OLIGODON ]^47 



A'ej/ to the Philipinne species of Oligodon Bote* 



a'. Scales in 15 rows; anal entire. 

 6\ One postocular. 



c\ No loreal; dark brown with a yellowish vertebral streak; below 

 yellowish with large, rectangular, black spots; chevron-shaped 

 bands on head. Southern Negros.... 0, modestus Gunther (p. 147). 

 c'. A small loreal; dark purplish brown above with yellow dots and 

 a series of 18 large, rhomboidal, brownish yellow, black-edged 

 spots; yellowish below. Mindanao and Balabac. 



0. notospilus Gunther (p. 148). 



6'. Two postoculars; loreal present; dark purplish brown above with 11 



small, dark red, dark-edged rhomboidal spots along back; ventral 



surface rose red. Palawan- 0. iwahigensis Griffin (p. 149). 



0.'. Scales in 15 rows; anal divided; dark gray above, with a series of 

 small white spots with black edges on back; orange beneath. 

 Busuanga _ 0. schadenbergi Boettger (p. 151). 



All of these species are small and appear to be very rare, as 

 only one or two specimens of each have been collected. 



OLIGODON MODESTUS Gunther 

 Plate 1.3, figs. 3 to 5 



OUgodon modestus Gunthee, Rept. Brit. India (1864) 210; Proc, 

 Zool. Soc. London (1879) 77; Boettger, Ber. Senck. Nat. Ges 

 (1886) 106; Boulenger, Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus. 2 (1894) 2y8, pi 

 10, fig. 3; Casto de Elera, Cat. Fauna Filipinas 1 (1895) 426 

 Griffin, Philip. Journ. Sci. § D 6 (1911) 260; Taylor, Philip 

 Journ. Sci. § D 12 (1917) 359. 



Description of species. — (From Boulenger.) "Nasal divided; 

 portion of rostral seen from above as long- as its distance from 

 the frontal; suture between the internasals a little shorter than 

 that between the prfef rentals ; frontal longer than its distance 

 from the end of the snout, as long as the parietals; no loreal; 

 one prse- and one postocular ; temporals 1 + 2 or 1 + 3 ; six upper 

 labials, third largest and entering the eye; three or four lower 

 labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields, which are longer 

 than the posterior. Scales in 15 rows. Ventrals 158-170; anal 

 entire; subcaudals 41. Dark brown above, with a yellowish 

 vertebral streak; a yellowish chevron-shaped band on the occi- 

 put; lower parts yellowish, with quadrangular black spots." 



Measurements of OUgodon modestus Gunther. 



mm. 



Total length 350 



Snout to vent 295 



Tail 55 



* Casto de Elera lists O. suhlineatus Gunther as occurring in Samar. 

 This is probably erroneous. 



