152 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XV, January 1961 
'dney COLUBER RADIATUS 
400 600 
1000 1200 1400 
Body length in mm 
Fig. 6. Length of kidneys as related to body length 
and sex. 
is no sexual dimorphism in this respect. 
The coefficient of variation for the length of 
the gonads is much higher in the small group 
of females than in the male group; the co- 
efficient of correlation r is lower in the latter. 
For the length of the body and that of the 
kidneys, the values of the coefficients of cor- 
relation r are of the same order for both sexes. 
Coluber melanurus 
Coluber melanurus appears to be widespread 
(de Rooy, 1916). However, in the vicinity of 
Surabaia and Djakarta on the north coast of 
Java this snake is very seldom found: we col- 
lected only four of these animals, three males, 
me female. 
Melanurus means "with a black tail.” In our 
specimens not only the black tail is very con- 
spicuous, but the black markings on the sides 
in the cranial half of the body and the black 
streaks behind the eye cannot be overlooked. 
The maximum size, according to de Rooy, 
is 1400 + 400 mm. Smith gives 1200 + 360 
mm. for a male ( Elaphe flavolineata ) . Our 
specimens are much smaller: they range from 
387 to 481 mm. in body length. This would 
suggest that they are young animals. The female 
is the shorter one. However, the number of 
observations is too small to be of any use when 
the question is put whether or not there is a 
sexual dimorphism in body length. The length 
of the tail (in % 0 of the body length) is 
242-242-269 in our male animals, and in our 
female specimen it is 238. So there does not seem 
to be a sexual dimorphism in this character. 
In one of the males, (400 mm. in length), 
a worm was protruding through the skin, about 
at the level of the top of the right testis. 
TOPOGRAPHY: The measurements and their 
values (expressed in permillage of the length 
of the body) are given in Table 14. 
In our young female the heart and the liver 
are placed somewhat more caudally than in the 
males, which is an unusual though not wholly 
improbable situation. Another exceptional meas- 
urement is that the top of the right kidney is 
also placed more cranially in this female than 
in the males. Table 14 shows the relevant figures 
in brackets. Perhaps an error in recording the 
data has been made here. Indeed, one would ex- 
pect the top of the right kidneys in a female 
animal to be placed a little caudally from the 
same spot in the male, or perhaps at the same 
level, but hardly more cranially. Furthermore, 
as the figures are studied, the length of the right : 
coluber melanurus 
fema les 
heart 
/ | I 
< gonad 
j cloaca 
liver . 1 
' ‘ ^ KJ I !U U 
gallbladder kidney 
pancreas 
Fig. 7. Topographical pattern of the internal organs in males and a female of Coluber melanurus. 
