576 JOURNAL, BOMB AY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



1 came across one largish specimen while butterfly catching on the 

 ghat road at about 2,500 feet elevation. My attention was arrested by 

 what I took to be a very loud hissing, and as 1 looked round I saw a 

 large, blackish snake about 20 yards away, through a window in the 

 foliage that allowed me to see it, without my attracting its attention. 

 It was moving extremely slowly up a five foot bank on the cart road, and 

 I must have had a good 31) seconds to observe it. 1 should judge it at 

 about 9, perhaps 10 feet, and as it dilated its hood very distinctly, in 

 response to the agitated gibberings of a squirrel {Funambidus striatus) in 

 the twigs of a lantaaa bush above it, there can be little doubt about its 

 identity. The noise 1 took to be a prodigious hissing proved to be the 

 scoldings of a magpie robin (Copsi/chus sauluri-<i) that was perched in 

 the lantana thicket. With only a butterfly net at my command I gave 

 the snake a wide berth. 



Dentition. — The maxilla supports 3 teeth behind the fangs. The palatine 

 teeth number 7 to 9, the pterygoid 10 to 14, and the mandible 14 to 16. 



The Striped Coral Snake — Hemibungarus nigrescens (Gunther). 



The 58 representatives of this species show that it inhabits a belt between 

 about 3,000 and 7,000 feet elevation. Four came from over 6,500 feet. 



Sexes.— Ot 39 sexed, 27 were J and 12 $ . 



Disposition. — It appears to be a very quiet, and inoffensive snake. A 

 friend of mine encountered one on the road towards Lamb's Rock (Circa 

 6,000 feet). It made no attempt to escape but crawled slowly along with- 

 out showing any alarm. He walked right up to it, and finally killed it. 

 Such a nature would account for the character of its diet, for in every case 

 where it had fed the snake victimised was one of the most inoflfensive and 

 slowly moving species. 



J/ood. — It is entirely ophiophagous in habit. A Plectrurus perroteti had 

 been swallowed on five occasions, a Xylophis perroteti on four others. 

 Silybura ocellata had furnished the repast on two occasions, and Silt/bum 

 brevis on one other, A yielanophidium wynadense had been victimised once. 

 Typhlops provided the meal on three occasions, a specimen of beddomi once, 

 and what appeared to he Jletcheri twice. In every case the snake swallowed 

 was lying at full length within, and in the case of large specimens these 

 extended forwards into the gullet. 



Breeding. — No single $ had follicles fertilised. Three specimens in the 

 late Mr. Gray's collection were gravid, measuring respectively 25^, 26 and 

 26| inches, and contained 4, 3 and 6 eggs, respectively. It is evidently 

 not prolilic. The lengths cited above point to sexual maturity at the end 

 of the second year of life. The eggs were in every case too small to expect 

 an embryo to be visible and none could be discovered. 



Growth. — Youne of the year were represented in specimens measuring 

 from 9 ^s to 9f inches (3) in July, from 8J to 9f (6) in August, and 

 from 9 to 11 1 inches (5) in September. A young one in the late Mr. Gray's 

 collection taped 8| inches. A further series of 10 specimens ranging 

 between 17| and '2S^ inches evidently represents last year's production, 

 and another series of 14 between 30 and 38^ inches appear to be the 

 preceding year's progeny. The season for the appearance of the young 

 is probably from May to August. My largest $ was 31^ inches, and 1 

 had six J exceeding this measurement. My largest was 40^ inches, and 

 I believe a d" • (Ventrals 240 and subcaudals 37). 



Colour. — I would place all the examples with Boulenger's variety " B." 

 I noticed that in the young the colour is chestnut (as applied to a horse). 

 The black stripes are well defined and bordered with beaded, white lines. 



