14 LEIOPYTHON GRACILIS, 
NOTE III. 
ON A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES OF PYTHONIÜAE 
EROM SALAAVATTI 
BY 
Dr. A. A. W. HUBRECHT. 
Dec. 1878. 
The snake about to be described formed part of the col- 
lection which the late Dr. Bernstein brought together in 
the island of Salawatti. It must be regarded as the re- 
presentative of a new and interesting genus , which takes 
its place between the existing genera Liasis and Nardoa. 
It differs from Nardoa in having pits not only on the 
inferior labials but on the rostral and upper labial plates 
as well, whereas it approaches this genus by the number 
and disposition of the shields on the head. The tail is 
rather long, the form of the animal is slender and grace- 
ful, the head less broad and at the same time longer and 
flatter than in most other Pythonidae. This as well as 
the small, smooth scales might characterize the genus; where- 
as the peculiar coloration and the metallic hues reflected 
by the skin will suffice to distinguish the species at first 
glance. 
Leiopython n. gen. 
Nostrils lateral in the middle of the nasal plate, fol- 
lowed by a groove which extends backwards and downwards. 
Notes from the Leyclen ^lusemxi. 
LEIOPYTHON GRACILIS. 15 
Shields on the head extending beyond the eyes; no pre-^ 
frontals; the number of frenals and preoculars considera- 
bly reduced; pits on the rostral, the upper and lower 
labials; scales short, smooth, rombic. 
Leiopython gracilis n. sp. 
The number of shields on the top of the head is redu- 
ced to eleven: two small iuternasals, two frontonasals 
about thrice as large as the foregoing , one frontal , two 
suboculars , two larger anterior and two smaller posterior 
parietals with a few smaller scales enclosed between the 
two latter pairs. The nasal plates are rather elongated ; 
there is only one frenal and one preocular on either side. 
Three or four postoculars. Rostral plate with two well 
marked pits ; fourteen upper labials , the two foremost of 
which are distinctly pitted ; sixteen lower labials , the seven 
last but three of which are deeply pitted. 
There are 284 ventral shields , 79 subcaudals divided into 
two along the median line and 49 to 51 longitudinal rows 
of scales. Scales short and smooth , more or less polygo- 
nal towards the tail. 
The colour (in spirits) of the back is a rather light 
violet brown with a well marked iridescence , and a uniform 
yellowish white on the belly and chin. The top of the 
head is much darker than the back , although uniform as 
well. There is a very small white spot behind the eye ; 
the upper and lower labials have their anterior half dark 
and their posterior half light colored which gives a char- 
acteristic expression to the mouth. 
The only specimen in the Leyden Museum was found in 
Salawatti, as stated above; it measures 102.5 cm. , of which 
the head occupies 3.5 cm. , the tail 14 cm. 
Notes from the Leyden Museum.