36 Storer on the à; 
The nostrils are very large, near the snout, and 
lateral. The eyes are large, the pupils dark, the — 
iris light gray. The neck is nearly the size of the - 
head when he is quiet, but when roused or irritated 
he flattens it to more than twice its ordinary breadth. 
The body is elongated, thick, rounded above, but 
flattened at the abdomen, covered with scales strongly 
carinated above, the three inferior lateral rows being 
ecarinate, and with plates below. The tail is long, 
narrow, and terminating in a point, with scales or 
bifid plates on its under surface. 
Color. The head above is dusky, with a light 
band between the orbits; behind the occiput is a 
dark spot; a dark band begins at the back of each 
nostril, which increases in size as it descends, and 
forms a large blotch on the side of the neck. The 
body is olive-brown, or sometimes brownish yellow, 
and marked with a triple series of black or dark gray 
spots; those of the vertical series being subquadrate 
and elongated transversely ; the spots of the lateral 
rows are rounded, and many of them correspond 
with those of the vertebral line, while others alter- 
nate with them. Sometimes the spots of the lateral 
and vertebral lines are confluent, so as to give the 
` appearance of bands. 
Dimensions. Length of the head, 14 inches; 
breadth of the head, whén not disturbed, 1 inch ; 
length of the body, 27 inches; length of the tail, 
5 inches; circumference of the body, 44 inches. 
In the individual here described, there were one 
hundred and forty-four abdominal plates entire, and 
two bifid plates near the vent ; and forty-two pair of 
subcaudal scales." 
necat cereum eoe 
