eo ae ele ae ee Oe ee a 
ij . a ah 
308 COLUBRID. 
. ACHALINUS. 
Achalinus, Peters, Mon. Berl. Ac. 1869, p, 436. 
Ophielaps, Sauvage, Bull. Soe. Philom, (3 i, 1877, p- 108. 
Maxillary teeth 22 to 25, small, equal; mandibular teeth equal. 
Head not distinct from neck ; eye small, with round or vertically 
subelliptic pupil ; nostril rather large, pierced i in the anterior of two 
nasals ; posterior nasal concave; no preocular, loreal extending 
from the nasals to the eye; postoculars not distinct from anterior 
temporals. Body cylindrical, slender; scales lanceolate, feebly 
imbricate, keeled, without apical pits, in 21 to 25 rows; ‘ventrals 
rounded. Tail long, subcaudals single. Hypapophyses developed 
throughout the vertebral column. 
China and Japan. 
Synopsis of the Species. 
Scales in 25 rows; suture between the 
internasals longer than that between the 
PRMLONG a ih. eh airs wxlee alk oed cee 1. rufescens, p. 308. 
Scales in 23 or 25 rows; suture between 
the internasals shorter than that be- 
tween the preefrontals .............. 2. braconnieri, p. 309. 
Scales in 21 rows; suture between the 
internasals as long as that between the 
CFREF ASF a5, a aiapi nes SLRS 3. spinalis, p. 309. 
1. Achalinus rufescens. (Prare XX. fig. 2.) 
Achalinus rufescens, Bouleng. Ann. § Mag. N. H. (6) ii. 1888, 
p. 43. ; 
Head narrow, elongate; rostral small, as deep as broad, not 
visible from above ; suture between the internasals twice as long as 
that between the prefrontals; frontal broader than long, hardly 
half as long as the parietals, four times as broad as the supraocular ; 
only the upper anterior temporal in contact with the eye ; temporals 
2+2; three shields bordering the parietals on each side, the third 
very large and separated from its fellow by asmall scale; six upper 
labials, first very small, fourth and fifth entering the eye, sixth much 
elongate; three pairs of large chin-shields, immediately followed 
by the ventrals. Scales strongly keeled, some distinctly tricarinate, 
in 25 rows. Ventrals 186; anal entire; subcaudals 82. Uniform 
pale reddish brown above ; upper labials and a spot on the temple 
yellow; uniform yellowish beneath. 
Total length 290 millim. ; tail 80. 
Southern China. 
a. 3 (V.135; C 82. Hong Kong. Cit El Type) Hong Kong 
‘ (T ype a 
