350 



GARDEN BOA. 



Boa Hortulana. B. griseo-fla'vescens fusco variegataj capite lirn- 

 bato, corpore subcompresso, maculis lateralibm cuneifotmibus. 



Yellowish-grey Boa, with brown variegations ; those on the 

 head resembling lace : the body subcompressed, and the 

 sides marked by wedge-shaped spots. 



Boa Hortulana. Lin. Syst. Nat. p. 274. Mvs. Ad. Frid. p. 37. 



Abdominal scuta 2^)0, subcaudal 123. 



This very elegant serpent, which is of moderate 

 size, measuring only a few feet in length, and 

 being of a slender form, has obtained its Linnasan 

 title from the singular pattern of the variegations 

 on the head, which are of a blackish brown on a 

 pale ferruginous or yellowish ground, and in some 

 degree represent the form of a parterre in an old- 

 fashioned garden : the variegations on the body 

 are of similar colour, and are disposed into large 

 circular, and sometimes angular patches on the 

 sides, the centres of some being open, and of 

 others marked by an oblong spot ; besides these are 

 interspersed others of smaller size and of ditferent 

 forms : the abdomen is commonly yellowish, with 

 dusky specks and patches : the ground-colour of 

 the whole snake is sometimes pale violet, and the 

 variegations dark purplish brown, but in all its va- 

 rieties this species may be easil}^ distinguished by 

 the rich embroidered appearance of the pattern, 

 and more particularly by that on the top of the 

 head : the head is also rather broader, and the 

 jieck more slender in proportion than in most 

 Qtber Bo^, the body slightly compressed, and the 



