DISTRIBUTION OF VARIETIES OF COBRAS IN INDIA. 639 



B — The cobra with no such marks =Anocellate cobra ; and 



C — The cobra with a ring mark on the hood = Monocellate cobra. 



Though the number of cobras received is large, it is unfortunate for 

 our present purpose that they have been sent from comparatively few 

 places, and it becomes therefore impossible to give a complete distribu- 

 tion list for India. But a beginning can at least be made, and it is 

 hoped that members of our Society will send us notes to enable a more 

 correct and complete distribution list to be made out at some future time. 



A — Naia tripudians, var. forma typica, appears to be distributed uni- 

 formly throughout India but to be rare in Burma and China. As far 

 as our specimens enable us to judge, the prevalence of this variety in 

 the Provinces of India is as follows : — 



DJLclCll [IS ■•• ••• ••• ••• • • 



United Provinces of Agra and Oudh ... 



Bombay ... 



jt imiciD ■• > ••• ••• ••• ••• 



j3GD-£) cil ••• ■•• ••• • ♦ • ••• * 



Central Provinces 



It is the only variety of cobra we have received from the Madras 

 Presidency. 



In confirmation of this Nicholson says (Indian Snakes, p. 106) : — 

 "This binocellate variety is found in the South of India and on the 

 coast generally." As he says in a footnote that he examined 1,200 

 cobras in Bangalore, it may be taken as certain that they were all 

 typica. From the Bombay Presidency we have received eight 

 snakes only, of which six belonged to this variety. As these were 

 purchased from local snake-charmers, who said they caught them at 

 Matheran or Khandalla, it is impossible to say anything about the 

 distribution of typica in Bombay. 



Proceeding northwards, we find it uncommon in the western part of 

 the Central Provinces, but again common in the United Provinces. In 

 Bengal it is also common ; but it will be noted that 24 of our 80 

 Bengal specimens came from Puri and may therefore be considered a 

 northward extension of the Madras cobra. 



As regards the Punjab, nothing can be said, as only two cobras were 

 received from this province ; one being typica, and the other cceca. 



Captain F. Wall, I.M.S., reports that all the cobras he got in 

 Trichinopoly and Cannanore were of this variety, thus confirming our 



