TELESCOPUS SEMIANNULATUS. 
of the palpebral plate. Frontal plate rather broad, five-sided, anteriorly- 
truncated, posteriorly acute; palpebral plates rather narrow, and broadest 
behind ; occipital plates four-sided, the outer side much the longest, the 
inner side, which is in contact with its fellow of the opposite side, rather 
shorter, hinder extremity pointed. Frenal plate quadrangular; preocular plate 
rather narrow, its upper extremity, which is prolonged between the fronto- 
nasal and palpebral plates, triangular ; post-ocular plates two, quadrangular, 
the lowermost the largest. Plates of the upper lip, exclusive of rostral, nine, 
the four last much the largest ; those of lower lip ten or eleven, the last much 
the smallest ; submental plates two, large, and several-sided. Scales of body 
rather small, oblong, slightly rounded behind, and doubly imbricate, the points 
extending over the base of the scales behind them, and the inner edge of 
each overlaying the outer edge of the scale on its dorsal or mesial side. All 
the scales of the body are arranged in oblique rows, and the rows of one 
side meet those of the other at an acute angle on the dorsal line ; in this 
manner each row forms two sides of a triangle, and about the middle 
of the body consists of nineteen scales ; the scale, on the middle of the 
back, which connect the lateral rows, is somewhat six-sided, the anterior 
and posterior sides very short. Scales of the tail rather large and sub- 
hexagonal ; of the throat, narrow, oblong, subquadrangular, and arranged 
in several nearly transverse rows. Abdominal plates subangular towards 
each extremity, the portion exterior to the angle inclined upwards, as in 
the Dendrophidce. Tail beneath, flat, subangular towards its side, its point 
an obtuse horny spine. Abdominal scuta 200 ; subcaudal scales 55 pairs. 
Length from apex of nose to anus 2 feet 1 inch, length of tail 4J inches. 
Though I have not had an opportunity of examining a specimen of Dipsas JEgyptiacus, 
Schlegel, — the type of the genus Telescopus, Wagler — yet I am satisfied the reptile here 
described is a typical species of that group. As the latter author has not noticed the characters 
of the teeth, 1 have given them as they appear in Telescopus subannulatus ; and if they corre- 
spond to those of Dipsas EEgyptiacus, then the two species must be regarded as typical 
examples of a well-defined group. The form and other characters of these reptiles give 
reason to believe they are climbers, though not of a grade to entitle them to be classed 
amongst the more typical forms of that class of snakes. 
