516 



eye from the end of the snout ; eye easily distinguishable ; ten- 

 tacle below and in front of the eye, usually much nearer to the eye 

 than to the nostril. Body subcyliudrical, rather depressed, mode- 

 rately elongate, with very numerous (240 to 400) distinct circular 

 folds, angular on the belly. Tail very short though distinct, pointed. 

 Dark brown or bluish black ; a yellow band along each side of the 

 body. 



Total length 15 inches ; diameter of body \ inch. 



Fig. 142. Ichthyophis glutinosits, female with eggs (after Sarasin). 



Hob. Mountains of Ceylon, Malabar, Eastern Himalayas, Khasi 

 Hills, Burma, Siam, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java. 



These Batrachiaus are found in damp situations, usually in soft 

 mud. The complete development has been observed and described 

 by the Drs. Sarasin *. The eggs are very large and deposited in a 

 burrow near the water. The female protects them by coiling 

 herself round the egg-mass, which the young do not leave until 

 after the loss of the external gills ; they then lead an aquatic life, 

 and are provided with an opening, or spiraculum, on each side of 

 the neck. In these larva) the head is fish-like, provided with much 

 developed labial lobes, with the eyes much more distinct than in 

 the perfect animal ; the tail is very distinct, strongly compressed, 

 and finned above and beneath ; the anal opening is a longitudinal 

 cleft. 



* Ergebnissenaturwissenschaftlicher Forschungen auf Ceylon in den Jahren 

 1884-86 : ii, 1887-90. 



