84 SNAKES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



MATRIX STOLATA (Linnasus) 



Coluber stolatus Linn^us, Syst. Nat. 1 (176G) 379; Daudin, Kept. 



7 (1803) 161. 

 ElajJs bilineatus Schneider, Hist. Amph. 2 (1801) 299. 

 Coluber bilineattt.'^ Daudin, Kept. 7 (1803) 165. 

 Natri.v stolatus Mereem,' Syst. Amph. (1820) 123; Stejneger, Journ. 



Sci. Coll. Tokyo ^2' (1898) 221; Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 58 (1907) 



280 (in syn.). 

 Tropidonotus stolatus BoiE, Isis (1827) 535; Schlegel, Phys. Serp. 



2 (1837) 317; Cantor, Cat. Mai. Rept. (1847) 90; Petees, Mon. 



Berl. Ak. 2 (1861) 686; Gunther, Rept. Brit. India (1864) 226; 



Swinhoe, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. Ill 12 (1863) 225; Theobald, 



Cat. Rept. Brit. India (1876) 177; Anderson, An. Zool. Res. 



Yunnan (1879) 816; Murray, Zool. Sind. (1884) 379; Boettger, 



Ber. OfTenb. Ver. Nat. (1888) 79; BouLENGER, Fauna Brit. India, 



Rept. (1890) 348, fig.; Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus. 1 (1893) 253; 



Wall, Proc. Zool. Soc. London (1903) 86. 

 Amphiesma stolatiim Dumeril and Bibron, Erp. Gen. 7 (1854) 727. 



Descrivtion of species. — (From Stejneger, Bull. U. S. Nat. 

 Mus.) "Rostral much broader than high, well visible from above; 

 internasals slightly shorter than the prefrontals, very narrow in 

 front, their suture with rostral considerably shorter than suture 

 between rostral and first labial; prefrontals in contact with su- 

 praoculars; frontal longer than its distance from tip of snout 

 and interparietal suture ; parietals equaling the distance of eye 

 from tip of snout; nostril large, between two subequal nasals; 

 loreal somewhat longer than high, upper edge shorter than and 

 parallel with lower; one preocular, not in contact with frontal; 

 3 postoculars ; temporals 1 + 2 ; supralabials 8, third, fourth, and 

 fifth entering eye, sixth and seventh largest ; 5 lower labials in 

 contact with anterior chin-shields which are shorter than the 

 posterior ; 19 rows of scales, strongly keeled except outer row, 

 and without apical pores ; 149 ventrals ; anal divided ; 81 pairs 

 of subcaudals. 



"Color (ht alcohol). — Above brownish gray with numerous 

 narrow black crossbars alternating on each side of the median 

 line anteriorly but continuous farther back ; across this pattern 

 two longitudinal, dorso-lateral pale bands occupying the whole 

 of sixth scale row and the ad.iacent halves of fifth and seventh 

 rows; posteriorly these bands are nearly uniformly pale, but 

 anteriorly they exhibit a kind of chain pattern, inasmuch as 

 the outer edges of the middle scale row are black except where 

 the band intersects as black crossbar; below the lateral band 

 many small irregularly alternating black spots : top of head with 

 obscure dusky edges to the shields: no nuchal collar; supra- 



