Reptiles from Brazil. 297 



that one of his specimens presents a black vertebral line which 

 is absent in the others, the only remaining character upon 

 which both descriptions agree being the continuous black 

 colour of the lower and lateral surfaces. Since mj remarks 

 on the variations of this snake were written, the Natural- 

 History Museum has received a ninth specimen, collected by 

 Dr. V. Ihering at S. Lorenzo. This is larger than any 

 hitherto recorded, measuring 700 raillim. ; snout very broad ; 

 coloration typical ; ventrals 207, anal divided, caudals 23. 



10. — Two closely allied species of LiopMs occur abundantly 

 in the province Rio Grande do Sul, one with nineteen rows of 

 scales, the other with seventeen. The former was referred 

 by me to L. Merremii^ auct. (0. meleagris^ Shaw), a view 

 also taken by Cope. The second species I put down as L. 

 cohella, to which it comes nearest, and of which an identical 

 specimen was already so named in the Natural-History 

 Museum ; this is the form now named Opheomorphus fuscus. 

 Whether it really deserves to rank as a species or ought to 

 be regarded as a race of L. cobella is a doubtful question. At 

 any rate it is a distinct form, characterized by the coloration 

 and a somewhat greater number of ventral shields. Cope 

 counts 182 ventrals, but this must be an extreme ; the nine 

 specimens before me give the following numbers : — 165, 166, 

 167, 168, 170, 170, 172, 174, 175. In a dozen specimens of 

 the typical L. cobella I find the number of ventrals varies 

 from 143 to 161. 



13. — After careful comparison of the description of Apo- 

 ro'phis cyanopleurus with the specimens identified by me as 

 Dromicus melanostigma^ Wagl., as well as with the figure of 

 the type specimen published by Jan, I have no doubt the two 

 forms are identical. 



27, 28. — The two species of Helicops mentioned by Cope 

 are identical, and I have at present before me specimens of 

 both, as well as of H. carinicaudus, of which I regard them 

 as varieties. Cope himself, it is true, remarks of his H. halio- 

 gaster that '^ this species is near the H. infratceniatus^ Jan, 

 and future investigation may prove it to be a variety of that 



species The colour of the lower surface in the two 



species is quite different." I can assure him that the latter 

 difference does not even indicate a constant variety, as one of 

 Dr. v. Ihering's specimens represents the typical H. infia- 

 tceniatus on the anterior half of the ventral surface and the 

 H. haliogaster on the posterior. 



