NOTES ON SNAKES COLLECTED IN CANNANORE. 



313 



The supracaudals in all were in odd numbers, a very unusual charac- 

 ter in snakes, but occurring with few exceptions where the subcaudals 

 arc entire. The enlarged and hexagonal character of tho vertebral 

 row was retained, though somewhat modified, in the whole length of the 

 tail as I have remarked in previous notes. All specimens belonged to 

 var. C. ( Boulenger* ) cceruleus. 



REMARKS. 



13-11-03, 

 17-11-03 

 £6-11-03 



20- 1-04. 



17- 3-04. 

 23- 0-04. 



Contained a snake {Lyrodon milieus)' 

 1 foot 6| inches long. Recorded 

 B. N. H. S. J., Vol. XV, p. 706. 



I believe a hatchling ; navel involved 

 3 ventrals, and 20 more intervened 

 between it and the anal shield. 



Naia tripudians. 



Called by the natives here " Moorookan " and " Sairpoom." From 

 the annexed list the disparity of the sexes will be seen to be vastly in 

 favour of tho male. 



All specimens were of variety A- a of Boulenger,f and almost exactly 

 alike in colour, viz., variegated with wheat colour, and pale dun, dis- 

 tributed with a slight tendency to form transverse bars, especially in tho 

 posterior part of tho body and tail. These colours were disposed 

 upon tho skin and hardly at all on the scales. The head was olive- 

 brown, with some or most of the sutures on the crown black. The 

 hood from before backwards was whitish, merging through cinnamon 

 or rusty red to intense black, which latter was abruptly defined poste- 

 riorly. A well-defined, white, black-margined, spectacle-mark centrally 

 and a black crescent and spot laterally. These very elegant hues and 

 marks, confined almost entirely to the skin, showed the snake to great 



* Cad. Snakes, Brit. Mas., Vol. in, p. 369. 

 t Cat. Snakes, Brit. Mus., Vol. Ill, p. 381. 

 16 



