DRYOPHIS 



223 



Kin. 19. Drijophis prcnculoris sp. nov. ; 

 drawing: of a Polillo specimen; a, head. 

 dorsal \ie\v ; h, bead, lateral view- 



frontal at least one and a half times as long as wide; very 

 narrow behind; in its widest part it does not equal width of 

 supraoculars ; parietals large, elongate ; supraoculars large and 

 projecting, so that eye is hardly visible from above; canthus 

 rostralis very sharp ; 2 large 

 preoculars, the upper separating 

 supraoculars from prefrontals ; 2 

 loreals, the posterior largest; 

 nostril in a very elongate, very 

 narrow nasal; 2 small post- 

 oculars ; temporals 2 -|~ 3 ; parie- 

 tals bordered by 3 temporals ; 

 9 upper labials in the following 

 order of size : sixth, fifth, eighth, 

 second, first, third, seventh, 

 fourth, ninth; fourth, fifth, and 

 sixth enter eye; mental very 

 small, triangular ; 7 lower labials 

 in the following order of size : fifth, fourth, sixth, seventh, first, 

 third, second; 4 labials touch first pair of chin shields; scales 

 smooth, in 15 rows; ventrals, 227, keeled laterally; subcaudals, 

 110; anal undivided; eye large, equal to half its distance from 

 snout; latter acuminate, projecting. 



Color in life. — Bluish green tending toward yellowish green on 

 sides, with no markings of any sort ; head greenish ; belly green- 

 ish with a narrow cream line running full length of body and 

 tail on outer part of ventrals and anals. 



Remai'ks. — This species is widely distributed, from Mindanao 

 to Luzon. In the character of the anal shield and in the arrange- 

 ment of the preoculars it is constant. In Negros and Panay 

 there occurs what appears to be a variety of the species. It 

 is red and doubtless represents what has been regarded by other 

 authors as Dryophis prasinus xanthozonus. However, Druophis 

 xanthozona is a distinct species and is probably confined to 

 southeastern Asia and Java. I regard the red foi'm here as 

 merely a color variety of Dryophis preocidaris. A red form also 

 occurs in Dryophis prasinus. 



The species here described is known from Mindanao (green 

 form) ; Negros (green and red forms), Panay (red form), Po- 

 lillo (green form), and Luzon (green form). Additional ma- 

 terial from Negros and Panay may warrant the separation of 

 the red form as a subspecies. 



