328 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF are situated in a longitudinal depression, oblique and slightly curved ; the first aperture is situated in a line with the pupil, and is one-fifth of an inch distant posteriorly. Total length, 5.} inches. Color. In the alcoholic specimen, the head, back and sides are dark brown ; the belly, clay color. Fins yellow. Habitat. Ohio River. A single specimen of this new species of Ammoccetes, is in the cabinet of the Academy, marked as procured in the Ohio River, and presented by Dr. Hil-dreth. The peculiarities of the species are to be noticed in the remarkable length of the head, and distance from the orbit to the first branchial aperture, and also in the unusual size of the dorsal and caudal fins ; from which last peculiarity the specific name is derived. Inscriptions of New Species of North American Serpents in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington. BY ROBERT KENNICOTT. TANTILLA Baird & Girard. T. nigriceps Kennicott. Specific character. Form more slender and head narrower than in T. g r a-c i 1 i s . Vertical plate more elongate posteriorly, occipitals narrower. One anteorbital, two postorbitals. Seven upper labials. Color (in alcohol) uni-form brownish white above, lighter beneath. Crown as far as behind the occipitals deep black ; no indication of a post-occipital black ring as in T. coronata. 4491, Fort Bliss, New Mexico. Dr. Crawford. 2046, Indianola to Nueces, Texas. Capt. Pope. DIADOPHIS Baird & Girard. D. Texensis Kennicott. Spec. char. Dorsal scales in fifteen longitudinal rows. Color above uniform leaden or bluish black ; beneath light yellow, irregularly spotted with black. Under jaws spotted. A yellowish occipital ring one and a half or two scales wide. Descr. Form moderately slender. Head rather narrow, with the crown slightly arched ; snout narrow and depressed. Vertical plate small, tapering posteriorly ; superior labials seven. Eye proportionally large. Outer row of dorsal scales slightly the largest. Color above leaden or bluish black, the crown darker. AsinD. punctatus, the edges of the upper labial shields are yellow, like the lower, but the latter are thickly spotted with black. The abdomen is usually irregularly spotted with tlack over its whole surface, though in some specimens there is a tendency to form a medial row as in D. punctatus. The under surface of the tail is tinged with reddish. 1897, East of Galveston, Texas. Prof. Andrews. 2076, Head of Trinity River, Texas. Capt. Pope. 2079, Llano Estacado. Capt. Pope. 2155, Monticello, Mississippi. Miss H. Tennison. This will be distinguished from D. punctatus by its more slender form, arched crown and narrow snout, by the numerous and irregular spots on the abdomen, and especially those on the mandibular and mental plates. LAMPROPELTIS Fitzinger. L. kultistriata Kennicott. Sp. char. Dorsal scales in twenty-three rows. Form similar to that of L. [Aug.
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