Labials, dorsals, ventrals, and subcaudals were the most useful scales. _Labials._--All species usually have eight supralabials except _C. vittatus_, which has seven. The only other population having a relatively high frequency of occurrence of seven supralabials is _C. l. lineatus_. In specimens having eight supralabials, the fourth and fifth enter the orbit; in specimens having seven supralabials, the third and fourth enter the orbit (the second and third are fused). Usually there are ten infralabials, sometimes nine or eleven; specimens having seven supralabials usually have nine infralabials, sometimes eight, rarely ten. _Dorsals._--Although there is no variation in the number of rows of dorsal scales, there is some in the method of scale reduction. There are 19 rows of dorsal scales from close behind the head to about midway on the body where two rows are lost, leaving 17 rows from there to near the base of the tail. This reduction is accomplished by fusion of the scales of the 3rd and 4th rows or sometimes by the dropping out of the 3rd row. The place at which reduction occurs in number of dorsal scales in relation to the ventral (scale) directly below is highly variable and of little taxonomic importance (table 1). TABLE 1.--VARIATION IN THE PLACE OF DOSAL SCALE REDUCTION IN CONOPHIS. Key to Columns ==================================== Std. Dev. = Standard Deviation Std. Err. = Standard Error Coe. Var. = Coefficient of Variation ==============+===========+========+=======+======+======+====== | Number of | | | Std. | Std. | Coe. Taxon | Specimens | Range | Mean | Dev. | Err. | Var. --------------+-----------+--------+-------+------+------+------ _l. concolor_ | 45 | 89-114 | 102.5 | 5.57 | 0.83 | 5.43 _l. dunni_ | 36 | 91-111 | 102.1 | 4.59 | 0.77 | 4.50 _l. lineatus_ | 26 | 91-107 | 100.2 | 3.59 | 0.72 | 3.58 _nevermanni_ | 6 | 84- 97 | 93.2 | 4.71 | 1.92 | 5.05 _pulcher_ | 26 | 94-119 | 104.6 | 4.90 | 0.96 | 4.68 _vittatus_ | 170 | 84-118 | 102.3 | 6.60 | 0.16 | 6.45 --------------+-----------+--------+-------+------+------+------ _Ventrals._--The number of ventral scutes varies from 149-183, and shows no significant variation in the means (table 2). _Subcaudals._--The number of subcaudal scutes varies from 55 to 89. In some populations there is no overlap in the range of variation of males and females. The total variation and sexual dimorphism are analyzed in table 3. Size and Proportions Although considerable variation in size is observable, little taxonomic use is made of size since sufficient series are not available to determine age classes. The subspecies attaining the largest size is _C. lineatus concolor_; all others are smaller and of about the same size and proportions. The longest specimen, a male of _C. l. concolor_, has a body length of 893 mm., a tail length of 274 mm., and a total length of 1167 mm.