HAPLONODON 127 



Description of species. — (From the type, No. 883, Bureau of 

 Science collection ; collected in Polillo, October 1909, by C. Cano- 

 nizado.) (Adult male.) Anterior end of maxillaiy curved in- 

 ward but slightly; teeth on maxilla increase in size from 

 first to eighth, the last 3 or 4 strong and fanglike ; after a 

 short interspace 3 small teeth follow, which in turn are followed 

 by 3 large teeth, fanglike and laterally compressed ; the 4 ante- 

 rior mandibular teeth increase in size to fourth, and are consid- 

 erably larger than the remaining ones which are of nearly 

 equal size ; head somewhat triangular, rather flat, distinct from 

 neck; rostral broader than deep, folded about snout, its posterior 

 part pointed and entering between internasals, the portion visible 

 above being equal to one-third its distance from rostral ; inter- 

 nasals small, narrowed medially, the suture between them one- 

 third to one-fourth that between prefrontals ; latter large, more 

 than four times the size of internasals, more than two-thirds the 

 length of frontal ; latter almost straight on its anterior margin, 

 about as broad as long, twice the width of supraoculars and a 

 little longer; parietals elongate, bordered by 3 (4 on right side) 

 temporals, nearly twice as long 

 as frontal ; nasal single, of very 

 irregular shape, elongate, ante- 

 rior part much lower than poste- 

 rior; nostril pierced obliquely; a 

 loreal present, more than twice 

 as long as wide, entering eye; 

 a single preocular narrowly sepa- 

 rated from frontal; 2 small 



^ Fig. 13. Haplonndnn philippincnsis Grtf- 



SUbeqUal pOStOCUlarS; temporals fin ; n, head, dorsal view :&, head, ventral 



2 + 2 ; 9 upper labials, fourth '"<=^^-- 



and fifth entering eye, seventh and eighth largest and nearly 

 equal, 9 lower labials, 5 in contact with anterior chin shields 

 which are larger than posterior ; mental much wider than deep ; 

 scales smooth, in 17 rows, without apical pits; body slender, 

 distinctly compressed ; lateral keels on ventrals, but scales not 

 noticeably notched; ventrals, 203; anal entire; subcaudals, 95 

 (tip of tail missing) . 



Color. — Dorsal surface of body and tail crossed by seventy- 

 nine dark brown bands, separated by narrow bands of white, 

 finely dotted with brown; the edges of latter bands pure white, 

 outlining the darker and broader bands prettily ; in the dorsal 

 portions of the lighter bands the brown dots are often con- 

 fluent, producing a grayish brown color ; dots finer and more 



