Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 93 



gated rliomboidal scales with rounded, slightly notched points, keeled 

 except the two lowest series on each side, which are larger than the 

 rest, rhombic, smooth. The abdomen is broad, arched ; the tail robust 

 at the root, cylindrical, tapering to a sharp point. A solitary indivi- 

 dual from Province Wellesley was of the following dimensions : 



Length of the head, ft. 0| inch. 



Ditto ditto trunk, 1 5|- 



Ditto ditto tail, 6| 



2 ft. 04- inch. 



'8 



Circumference of the neck, l, of the trunk, If, of the root of the 

 tail, | inch. 



In Bengal this species is not numerous. It is very fierce, attacks in 

 a vertical attitude, but without expanding the anterior part of the body. 

 Its food is that of the preceding. The elongated angular head makes 

 this species resemble a Psammophis. 



Tropidonotus juncetjs, N. S. 



Head above shining light brown, lips and throat gamboge ; from the 

 angle of the mouth an oblique gamboge band, both joining under a 

 sharp angle on the neck ; trunk and tail dull greyish olive, with a 

 series of distant rounded whitish spots on each side ; each scutum and 

 scutellum with a small black spot on the sides, which as well as their 

 anterior margins are minutely dotted with brown. Iris black with a 

 golden ring ; tongue small, greyish. 



Scuta 157, Scutella 88. 



Habit. — Vmang. 



The head is elongated ovate, with the sides angular, compressed ; 

 the muzzle truncated ; the rostral shield moderate, square, deeply 

 arched beneath, vertically fixed ; the anterior frontals small, tetrago- 

 nal ; the frontals larger, angularly bent over the side, where they border 

 the small square frenal ; the other crown shields are rather small, the 

 occipitals on each side bordered by small elongated shields, like the 

 rest of the temples ; the eyes large, prominent ; pree-orbital one ; post- 

 orbitals three ; nasal rectangular ; nostrils lateral, large, rounded ; 

 upper labials 9, of which the fourth, fifth and sixth border the orbit ; 

 lower labials 1 1 ; mentals two pairs, elongated. The lips are slightly 

 arched, the mouth wide ; the teeth small, crowded ; the last upper 



