75 



COLUBER COUPERI.— iio/6?-oo^. 



Plate XVI. 



Characters. Head rather small, but distinct from neck, elongated, sub-oval, 

 flattened above and at the sides; snout obtuse, slightly projecting; body thick; 

 tail slender; colour above deep bluish-black, with a metallic lustre in the sun; 

 throat bluish-white, with blotches of pale red. 



Synonyme. Indigo Snake, or Gopher Snake. 



Description. The head is rather small for the size of the animal, though 

 distinct from the neck; it is sub-oval, narrow, flattened above, and at the sides, 

 with the snout elongated and rounded anteriorly. The vertical plate is short, 

 broad, pentagonal, broadest before. The superior orbital are sub-trigonal and 

 large, broadest externally. The frontal plates are broad and pentagonal. The 

 anterior smaller and quadrilateral. The occipital are very large. There are two 

 small pentagonal, posterior orbital plates, behind which are three temporal plates, 

 the posterior largest. The anterior orbital is single, large, and incurvated 

 posteriorly for the orbit. The loral plate is single. 



There are two large nasal plates, the anterior smaller, quadrilateral, and the 

 posterior pentagonal. The rostral plate is large, sub-triangular, round in front, 

 but not much projecting. There are seven large superior labial plates, of which 

 the sixth and seventh are largest, and the third and fourth are pentagonal, and 

 form the lower wall of the orbit. 



The nostrils are large, lateral near the snout, and open upwards, outwards, and 

 V. 3—10* 



