152 



MR. F. E. BEDDAKD ON THE ANATOMY 



[Mar. 3, 



have been set forth. These facts are given in the accom- 

 panyino- table, which is regrettably imperfect in places. 



I A. B. 



(64 inch.)*, (63) 



C. I D. 

 (48i); (71) 



From symphysis of jaws to 



auricle oi heart ISif 



From apex of heart to liver . . . ■ 4j 



Length of liver i 11 J 



i 

 From end of liver to gall- 

 bladder 8 



i 



Length of kidneys ' 3^,2^^ 



From end of posterior kidney 

 tovent 10 



18 

 4i 



m 



3^3^ 



14 



? 



5i 





2^2 ; 3i,3 



12* 



E. 



(65) 



lOi 



8 



2|,2i 



12 



F. i G. 



(64)1(53) 



18 1 17 



4 ! ? 



10^: 8^ 



6i 6i 



The study of the statistics presented in the above table shows,, 

 as it would appear, only one important instance of variation 

 between individuals. That concerns the distance at which the 

 gall-bladder is situated from the end of the liver. In specimens 

 A, E, F, and G, particularly in the first and second of the four,, 

 the gall-bladder is markedly more distant from the end of the 

 liver than in the remaining examples where I have noted its 

 position. In view of its much smaller length, specimen should 

 perhaps be referred to the same list. It is a fact not without, 

 interest that in specimens E, E, and G the intrapulmonary 

 bronchus is not continued by a seam down the lung, and that the- 

 lungs are relatively small. On the other hand, in the only 

 examples in which I ascertained the presence of a seam, viz., in 

 B and D, one, at any rate, has a large lung, and the other shows 

 a short interval between the end of the liver and the gall-bladder.. 

 There is thus, as I venture to maintain, a commencing differentia- 

 tion of species among these externally quite similar snakes. 

 There is a distinct tendency to the segregation of the individuals 

 into two groups : the one with a seam down the larger lung, 

 which is relatively of larger size than in the other individuals, 

 and a gall-bladder comparatively far removed from the posterior 

 end of the liver ; the other with relatively smaller lungs without 

 any seam, and the gall-bladder not so far removed from the end 

 of the liver. Apart from these series of variations, which seem 

 to allow of the sorting into two lots of the individuals considered, 

 other organs vary in a less r'egular fashion. In the liver there 



* It vv^ill be recollected that the above measurements are taken from the top of 

 the snout to the vent. They are set forth in inches. 



+ This and all the following measurements are in inches. 



X The thin "tail" to one lobe of the liver is comprehended in these measure- 

 ments, where it occurs. It does not occur in specimens D, E, G. 



