DENDROPHIS 167 



contact with supraocular (on one side only) ; frontal nearly 

 triangular, rather narrowly pointed behind, longer and wider 

 than supraocular, equal to its distance to end of snout; parietals 

 rather short, in contact with superior postocular ; nasal divided, 

 posterior part largest; an elongate loreal, more than twice as 

 long as high; a large preocular, widest at top, in contact with 

 frontal (on one side) ; 2 postoculars, lower very small. Tem- 

 porals 1 + 2; 11 upper labials, fourth (very narrowly), fifth, 

 and sixth entering eye, sixth, seventh, and eighth largest; 9 

 lower labials, 5 in contact with first pair of chin shields, which 

 are broader but very much shorter than second pair; second 

 pair of chin shields separated posteriorly by 2 scales ; a single 

 large scale borders last 5 labials ; scales in 15 rows, entirely 

 smooth, with apical pits, median row largest, hexagonal ; laterals 

 narrow, elongate, broadly imbricate, outer row large, triangular ; 

 ventrals, 180, strongly keeled and notched laterally ; subcaudals, 

 148, keeled and notched ; anal divided. 



Color in life. — Above yellow-green ; a broad dark stripe be- 

 gins behind eye, dimly indicated on loreal region, and continues 

 some distance on neck, where it is broken in dark bars separated 

 by bluish diagonal bands; the blue color on scales is usually 

 covered by the overlapping scale, and is not much in evidence 

 until the skin is distended; the markings are not or scarcely 

 evident past the middle of body; outer scale row yellowish; 

 ventrals greenish yellow ventrally, greenish laterally; top of 

 head olive ; upper labials, chin, and throat yellow. 



Measurements of Dendrophis pictus {Gmelin) . 



mm. 



Total length 1,14.5 



Snout to vent 748 



Tail 397 



Leng-th of head 26 



Width of head 14 



Variation. — In Philippine specimens examined the ventrals 

 vary between 163 and 180; the subcaudals, between 139 and 

 166; the supralabials, between 8 and 11, and the temporals are 

 1 + 2 or 2 + 2. The fifth and sixth labials usually enter the eye. 

 Boulenger * gives the range as ventrals, 165 to 190 ; subcaudals, 

 122 to 164. 



Re?narJcs. — This is a common species, widely distributed in 

 the Philippines. I have examined specimens from Luzon, Ne- 



* Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus. 2 (1894) 79. 



