240 SNAKES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



and connected with outer and posterior sutures by shallow 

 grooves; prefrontals broader than deep, touching second labials 

 laterally, their mutual suture little less than one-third that 

 between nasals; frontal small, longer than broad, as wide as 

 supraoculars and scarcely longer; parietals elongate, in contact 

 for three-fourths of their length; upper labials 6 (5 on right 

 side) , first small, second largest, fifth triangular, third and fourth 

 broadly entering eye; preocular small; 1 postocular; temporals 

 l + l; 8 lower labials (9 on left side), fourth a very small scale 

 widely separated from chin shields; mental very small; first 

 pair of labials of same size as second chin shields; 3 labials in 

 contact with anterior chin shields, which are shorter and wider 

 than second pair; latter in contact, bordered by 2 labials; 28 

 scale rows around neck, 40 around widest part of body, 32 around 

 widest part of tail; scales subimbricate anteriorly but juxtaposed 

 posteriorly, each with a small indistinct tubercle; ventrals, 367, 

 about twice as wide as adjoining scale rows, the last 5 divided; 



4 anals, a small inner pair and a large outer pair; 64 sub- 

 caudals. 



Color. — Head entirely black, neck black with narrow bars 

 not meeting below; body brownish black, the bars of yellowish 

 white growing wider on sides, meeting or barely failing to 

 meet below, very much obscured dorsally ; tail black with 5 bars 

 of light color; last 2 scarcely formed; 47 light bands on body, 



5 on tail. 



Measurements of Disteira cincinnatii Van Devbiirgh and Tliompson. 



mm. 



Total length • 645 



Snout to vent 575 



Tail 70 



Length of head 10.5 



Width of head 6 



Width of neclv • 6 



Depth "of body I9 



Depth of tail 11 



Variation. — Van Denburgh and Thompson give measure- 

 ments and scale counts for twenty specimens of this species. 

 The scale counts average as follows: Neck rows, 27; body, 42; 

 ventrals, 361. The average number of bands on body is 45, on 

 tail, 4. These authors report the following differences between 

 this species and Disteira fasciata Schneider and D. hrookii Bou- 

 lenger : 



