PTYAS MUCOSUS. 249 



Two species are known : — '- 



Scales in seventeen rows P. mucosus. 



Scales in fifteen rows P. korros. 



Ptyas mucosus. 



Coluber mucosus^ L. Mus. Ad. Fried, t. 13. fig. 2, t. 23. fig. 2. 



Russell, Ind. Serp. i. pi. 34; ii. pi. 18. f. 2 (young). 



Coluber blumeiibacbii, Merr. Tent. p. 119. Schley. Phys. Serp. ii. p. 137. pi. 5. figs. 7 & 8. 



dbumna, Cantor, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1839, p. 51. 



Leptophis trifrenatus, Hallowell, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1860, p. 503. 

 Ptyas mucosus, Cope, ibid. p. 563. 



Head rather broad and high, distinct from neck, with the snout not elongate ; body and 

 tail elongate, scarcely compressed ; eye rather large. Rostral shield as high as broad ; 

 anterior frontals not quite half the size of posterior ; vertical with the lateral margins con- 

 vergent, concave, and longer than anterior; superciliary projecting; occipitals truncated 

 behind. Three loreal shields, one above the two others ; two prseoculars : the upper large, 

 concave, extending on to the upper side of tlie head, but not reaching the vertical ; the lower 

 is small. Two postoculars. Eight upper labials, the fourth and fifth entering the orbit ; 

 temporals elongate, 2+2, the anterior being in contact with the postoculars. Scales rhombic, 

 in seventeen rows, those of the vertebral series rather larger than the others ; they have a 

 pair of apical grooves, and those on the back are generally keeled, but sometimes the keels 

 are very faint, or appear to be entirely absent. Ventrals without any keel, very slightly bent 

 up the sides, 196-208; anal bifid; subcaudals 118-134. Each maxillary is armed with from 

 eighteen to twenty teeth, slightly increasing in strength posteriorly. Light brownish olive, 

 scales with darker margins ; the dark edges of the scales become broader and black on the 

 posterior part of the trunk and on the tail, giving a reticulated appearance to these parts. 

 Young and half-grown specimens show dark irregular transverse streaks. Shields of the 

 head with blackish margins. 



The Indian Kat-snake is one of the most common species on the continent and in Ceylon, 

 and appears to occur everywhere ; it is scarce in the archipelago, as its occurrence has been 

 recorded in Java only ; on the other hand, it is not rare in Chusan and Formosa. In the 

 Himalayas it ascends to only 5240 feet above the level of the sea. It is a powerful snake, 

 attaining to a length of 7 feet, the tail being one-third or rather more. Its food consists of 

 mammals, birds, and frogs ; it frequently enters the dwellings of man in search of mice, rats, 

 and young fowls. It is of fierce habits, always ready to bite, and old examples brought to 

 Europe never become tame. Cantor says that it utters, when irritated, a peculiar diminuendo 

 sound, not unlike that produced by a gently struck tuning-fork. 



2k 



