Natural History of South Africa. 441 



Colour above pure black ; sides of the head and body clouded black 

 and white ; belly white. On each side an indistinct dusky band or stripe 

 commences immediately under the dorsal fin, and descends obliquely 

 downwards and backwards till it terminates on the under and posterior 

 part of the body, also a dusky coloured circle round each eye. Below, 

 the anterior part of the lower jaw, and a space of nccu-ly a foot and a 

 half before the tail, dusky. Snout short, pointed, and not readily dis- 

 tinguished from the anterior part of the head, teeth slightly curved, con- 

 vexities outwards, forty on each side above, below thirty-six. Pectoral 

 fins long and pointed, arched before, and concave behind, with the 

 exception of a small portion towards the root of each, which consists of a 

 rounded projection. Dorsal fin rather nearer tail than head, large, high, 

 and pointed, with its hinder edge falciform ; caudal semilunar, and with 

 a narrow slit or fissure at the termination of the back ; usual length six 

 feet. Inhabits the seas about the Cape of Good Hope, and is often caught 

 in Table Bay. Named after Sir Everard Home, Bart., V. P. R. S. 



SERPENTIA. 



Fam. Dendrophidse. GENUS BUCEPHALUS, nvihi. 



Caput cubiforme multd laiius collo ; maxilla quatuor dentium ordinihus 

 omnium solidorum prater paucos posteriores ordinis externi qui a 

 radicibus usque ad apices canaliculati sunt ; corpus subgracile ad 

 medium crassiusculum ; in singulis scutorum lateribus prcesertim, 

 prope caput distincta cutis laxm plica; cauda gracilis teres circa 

 quartam totius longitudinis partem duplici subtijis squamarum serie ; 

 squamcE corporis carinatce, cingulis transversis curvatis ordinatoE. 



Bucephalus typus, mihi. 



Supra fuscus, stibtils argenteo-griseus fusco tinctus. 



Head thick and clumsy ; colour above an uniform lightish brown ; be- 

 neath silvery gray speckled with brown ; irides green ; last scuta of abdo- 

 men divided ; length between five and six feet ; thickness rather greater 

 than that of a man's thumb. Found upon branches of trees, as well as 

 on the ground, in the eastern districts of South Africa. 



