POPULAR TREATISE ON COMMON INDIAN SNAKES. 289 



•reptile thorouohly scared added to my difficulty by its agile move- 

 ments. When at length it was womided I would not, pronounce upon 

 its identity by lamp light, the gloss on its scales making their detail 

 uncei'tain, but I felt sure I had been dealing with u krait until the 

 morninsr light showed me mistaken. 



Disposition. — My knowledge ot" this species is so limited that I 

 -cannot speak ofits disposition, habits, food or breeding. The smallest 

 specimen I know of is one mentioned by Giinther which was (j^ inches 

 (75 lines) and I should think probably a hatchling. 



Distribution, (a) Geographical. — South India, Orissa, and Ceylon. 

 All the British Museum specimens are from Ceylon and kSouth India. 

 Jerdon speaks of it from Madras, Ferguson from Travancore and I 

 have had two specimens from Orissa (Kumbha and Berhampore), two 

 from Trichinopoly, and one from Madras. The exact localities in 

 ■Ceylon of the British Museum specimens except Trincomalee are not 

 noted. Haly* says that 5 specimens in the Colombo Museum are from 

 Jaffna, and Willey f only mentions Jaffna and Anuradapura. 

 Ji^ergusonJ speaks of one from the South part of the Island without 

 specifying further. This is in the British Museum now, viz., specimen 

 T of Boulenger's Catalogue (Vol. 1, p. 371). 



(b) Local. — Appears to be chiefly a snake of the Plains, but there 

 are British Museum specimens from the Nallymally, Balarangam, 

 and Cuddapah Hills, altitudes not recorded. 



(c) Numerical. — I would call it rather an uncommon snake in 

 India, having only collected 5 specimens. Ferguson mentions but 

 two specimens in the large collection at Travancore. Jerdon, however, 

 says it is not rare at Madras. 



Lepidosis. Rostral, — Touches G shields, the rostro-internasal sutures 

 rather longer than the rostro-nasal. Internasals. — Two; the suture 

 between them about three-fourths to equal to that between the prce- 

 frontal fellows, about half or less than half the intemaso-])r£efrontal 

 sutures. Frcefrontals. — Two ; the suture between them subequal to 

 or rather greater than the praefronto-frontal ; in contact with the 

 iuternasal, })0stnasal, loreal, one or two prieoculars, and supraocular. 

 Frontal, — Touches G shields ; the supraocular sutures longest, twice or 

 nearly twice the parietals which are rather the sniallest. Supra- 



* First, report, ynakeu, Colombo, Juue 188(3, p. 10. 



t Spol. ZeyUn, ^pril lOOGj p. -'3li. ; Kept. Fauua, Ceyl'jUj 1677, p. 19, 



