226 OPHIDIA. 



191-198; anal bifid; subcaudals 60. Uniform blackish above, whitish below: some speci- 

 mens show a faint dark collar, and a series of vertical bars along the side of the anterior 

 part of the body ; these markings axe the remaining traces of the coloration of young indi- 

 viduals, the ground-colour of which is light brownish grey, the collar and the lateral vertical 

 bars being black. 



The two specimens collected by Messrs. von Schlagintweit are from Sikkim, obtained at 

 altitudes of 5340 and 10,200 feet above the level of the sea. A third example is in 

 Mr. Hodgson's collection from Nepal. It attains to a length of 16^ inches, the tail mea- 

 suring 3|- inches. 



Guided by two rather rough drawings presented by Mr. Hodgson to the British Museum, 

 I was of opinion that A. rappii and A. owenii were really distinct (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1861, 

 p. 217) ; but having lately succeeded in finding the typical specimen of one of these drawings, 

 I see that it was intended for a difierent species (A. tenuiceps), and therefore I no longer 

 hesitate to unite the two former. 



Ablabes bicolor. 



Calamaria bicolor, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xxiii. 1854, p. 289. 



Scales in seventeen rows. Eostral shield twice as broad as high ; the frontals are united 

 into two simple transverse plates ; vertical five-sided, broader than long, with the supraciliary 

 margins short, and with a rather acute angle behind ; occipitals as long as the vertical and 

 frontals together, rounded behind, and touching the upper postocular only. Nostril between 

 two small shields ; loreal square ; two preeoculars, the lower much smaller than the upper, 

 and entering the orbit with its hinder pointed part only. Two postoculars : the lower is 

 situated below the eye, above the fourth labial. Six upper labials : the third only enters 

 tlie orbit, and the fifth is the largest. Temporals 1+1 : the anterior is in contact with both 

 postoculars, elongate, pointed, meeting the posterior temporal with its pointed end only. 

 Mental shield very small ; the first pair of lower labials form a suture behind the mental ; 

 two pairs of oblong chin-shields, the posterior rather smaller than tlie anterior, which are in 

 contact with four labials. Ventrals 210-221 ; anal bifid ; subcaudals 75-80. Uniform 

 greyish brown above, whitish below. Teeth rather small, of equal length, thii'teen in the 

 upper and the same number in the lower jaw. 



The only specimen I have seen is from the Khasyan collection of the late Mr. Griffith, and 

 is not in a good state of preservation ; it is 16| inches long, the tail measuring 3J inches. 

 Mr. Blyth's specimen was 19^ inches long (tail 4f), and formed part of a collection which 

 came either from Khasya or from Assam. 



