 mens inhabiting Bulgaria and Transcaucasia. Having since 

 obtained a specunen from Panagurishta, Bulgaria, through 

 Prof. Kovatcheff, I am able to add Bulgaria to the habitat of 

 the form described by me from lioumania under the name of 

 var. montandoni. Col. Kaznakoff, Director of the Tiflis 

 Museum, having been so kind as to send me, on loan, three 

 specimens from Borzom, in the district of Gori, Prov. Titlis, 

 collected by Dr. G. Radde, I have reached tiie conclusion 

 that, as I expected from Strauch^s description *, the Trans- 

 caucasian form deserves to be distinguished as a further 

 variety, for which I propose the name transcaucasia7ia. 



This variety agrees with var. montandoni in the scutellation 

 of the snout and in the number of ventral shields, but is 

 distinguished by the dorsal markings, which agree with those 

 of the typical Vijpera aspis. 



Snout narrower than in the typical form, with perfectly 

 vertical loreal region, the canthus rostralis slightly raised. 

 !Naso-rostral shield not reaching the canthus rostralis nor tlie 

 summit of the rostral shield, which is deeper than broad 

 (this shield is transversely divided in the largest of the three 

 specimens, but I regard it as an individual anomaly) ; rostral 

 " horn " with two or three transverse series of scales between 

 the rostral siiield and the apex. Ventral shields 150 to 162. 

 The dorsal zigzag baud characteristic of the typical form and 

 other varieties is absent ; it is replaced by a series of narrow, 

 transverse, black or dark brown bars which, on some parts 

 of the body, break up into pairs, forming two alternating 

 series ; a A-shaped dark marking on the occiput; the dark 

 colour on the lower lip broken up by light bars as in the 

 typical form ; end of tail pale yellow or yellowish green 

 interiorly. 



I append a tabulation of the particulars of the specimens 

 of Vipera ammodytes which I have been able to examine. 



1. Total length (in millimetres). 2. Length of tail. 

 3. Number of scales across body. 4. Number of ventral 

 shields. 5. Number of subcaudal shields (pairs). 6. Number 

 of whorls of scales on rostral " horn.'''' 7. Width of rostral 

 shield. 8. Depth of rostral shield. 9. Number of scales 

 across vertex between supraoculars (I. indicates a frontal 

 shield). 10, 11. Number of upper labial shields (right and 

 left). 12, 13. Upper labial shields (4th, 5th, or 6th) below 

 the eye (right and left). 14, 15. Number of scales round the 

 eyCj supraocular excluded (right and left). 



* ' Schlangen des Russischen Reiclis,' p. 215 (1873). 



