ATRAC TASPIS j BIBIOTl
j j i " Kaptflia,.Elatejt.
ATRACTASPIS* INORNATUS.—S m it h .
R e p t il ia .— P l a t e LXXI.
A. superne brunneo-viridis, subtus brunneo-flavus; caud& brevi acuminatd; squamis abdominalibus
angustis ; labii superioris squamis quinque, inferioris tribus ; corporis squamis in ordinibus viginti
dispositis.
Longi t u d o e nasi apice ad basin caudee 22 unc.; caudse 1 £ unc.
C o l o u r .—Head superiorly a pale livid bluish green ; body and tail intermediate
between blackish green and orange-coloured brown, the sides of the
body inferiorly pale, dull, orange-coloured brown ; the sides and the under
surface of the head between a straw and a primrose yellow ; the under parts
of the body and tail intermediate between yellowish brown and buff-orange,
the tint lightest towards the head. In some specimens the belly is pale
brownish red, variegated with fine transverse lines of dull aurora-red, one
along the hinder edge of each plate.
F o rm , &cB-Head small and depressed, scarcely broader than the neck ;
body long, slender, cylindrical, and throughout nearly of equal thickness ;
tail short, cylindrical, tapered, and pointed. The upper surface of the head
is slightly convex, the nose rather narrow and arched, the sides of the head
convex, the under surface flat, the lower jaw lodged within the branches of
the upper. Rostral plate triangular, its apex, which is rather rounded, is
situated between the noso-rostral plates ; the latter are small and qua-
* Ch. Gen. Head depressed, anteriorly wedge-shaped. Lower jaw feeble, and lodged between the
rami of the upper jaw. Maxilla armed with long poison fangs. Palatal and mandibular teeth short
and slender. Body cylindrical. Tail round and tapered. Scales of body and tail smooth, scarcely
imbricate. Abdominal scuta long and narrow. Tail, inferiorly, furnished with scuta like those of the
abdomen.