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DENDROPHIS (PHILOTHAMNUS) ALBO-VARIATA.—S m i t h .
R e p t il ia .— P la te LXV.
D. superne fiavo viridis, interne flavo brunnea; dorsi squamia versus caput albo-marginatis; cute inter
■ squamis brunneo-nigra; oculis Subparvis.
Longitudo e nasi api'ce ad basin caudee 21 unc.; caudas 11 unc. 6 lin.
C olour.—The upper and lateral parts of the head, the back, the upper portions
of the sides, and the upper and lateral parts of the tail, intermediate
between olive and oil-green; in some the tail is sap-green ; the anterior part ot
the back and the head tinged brown. The scales of the first half of the body
are narrowly edged, on one or both sides towards their base, with white, and
in all conditions of the reptile, more or fewer of such short white lines are
visible, forming irregular somewhat tranverse bands. The under parts are
intermediate between sienna-yellow and yellowish brown. When the scales
are absent the parts below appear bluish, with more or less of a purple
tint; the inferior parts under the same circumstances are pale straw-yellow
clouded lightly with blue. Skin between scales black.
F orm, &cfi-Figure rather slender ; body rather thickest at its middle ; tail
long and tapered to a fine point. Head narrow and rather elongated ; temples
more prominent than the eyes ; nose subacute and rounded. Hind-head considerably
wider than the neck. Rostral plate subtriangular, its apex, which is
situated between the nasal plates, rounded; naso-rostral and fronto-nasal
plates somewhat five-sided, the former smallest, the inner and hinder side ot
the latter, where it is in contact with the base of the frontal plate, oblique ; the
frontal plate is six-sided, two of the sides form anteriorly an obtuse angle,
and two posteriorly one rather more acute; the anterior extremity of the plate
is considerably wider than the posterior ; the lateral sides much the longest.
Palpebral plates three-sided, the hinder side shortest and oblique, extending
outwards and backwards. Occipital plates large, irregularly six-sided and
broadest anteriorly, the outer and mesial sides much the longest; freno-nasal