On a neio African Snake. 489 



midway between eye and end of snout; pijemaxillary teeth 

 forming a short ciescentic band; maxillary barbel once and 

 ^ length of head ; oirter mandibular barbel f length of head, 

 inner ^. Dorsal I 6, well in front of vertical of ventrals, 

 but nearer latter than base of pectorals, equally distant 

 from end of snout and- from middle of adipose fin ; first 

 branched ray ^ length of head. Adipose fin low, 5 times 

 as long as deep, twice as long as rayed dorsal. Anal II 7, a 

 little nearer root of caudal than base of ventral. Pectoral 

 lunger tiian ventral, a little shorter than head. Caudal feebly 

 emarginate. Caudal peduncle as long as deep. Dark olive 

 above, whitish beneath ; five round whitish spots on the 

 back — one in front of the dorsal fin, one on each side of the 

 last rays of the dorsal, one in front of the adipose fin, and one 

 on the posterior extremity of the latter. 



Total length (50 mm. 



A single specimen from Mlanji, Britisii Central Africa, 

 presented by Mr. It. L. Harger. 



Closely allied to A. platt/chir, Gthr., which occurs also in 

 British Central Africa, but body shorter and barbels longer. 



LXVIII. — Description of a neic AfnDan Snake of the 

 Genus Simocep'.ialus. By G. A. Boulk^^UER, F.R.S. 



Simocephalus Butleri. 



Eye moderately large. Rostral once and a half as broad as 

 deep, the portion visible from above measuring one thiid its 

 distance from the frontal ; internasals once and a half as 

 broad as long, half the length of the prefrontals, which are 

 nearly as long as the frontal ; frontal slightly longer than 

 broad, as long as its distance from the end of the snout, 

 shorter than the parietals ; loreal deeper than long ; one prjie- 

 and three postoculars ; the lower of the latter may be regarded 

 as a subocular ; temporals 1 + 2, the first Jiarrowly separating 

 in front, the parietal from the fifth labial ; seven upper 

 labials, third and fourth entering the eye ; five lower labials 

 in contact with the anterior chin-shields, which are longer 

 than the posterior. Scales in 15 rows, strongly keeled, with 

 secondary tubercular keels. Vcntrals 232 ; anal entire ; 

 subcaudals 58. Black above, each scale with a whitisli basal 

 spot, white beneath ; ventrals edged with black on the sides; 

 lower surface of tail greyish. 



Total lengtli 400 nun.; tail 55. 

 Ann. ((■ M<uj. X I list. Scr. 7. Vol. xx. 32 



