ANATOMY OF THE OPHIDIA. 393 
equal size. The cystic duct, 29 mm. long, arises from the anterior 
half of the ventral surface of the gall-bladder. Midway between 
the gall-bladder and the pancreas it divides into two branches. 
The smaller branch is one-third the diameter of the larger and 
divides into two branches near the anterior border of the pancreas. 
On the inferior surface of the pancreas the three branches of the 
cystic duct join the several branches of the hepatic duct to form 
a small but complex rete. Similarly complicated anastomoses 
have been recorded in the Python by Poelman and in the Hama- 
dryad by Beddard. 
The external landmarks of the principal viscera in terms of 
gastrosteges are as follows :— 
Male. Female. Male. Female. 
per cent. per cent. 
Total number of gastrosteges 234 243 100 100 
TEI@RWAB RYDEN soso eceunmoodddceseas 69 63 28 26 
iver sanbertor Ul) eared 81 75 35 ol 
55 (DOSUETAIOIE GING! oe cesses 115 108 AD 44 
Gall-bladder, centre ......... 139 137 59 56 
JERWNGIRERIS, COIMNGWE covccocasccnses 142 ay) 61 57 
Testis, right, anterior tip ... 168 a 72 
X », posterior end... 173 ne 74 
,, left, anterior tip ...... 180 aa il 
i », posteriorend ... 185 Si: 79 it 
Kidney, right, anterior tip... . 202 208 86 85 
4s ,, posterior end. 226 233 96 96 
aes. left, anterior tip ... 204 211 87 87 
ue 5, posterior end... 233 Doe SY) 96 
Tt will be noted that in the female there are nine more 
gastrosteges ; in other words, the spinal column contains nine 
more vertebre. In each specimen the posterior end of the liver 
and the anterior tip of the right kidney are very nearly at the 
same relative level. In each specimen the posterior end of the 
left kidney is exactly at the 233rd gastrostege. This indicates 
that the additional vertebrz in the female are situated between 
the end of the posterior kidney and the vent. The position of 
the vagina may require that the body be lengthened in this 
region. 
» This serpent has received considerable attention from the 
early savants. It was discovered by Reinwardt in Java. By 
Wagler it was removed from the genus Coluber and made the 
type of the genus Gonyosoma; the determining character for this 
change was the lateral angles on the ventral shields ; these are 
well shown in the plates given by Schlegel and Jan. Gunther, in 
the ‘Reptiles of British India,’ writes: “It is described as ex- 
ceedingly strong and fierce, defending itself feroctously when 
attacked. It raises nearly the anterior third vertically from the 
ground before it strikes.” Cope, in the ‘Crocodilians, Lizards, and 
Snakes of North America,’ gives a figure of the hemipenis and 
places the genus apart from all the Colubrine, owing to the fact 
