204 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV III. 



No. XXI. -VIVIPAROUS HABIT OF THE FALSE HIMALAYAN 

 VIPER {PSAMMODYNASTES PULVERULENTUS). 



A nice female specimen of this snake caught in Dibrugarh was brought to 

 me on the 6th of May. It appeared to me obviously gravid, and was kept in 

 anticipation of future events. 



I have been mistaken so frequently in my diagnosis of pregnancy, finding 

 in some specimens the obvious distension due to nothing but fat, or in other 

 cases to masses of tapeworms, that as time went by and the specimen refused 

 food, and looked thinner, I resolved to convert it into a Museum specimen, 

 and she was consigned to the spirit bottle on the 6th July. 



On cutting her open to my great disgust I found 3 fully formed young in the 

 abdomen, and 3 unfertilised eggs. 



The young were so far developed that I think it extremely likely they would 

 have been born within a very few days. 



They were perfectly formed, in colour they were as well marked as the 

 mother, and they were perfectly ready to cast their skins as these peeled oft 

 with ease. Added to this it was very apparent that the embryo nearest the 

 cloacal opening had struggled within the mother in a vain endeavour to escape 

 when the mother was drowning. 



I believe it is not known that this species is viviparous. 



The young I could not sex with certainty. They were examined in other 

 respects however successfully. The eye was very large, being in its hori- 

 zontal diameter one-third longer than its distance to the end of the snout. 



No. 1.— Length 5" ; ventrals and subcaudals 169 + 59 ; 22 intervening between 

 the navel and the anal. Loreal divided \. 



No. 2. — Length 5^" ventrals and subcaudals 167 + 60 ; 21 between navel and 

 anal. 



No. 3. — Length b\". Ventrals and subcaudals 168 + 67 ; 23 between navel 

 and anal. 



This last was a light specimen. It had two lateral light bands, the upper 

 involving the 4th, 5th and lower half of the 6th rows above the ventrals, the 

 lower edge of the ventrals, and the lower half of the ultimate costal row. A 

 narrow postocular oblique streak on the temples. A dark narrow subterminal 

 ventral line on each side of the belly. 



The mother measured 1 foot 9 inches, of which the tail was 4| inches. 



The ventrals and subcaudals were 169 + 64. 



F. WALL, Major, c.m.z.s., i.m.s. 



Dibrugarh, Assam, 

 8th July 1907. 



