iv PREFACE. 



Museum in the year 1860, and the task afterwards devolved upon me to name its contents, 

 and to embody them in the national collection, together with very numerous additions 

 received through other channels. I found that this could not be satisfactorily done except 

 by a critical revision of the labours of my predecessors and of my own ; but I had no idea 

 of the proportions the work would finally assume, which was calculated to comprise 

 descriptions of about 300 species, a number now raised to above 500. This considerable 

 increase has been caused partly by the rediscovery of a number of species which, although 

 noticed and named by pre\ious writers, have been omitted m general works on Herpetology, 

 or included among the synonyms on account of the inaccuracy or incompleteness of the 

 original descriptions; partly by the establishment of many new species the characters of 

 which could be defined only after an inspection of numerous specimens. In this respect I 

 have been most liberally aided by the curators of public collections, who have allowed me to 

 examine the specimens entrusted to their care ; and it gives me gi-eat pleasure to express my 

 best thanks to Mr. T. Moore of the Free Public Museum at Liverpool, to Mr. F. Moore 

 of the India Museum at Fife House, to Mr. W. H. Flower of the Royal College of Sur- 

 geons, to Professor Grant of University College, and to the Curators of the Museum of the 

 University of Oxford, of the Bristol Museum, and of the Collection at Haslar Hospital. Nor 

 can I omit to express my acknowledgments for tlie aid I have received from gentlemen 

 interested in similar studies. Mr. Walter Elliot entrusted to me a most valuable collection 

 of original drawings made during his long residence in the Madras Presidency, and repre- 

 senting a number of its species. Mr. B. H. Hodgson gave me much information concerning 

 the Reptiles of Nepal, drawings of which had been previously deposited by him in the British 

 Museum. Sir A. Smith and Sir J. E. Tennent assisted me with collections from Ceylon. 

 Captain R. H. Beddome communicated to me the discoveries made during his excursions in 

 the mountains of the Carnatic and Mysore, sending at the same time typical specimens. 

 Finally, Mr. L. L. Dillwyn gave me the types of the species figured in the ' Natural History 

 of Labuan,' by which the synonymy could be rectified. 



The present work being based upon collections mainly brought together within British 

 dominions or in countries under British protection, I thought it best to define its object as 

 an account of the Reptiles of British India. But it would have been very unphilosophical 

 to exclude species which, however near to British territory, have not been obtained within 

 its political boundaries, or to cut off the fauna of Burmah, Siam, Cochinchina, and Southern 

 China, forming as it does a natural unity with that of India proper. Besides, by extending 

 my researches over the entire Indian continent, I became better acquainted with the geo- 

 graphical range of a species, and was better enabled to discriminate critically between really 

 specific characters, and between those peculiar to local or individual variations. Further, it 

 was of especial interest to point out where the Reptilian fauna of the Indian continent is 

 intermingled with forms properly belonging to other regions. I have therefore included 

 what is known of the Reptiles of Afghanistan, of Tibet, and of Northern China. In a few 

 genera, like the Dragons and Sea Snakes, it appeared necessary to go beyond even those 

 limits, and to treat of all the species known, in order to render the specific characters more 

 intelligible, and to avoid omissions which would have been otherwise inevitable on account 

 of the imperfect state of our knowledge of their geographical range. 



A few words must be added in explanation of the plan followed in the arrangement of the 



