354 COLUBBIDjE. 



anal divided ; subcaudals 60-79. Brown above, with or without 

 darker spots and with a more or less distinct paler clorso-lateral 

 band ; lower parts cherry-red to purplish black, with a yellow baud 

 on each side extending from the lips to the end of the tail. 



Total length 2 feet ; tail 5-5 inches. 



Hob. From Bengal, Assam, and the Khasi Hills to the Malay 

 Peninsula. 



Like Psammodynastes pulverulentus, this Snake has a repulsive 

 expression ; it is said to be of very fierce habits. 



Subfamily II. ACROCHORDIN^E. 



Postf rental bone produced over the supraorbital region. Scales 

 not imbricate. 



This group contains five genera : three with well-developed ven- 

 tral shields, viz. Stoliczlcaia, Jerd. (Khasi Hills), Xenodermus, Reinh. 

 (Java and Sumatra), and Noihopsis, Cope (Isthmus of Darien); 

 two without ventrals, viz. Acrochordus, Hornst. (Malay Peninsula 

 and Archipelago), and Chersydrus, Cuv. 



The two Indian genera are distinguished as follows : 



Head and belly shielded STOLICZKAIA, p. 354. 



Head and belly covered with small scales. . . . CHERSYDRUS, p. 355. 



Genus STOLICZKAIA, 

 Jerdon, P. A. S. B. 1870, p. 81. 



Fig. 103. Head of Stoliczkaia khasiensis. 



Teeth small, subequal, about 14 in each maxillary. Head 

 distinct from neck, covered with large shields ; nostrils directed 

 forwards ; eye small, with round pupil. Body slender, compressed ; 

 scales elliptical, strongly keeled, increasing in size towards the 



