946 MR. G. A. BOULENGER ON THE [Dec. 14, 



part of the tail. Yentrals 143-157; anal divided; subcaudals 

 71-84. 



As regards the coloration, this species appears to fall into two 

 principal forms — the typical, originally desci'ibed from Diique de 

 Braganga, Angola, and Mocquard's G.fxircata, from Brazzaville, 

 Congo, which Bocage also records from Duque de Bragan9a, and 

 which seems to be the common form in Cameroon and the 

 Gaboon. 



G. ornata is thus described by Bocage from a specimen 

 1640 millim. in length : — Olive above, with numei-ous irregular 

 deep black spots, confluent on the tail and the posterior third of 

 the body, much better separated on the middle third, and again 

 confluent on the anterior third, where they form a broad longitu- 

 dinal band from the occiput to a distance of about 150 millim. ; 

 two parallel black bands along the side of the anterior third of 

 the body, the upper the broader, extending from the first upper 

 labial, the lower extending from the third ventral shield; head 

 olive above, irregularly spotted with black, the lateral shields 

 edged with black ; two black streaks on the temporal region ; 

 greenish yellow beneath, the shields spotted and edged with 

 black. 



A specimen from the Gaboon in the British Museum (no. 12) 

 appears to represent the young of the typical G. ornata. It is 

 dark brown above, with black spots having a tendency to form 

 longitudinal lines ; the sides of the head and of the body, and the 

 lower parts are black ; two broken-up white lines along the sides, 

 the upper the better developed and extending over the temple to 

 the eye ; some white spots on the labial shields and under the 

 head ; tail and posterior part of body unifoim black. 



Mocquard's G.furcata is based on a specimen a little over a 

 metre in length, greyish brown above, with 25 black cioss-bars, 

 not half as broad as the spaces between them, these bands bifur- 

 cating towards the ventrals, the sides showing very regular 

 A-shaped black figures ; the body turns to a uniform blackish bi'own 

 towards the tail ; ventral region dirtj- white in front, blackish 

 brown towards the tail, which is black above and blackish brown 

 beneath ; the upper head-shields are blackish brown, except the 

 parietals, which are fulvous edged with black ; sides and lower 

 surface of head grey, the shields edged with black. 



This description applies tolerably well to specimens from South 

 Cameroon, the Gaboon, and Central Africa, in the British 

 Museum. The back bars number 21 to 25, exclusive of such as 

 may be present on the tail, which is not always black; the 

 parietals are more or less distinctly lighter in colour than the 

 other head-shields, the sides of the head are brown or blackish 

 with white spots on the labials and temporals, those behind the 

 eye corresponding to the white line shown by the young specimen 

 of the typical form mentioned above ; the belly is yellowish or 

 greyish white, at least the posterior ventral shields spotted, 

 freckled, or edged with black. A specimen from the Gaboon 



