in the Collection of the British Museum. 21 



Fam. Calamaridae. 



Cercocalamus. 



Body rounded^ of moderate length ; head rather narrow, de- 

 pressed, not distinct from the neck; tail of moderate length. 

 Rostral shield low; two pairs of frontals; one nasal; loreal 

 none, replaced by nasal, anteorbital, second labial, and post- 

 frontal. Scales smooth, rhombic, without groove, in fifteen 

 rows ; anal and subcaudals entire. Eye small, with elliptical 

 pupil ; the posterior maxillary tooth longest, grooved. 



Cercocalamus collaris. PI. III. fig. A. 



This snake has the habit of Geophis lineata. Its rostral shield 

 is much broader than high, not recm'ved backwards ; praefrontals 

 half as large as postfrontals, which are bent downwards on the 

 side ; vertical not quite twice as long as broad, hexagonal, with an 

 obtuse angle in front, and with an acute one behind. Occipitals 

 tapering behind, somewhat longer than the vertical. The single 

 nasal is elongate, touching the prseorbital, which is not raised to 

 the upper surface of the head ; one postorbital. Seven upper 

 labials, the third and fourth of which enter the orbit. The fifth 

 upper labial is in immediate contact with the occipital, separating 

 the anterior temporal from the postorbital. There is a large 

 elongate posterior temporal shield (probably formed by two con- 

 fluent shields) on the side of each occipital. Six lower labials ; 

 the first pair do not form a suture together behind the median 

 labial shield, as is the case in almost all other snakes. Two 

 pairs of elongate head-shields. Ventral shields 142, subcaudals 

 46. Upper parts brownish-olive; a broad black collar across 

 the neck ; a very narrow indistinct blackish vertebral line on 

 the anterior part of the trunk. 



Length of head ^ inch, of trunk 9 inches, of tail 2 inches. 



This snake is said to have come from Central America. It 

 appears to be allied to Olisthenes, Cope ! 



The figure represents the head twice its natural size. 



Brachyurophis. 



Body rounded ; head short, not distinct from neck ; tail short. 

 Rostral shield large, as in Rhinostoma, with a sharp anterior 

 edge, but not recurved ; two pairs of frontals ; one nasal ; no 

 loreal, replaced by the hinder portion of the nasal. Scales 

 smooth, rhombic, without groove, in seventeen rows ; anal bifid, 

 subcaudals two-rowed. Eye small, with circular pupil; the 

 posterior maxillary tooth longest, grooved. 



Brachyurophis semifasciata. PI. III. fig. B. 

 Yellowish-white, with sixty or seventy dark brown cross bars on 



