164 SNAKES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



is slightly mutilated, only 103 subcaudals showing. The ven- 

 trals are 137, a lower number than in the Palawan specimens. 

 Boulenger * gives the ventral range as 140 to 187 ; the subcau- 

 dal, 103 to 130. 



LIOPELTIS PHILIPPINUS (Boettger) 

 Plate 20 

 Ablabes philipphms Boettger, Zool. Aiiz. 20 (1897) 164; Griffin, 

 Philip. Journ. Sei. § D 6 (1911) 261, 



DescriTption of species. — (From No. 940, Bureau of Science 

 collection; collected at Iwahig, Palawan, 1908, by C. M. Weber.) 

 (Adult male.) Head distinctly triangular, rather flattened, 

 quite distinct from neck; rostral almost one and a half times 

 as wide as high, but slightly pointed behind; the suture with 

 nasal is twice that with first labial ; internasal fused with nasal 

 to form a single scale ; nostril pierced near posterior part ; a su- 

 ture issues from nostril and continues back to suture between 

 nasal and prefrontal, partially dividing scale ; the combined scale 

 somewhat smaller than prefrontal ; latter much broader than 

 deep, in contact with 2 labials laterally and a small preocular 

 posteriorly. (In the specimen here described the prefrontals are 

 fused, with a slight linear depression between them, doubtless 

 an abnormal condition.) The posterior sides are rounding; 

 frontal elongate, twice as long as wide, pointed behind, not 

 twice as wide as supraoculars, but longer ; parietals elongate, 

 very much longer than wide, much longer than frontal; loreal 

 wanting; preocular small, square, widely separated from frontal; 

 2 postoculars, upper a little the larger, both in contact with 

 parietal ; temporals 1 + 2, very well defined ; 8 upper labials, 

 fourth and fifth entering eye, fifth and sixth touching lower post- 

 ocular; 8 lower labials, 4 in contact with anterior pair of chin 

 shields, which are little more than half the size of posterior 

 pair; mental as wide as deep, triangular; scales in 15 rows, 

 dorsals smallest, laterals largest, rather rounding behind; 140 

 ventrals; anal divided; subcaudals, 119. Eye less than its dis- 

 tance from nostril; tail extremely slender near end, terminating 

 in a sharp point; apical pits wanting. 



Color in alcohol. — Above grayish yellow to light brown ; four 

 longitudinal brown stripes begin on neck and continue along 

 body; two median stripes, one and a half scale rows in width, 

 separated by one whole and two half rows of scales; these 

 stripes continue to end of tail; lateral stripes are separated 

 from dorsal by two whole rows of scales and are only the width 



Catalogue, loe. cit. 



