LYCODON GEOMETRICUS.
F o rm , &c.—Head depressed, subtriangular. Body subcylindrical, and
tapered from the middle toward each extremity ; the decrease in thickness
towards the head is but trifling, while in the opposite direction it is very considerable.
The head is slightly broader than the body, and the neck is more
flattened than the portions behind it. The tail is pointed, its under surface
flat, and its upper semi-cylindrical. The scales towards the head are long,
narrow, and six-sided; about the middle they are much broader and shorter,
but still somewhat six-sided, which is also the figure of those of the tail and
body near to it. The anterior teeth of the maxillary row and also those of the
lower jaw considerably longer than the hinder ones. Greatest thickness of
the largest specimen I hare seen about that of a man’s thumb. Abdominal
plates, 208. Subcaudal scales, 71 in each row.
DIMENSIONS.
Id. Lines.
Length from the front of the nose to the anus 26 0
of the tail ..... . . . . . . . . g g.
Circumference at thickest p a r t ...................... 2 8
This snake, which is rarely seen in South Africa, resorts to dry and arid situations ; its movements
are moderately quick, and its food, at least a part of it, consists of lizards.