SCHMIDT, THE HER PETOLOGY OF PORTO RICO 197 



The differences, then, between the Porto Biean and the Cuban Typhlops 

 may be summarized as follows : 



Torto Rican Cuban 



Average length of adult Greater than 250 mm. Less than 250 mm. 



Scales about the body 22-20-20 or 22-20-18 20-20-18 or 20-18-18 



Scales from snout to tail spine. 365-415 270-325 



Tail With white ring or Without white ring 



notch or notch 



The specimens of the present series were found during cultivation on 

 the farm of Mr. B. A. Wall. The single specimen secured by me per- 

 sonally was burrowing in the loose earth around an old stump, in which 

 both Typhlops and LeimadopJiis eggs were found. 



Three eggs of this species were found in the soil about the same stump, 

 containing well-developed embryos. The egg is elongated, like a slightly 

 bent cylinder with rounded ends, with a perfectly smooth, white surface. 

 The embryo measures 98 mm. in length and 3 mm. in diameter. The 

 smallest hatched specimens found measure 114 mm. 



Three of the smallest specimens in the collection are in every way like 

 the adults, except that they are pale grayish white. This appears on 

 examination to be caused by the opacity of the skin, which is nearly ready 

 to be shed, probably for the first time. An adult Cuban specimen in the 

 collection has the same appearance, and the underlying skin proves to be 

 normally colored. Some of the eases of supposed albinism in T. hinibri- 

 calis may be due to this appearance. 



Typhlops rostellatus Stejneger 



Eleven specimens of this species were collected at Aibonito and Baya- 

 mon. This species is confined to Porto Eico, where it proves to be widely 

 distributed. 



It is readily distinguished from T. lumbricalis by its nearly uniform 

 coloration above and below and the sharply defined white subcaudal spot. 

 There is little variation in the present series. The scales about the body 

 number twenty in ten specimens, eighteen in one. 



The measurements of the largest specimen are as follows: 



A. M. X. H. 

 Xo. 13345 



Total length 205 mm. 



Tail 5 



Greatest diameter 4.5 " 



