544 The Philippine Journal of Science 1923 



with a dark area between eyes; a dark area on tip of snout; 

 a dark line from eye to near dark nuchal spot; a spot below 

 eye and small spots on anterior upper labial; upper labials 

 generally lavender; lower labials spotted black and white; prom- 

 inent black spots on outer edges of anterior ventrals; outer 

 edges of ventrals dark, growing black posteriorly; median part 

 of ventrals with small spots, not triangular in shape. No 

 scattered spots under tail. 



Measurements of the type of Cyclocorus nuchalis sp. nov. 



Length of head 17 



Variation. — A second specimen in my collection from Abung- 

 abung, Basilan, agrees with the type in essential details; the 

 fourth lower labial, however, touches the first pair of chin 

 shields, and the posterior chin shields are slightly shorter and 

 separated for the greater part of their length ; a row of cream 

 dots can be traced on the sides, touching the fourth and fifth 

 scale rows, the scales bearing dots, separated by two vertical 

 scale rows. The posterior part of the body is less black and 

 the lateral dark lines are very dim. The lateral light dots 

 are discernible also in the type on very close observation; ven- 

 trals, 144; subcaudals, 45; anal, single. 



Remarks.— This species differs from Cyclororus lineatus 

 (Reinhardt) in having seven instead of eight upper labials; in 

 having the third and fourth instead of the third, fourth, and 

 fifth upper labials entering the orbit; in having shorter and 

 wider parietals ; and in having larger eyes. 



In my monograph on Philippine snakes 1B I list a series of 

 Cyclocorus lineatus from Mindanao. The specimens are not 

 at hand for study at present, but they have a lower number 

 of ventral scales and a higher average of subcaudals than do 

 species occurring in northern islands ; three instead of four or 

 five lower labials is the usual number that border the anterior 

 chin shields and the temporal formula is 1 + 2. The present 

 species has the same temporal formula as the Mindanao speci- 

 mens and there are three or four labials bordering the first 

 chin shields. I strongly suspect that the group of specimens 



"Snakes of the Philippine Islands (1922) 108. 



