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 frontonasal
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 206; 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, I have given them as they appear in Telescopus subannulatus; and if they correspond
to those of Dipsas JEgyptiacus, 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.