NAJA TRIPUDIANS. 339 



Var. a. Uniform brownish olive above, with a pair of very conspicuous white, black- 

 edged spectacles on the neck ; belly yellowish, uniform or slightly marbled with brown, and 

 with a broad blackish cross band, corresponding to the spectacle-like mark. 



* The lower anterior temporal shield is in contact with three or four other temporals ; 



ventrals 193: Madras, Anamallay Mountains, Dukhun, Bengal, Pinang. 

 ** The lower anterior temporal shield is in contact with two other temporals : Sikkim. 



Var. j3. Dark brown above, many scales with whitish edges ; a pair of spectacles on tlie 

 neck, white, black-edged, and more conspicuous in young individuals than in old ones, in 

 which the spectacles are uniform black ; a large ovate black blotch on each side of the belly, 

 corresponding to the spectacles ; anterior part of the belly with three or four black cross 

 bands, posterior part marbled with blackish or entirely black. The lower anterior temporal 

 shield is in contact with three temporals; ventrals 195; subcaudals 62: Ceylon. 



Var. y. Olive-brown above, with a pair of very conspicuous white, black-edged spectacles ; 

 posterior third of the trunk with distant narrow white cross bands. Belly yellowish, punc- 

 tulated with brown, and with a broad black cross band behind the spectacles. The lower 

 anterior temporal shield is in contact with two other temporals; ventrals 174: China. 



Var. S. Uniform blackish brown above and below ; head of a lighter colour ; a pair of 

 elongate-ovate white spots on the neck. The lower anterior temporal shield is in contact 

 with two other temporals ; ventrals 180: China. 



Var. e. Uniform brownish black above and below, without spectacles, sometimes with an 

 indistinct black cross band on the front part of the belly. 



* The lower anterior temporal is in contact with two other temporals ; ventrals 184-187 : 



Dekkan, Pinang. 

 ** The lower anterior temporal is in contact with three other temporals : Sikkim. 



Var. t. Uniform black ; a large white ocellus on the neck with black centre and black 

 margin ; anterior part of the belly whitish, with a broad black cross band ; the lower tem- 

 poral is in contact with two other temporals; ventrals 174: Siam. 



Var. 7). Black above and below ; a large white ocellus on the neck with black centre ; 

 about fifteen narrow, equidistant, well-defined white bands across the trunk; the lower 

 temporal is in contact with three other temporals; ventrals 170 : Siam. 



Var. 0. Black above and below ; a large white ocellus on the neck with black centre and 

 black edge. Body with rather irregular whitish cross bands ; the two anterior are broad, 

 the following are divided into a pair of narrower bands ; and in the middle of the body the 

 bands become indistinct and are dissolved into small spots. The lower anterior temporal is 

 generally in contact with two, sometimes with three other temporals; ventrals 193; sub- 

 caudals 53: Naja larvata, Cantor, from Bombay, Calcutta, Assam, and Sikkim. 



All the varieties mentioned form but one species, which is widely spread, and only too 

 common all over the continent of the Indian region. A black form, without spectacles, and 

 with fewer series of scales on the neck, the Naja sputatrix of Reinwardt, is limited to the 

 East Indian Archipelago, and appears to be a distinct species. The true Naja triimdians, 



2x2 



