48 SYNOPSES AND DESCRIPTIONS, 
SPILOTES COUPERI. 
Coruser courert Holbrook, 1842, Herp. N. Amer. IIT, 75. 
Spinores coupert Cope, 1860, Pr. Ac. N. Se., Phil., 342 and 564. 
Elongate, stout; head distinct from the neck, high, crown arching lon- 
gitudinally; tail short, near one sixth of the total. Crown-shields nine. 
Rostral broader than high. Frontal about as broad as long. Nasal in 
two parts, nostril between. <A loreal. Oculars 1—2, anterior large. 
Labials seven, anterior smaller, eye over the fourth and fifth, fourth sup- 
porting the postorbital, fifth small triangular, sixth very large, extending 
forward over the fifth, seventh large, Scales lustrous, imbricate, smooth, 
inl7 rows. Ventrals 184—190. Anal entire. Subcaudals 60, not divided, 
Lustrous black. Belly more or less plumbeous; yellowish under the 
throat and neck. The young are probably more yellow on the anterior 
portions. Georgia, Texas. 
SPILOTES OBSOLETUS. 
Coruser opsotetus Holbrook, 1842, N. A. Herp. IIT, p. 61, pl. XI. 
Body long, stout, compressed; head distinct from the neck; tail near 
one sixth of the total. Eye medium, over the fourth and fifth labials. 
Labials eight, fifth and seventh not in contact, sixth small, wedge-shaped. 
Infralabials nine, fourth and fifth largest. A loreal, sometimes two. 
Orbitals 1—2, posterior resting on the fifth labial. Scales in 17 rows. 
Ventrals 193. Subcaudals 56—60. 
Black, plumbeous below; anterior half of the body with reddish-white 
spots on the bases of some of the dorsal scales, and on the bases of ven- 
trals. On the sides and under the head yellowish-red. Posterior margins 
of labials and lower plates of the head black. Texas. 
SPILOTES CORAIS. 
Couper corats Daudin, 1803, Hist. Rept. VI, 23. 
Spriores corais Dum.& Bibr., 1854, Erp. Gén. VIT, 223. 
Elongate, stout, somewhat compressed; head large, subquadrangular in 
cross section at the eye, crown flat; tail rather less than one fifth of the 
total, tapering. Eye moderate, pupil round. Mouth-cleft deep, curved. 
Teeth gradually enlarging backward, smooth. Snout prominent, broad, 
rounded. Crown-shields normal. Internasals subquadrate. Frontal and 
prefrontals short; the latter bent down on the sides of the face to the loreal. 
Rostral broader than high. Nasal divided. Qne preocular, broader above. 
