XENOCHROPHIS. 3-53 



Hah. Southern ludia and Ceylon, Bengal, Burma, Yunnan, 

 Malay Peninsula. 



Cantor says thi.s species is very fierce, and has the power of 

 flattening and laterally expanding the skin of the anterior part of 

 the body, like the Cobra, but in a much slighter degree. 



Genus XENOCHROPHIS, 

 Giinther, Rept. Brit. Lid. p. -73, 1864. 



Maxillary teeth about 20, subequal ; anterior mandibular teeth 

 longest. Head slightly distinct from neck ; eye moderate, with 

 round pupil ; head-shields normal, but nostril in the upper part of 



Fig. 102. — Head of Xcnochrophis cerasagasier. 



a single nasal. Body moderately elongate, cylindrical ; scales 

 keeled, in 19 rows, without apical pits; veutrals rounded; sub- 

 caudals in two rows. 

 A single species. 



441. Xenoclirophis cerasogaster. 



Psauimopliis cerasogaster, Cantur, P. Z. S. 1839, p. 52. 

 Tropidoiiiilus cerasogaster. Cantor, J. A. S. B. xvi, 1847, p. 939. 

 Xeuochrophis cerasogaster, Giiiit/i, liept. B. I. p. 274 ; Theub. Cat. 

 p. 180. 



Head narrow, elongate, with angular canthus rostralis and 

 slightly concave lores; eye moderate or rather small. R-ostral 

 once and one third to twice as broad as long ; suture between the 

 internasals nearly as long as that between the prsefrontals ; frontal 

 much longer than its distance from the end of the snout, as long 

 as the parietals ; loreal as long as deep or a little longer than deep ; 

 one prseocular ; two or three postoculars and one or two sub- 

 oculars ; temporals 2 4- 2 or 2 + 3 ; upper labials 9, fourth (rarely 

 fifth) entering the eye; 5 or Glower labials in contact with the 

 anterior chin-shields, which are as long as the posterior or a little 

 shorter. Scales strongly keeled, in 19 rows. Ventrals 140-151 ; 



2a 



