228 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVIII. 



gives a vivacious expression to a not unpleasing countenance. The 

 pupil is round. The nostril is moderate in size, and placed entirely 

 or almost entirely in the anterior nasal shield. The body though 

 rather slender is far less so than in other tree snakes, notably 

 Dendrophis, Dendrelaphis and Dryophis. It is rather depressed. The 

 belly is peculiar in the ridges on the lateral aspect of the ventral 

 shields. The tail is long, and tapers very gradually. It is about 

 one-fourth the total body length and it is ridged beneath on either 

 side similarly to the belly. 



Colour. — Mr. Boulenger* divides this species into eight colour 

 varieties, many of which I have not seen. I quote therefore from him, 

 supplementing the habitats he records, from my notes, and other 

 sources. Many of the references of other authors, however, to this 

 snake make it impossible to refer the specimen to any of these varie- 

 ties, for want of precise information regarding the colour. 



" A. — Black above, each scale with a round greenish-yellow spot ; 

 usually with larger coral-red spots on the back, resembling a series 

 of tetrapetalous flowers ; ventrals greenish-yellow, edged with black." 



South India (Anamallays), Malay Peninsula, Malay Archipelago 

 (Sumatra, Borneo). 



Stoliczkaf mentions this as common at Penang, and Flower J 

 alludes to it from Penang and Singapore. Annandale§ records it 

 from Narcondam Island. 



" B. — Like the preceding, but ventrals not black edged." 



S. India (Malabar), Malay Archipelago (Java, Sooloos, Philippines). 



I examined one in the Siccawei Museum, Shanghai, from the 

 Yangtse Valley, S. China. 



" C. — Like the preceding, but vertebral spots confluent into a 

 stripe, at least on the anterior part of the body." 



Borneo. 



" D. — Greenish-yellow or pale green above, each scale edged, and 

 mesially streaked with black, with more or less distinct black 

 cross-bars ; ventrals yellow, with a small black spot on each side." 



S. India (Anamallays), Burma, Assam, Siam, Lao Mountains. 



* Catalogue, Brit. Mus., Vol. Ill, 1896, p. 197. 

 + Jourl. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Vol. XXXIX, p. 194. 

 + Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond,, 1899, p. 682. 

 § Jourl. As. Soc. Bengal, 1905, p. 176. 



