XACHESIS. 403 



a more slender tail. The general length of this 

 snake seems to be about four or five feet, and the 

 tail is short in proportion to the body. It does 

 not appear to have been known to Linnaeus, who, 

 relying on his specific characters taken from the 

 number of scuta and squamae, seems to have 

 neglected almost every species, however remark- 

 able, described or figured by other authors, where 

 those particulars could not be ascertained. 



VAR. ? 



Seb. 2. t. 30. 



THIS is probably a variety of the preceding, 

 from which it differs in being of a somewhat 

 shorter form in proportion, with the tail remark- 

 ably short, thick, and suddenly tapering to an 

 obtuse point. Its variegations are very nearly 

 similar to those of the former. 



There can be no occasion to warn the scientific 

 reader, that as the two preceding species are de- 

 scribed merely from their general appearance, the 

 specific characters annexed must, of course, be 

 received with some degree of latitude. 



