138 



black, lightly in front, and heavilyTjbehind on the parietals. The 

 first of 24 bright Venetian-red body-rings commences three scale- 

 rows behind the parietals. Each of these rings is narrowly bor- 

 dered before and behind by black, these black rings occupying 

 from one to two scale-rows in width. The first of these black 

 rings is produced forward on the parietals in a point. The red 

 rings are six scale-rows in width (circa 15 mm.) anteriorly de- 

 creasing in size to three scale-rows (circa 10 mm.) at midbody, 

 but increasing again toward the tail. Six red rings on the tail 

 make 30 in all. Counting the ground-color gray band on the 

 head there are 31 gray bands in total length. Counting the 

 traces of black rings on the head there are 62 such rings in all, 

 the last enveloping the tail-tip which is wholly black. Below, the 

 throat is yellowish followed by irregular black blotches on the 

 ventrals which replace in an irregular fashion the gray bands of 

 the dorsal surface. The black and red rings are more or less dis- 

 tinct and clearly defined on the ventral surface and tail. 



Remarks. — Miquihuana lies some 125 miles, as the crow flies, 

 northwest of San Luis Potosi, the type locality of Lampropeltis 

 mexicana (Garman). I am informed that the avifauna of these 

 two localities also differs considerably. The new species has been 

 carefully compared with the types of L. mexicana which are pre- 

 served in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 



Lampropeltis leonis (Gunther) . 



I should like to take this opportunity of remarking that the 

 Museum of Comparative Zoology has recently received four 

 examples of this very rare snake (hitherto only known from the 

 type, described in 1893) from Alvarez, San Luis Potosf, Mexico. 

 They were collected by Mr. W. W. Brown and presented to the 

 Museum by Dr. Barbour. 



They agree in most respects with Gunther's description but 

 differ in having two apical pits on their smooth scales as antici- 

 pated by Blanchard (page 138) . While the type had 200 ventrals 

 and 50 caudals, the present series have a range of 189-196 ven- 

 trals and 54-58 caudals, no less than three of the four snakes 

 having 58 caudals. There is an aberration in No. 19024 which 

 has 3+4 temporals on the left side, two of the three anterior ones 

 being in contact with the postoculars. In No. 19025 the tem- 

 porals are -2 +3 with both anterior in contact with the postoculars. 



It is, however, in coloring that the chief differences occur. 

 The type is said to have "body pale olive-color on the back, 

 with 27 salmon-colored incompletely black-edged spots." In 

 our specimens the spots are as follows: 



19022 36 spots on the body and 9 on the tail 



19023 39 " 10 " 



19024 47 " 11 " 



19025 35 " 10 " . . 



