1000 JOURNA L, BO MBA Y NA TURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol XIX 



If I am wrong, I shall be only too glad to be put right, and am quite open 

 to conviction, but so far I must admit that I still stick to my own opinion 

 that birds and beasts show much moi-e intelligence and reasoning power than 

 we give them credit for. 



C. H. DONALD, f^.s. 

 Bdshahir State, Simla Dist., 20th September 1909. 



No, XXVI.— EXTENSION OF THE HABITAT OF THE SAND 

 SNAKE iERYX JACULVS). 



Major O. A. Smith, among other snakes collected in Jhelum, has sent me 

 a single small specimen of the Sand Snake (Eryx jaculus). This widely 

 distributed species is reported by Boulenger (Cat. Vol. 1, p. 126) from the 

 Ionian Islands and Greece in the West, Northern Africa, South Wesb and 

 Central Asia as far North as Turkestan, to the Western Afghan Boundary. 

 Dr. Annandale has also recorded it fromSeistan (Mem. As. Soc. Bengal, Tol. 1, 

 No, 10, p. 200). As far as lam aware, it has never been reported farther 

 east, so that its occurrence in the Indus Basin is a considerable extension of 

 its previously known zone of distribution. It appears to me extremely likely 

 that it has been encountered in the Indus Basin before, biit taken for its 

 common In{lian relative E. conicus, but the sharp rostral transverse ridge, 

 which is not seen in conicus is very distinct in this specimen. There are 

 9 quite smooth scales between the eyes, and the costals number at a point two 

 heads-lengths behind the head 46, at midbody 52, and two heads -lengths before 

 the vent 3(). The ventrals aie 189, and the subcaudals 30 of which the an- 

 terior 24 are entire, 1 he anal shield is entire and narrower than the ven- 

 trals (about two- thirds), 



F. WALL, C.M.Z.S., Major, i.m.s. 



Chitral, \bth October 1909. 



No. XXVII.— A SECOND SPECIMEN OF THE SNAKE OLWODON 

 ERYTBROGASTEli FROM THE EASTERN HIMALAYAS. 



In 1907* Mr. Boulenger described this species from a single specimen obtained 

 at Nagarkote, Nepal (6,000 feet) which is now preserved in the Indian Museum, 

 Calcutta. I have just received another specimen from Tindharia which must 

 have been collected at an altitude below 2,800 feet, and as no figure appeared 

 with the original desciiption, I herewith attach outline drawings to show the 

 cephalic lepidosis. 



I think there can be no doubt that this is the snake to which Dr. GiJnther f 

 refers which Hodgson obtained in Nepal and made coloured drawings of, which 

 he presented to the British Museum. Dr. Giintherat first referred these to 

 S. octol'hieatus, but subsequently expressed the opinion that they represented 

 a species up to that time unknown. 



* Rec. Ind. Mus. Vol 1. pt. iii. t Kept. Brit. Ind. 1864, p. 206. 



