ART. 25 CHINESE AMPHIBIANS AND KEPTILES STEJNEGEB 75 



Snakes Brit. Mus., vol. 1, 1893, p. 270 (Himalaya, Khasi Hills, Burma).— ■ 

 Werner, Abh. Bayer. Akad. Wiss., II Kl., vol. 22, pt. 2, 1903, p. 363 

 (part: Tatsienlu). — Wall, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loudon, 1903, p. 87 (part' 

 excl. Yunnan). — ?Stanley, Journ. N. China Asiat. Soc, vol. 45, 1914,. 

 p. 29 (Fukien) ; vol. 46, 1915, p. xiii (Ruling). — ?Mocquard, Bull. Mus, 

 Hist. Nat., Paris, vol. 3, 1897, p. 215 (Tcheku, Upper Mekong Valley, 

 Yunnan). 

 1858. Xenodon macrophthalmus Guenthek, Cat. Colubr. Snakes Brit. Mus., 

 p. 58 (type-locality; Khasya ; Sikkim ; Chikiaug, China; cotypes in 

 Brit. Mus.; J. Hooker, collector) (part only). — Tropidonotus macroph- 

 thalmus GuENTHER, Kept. India, 1864, p. 262, pi. 22. fig. C (Khasya; 

 Sikkim) ; Ann. Mus. Zool. St. P6tersbourg, vol. 1, 1896, p. 206 (Tatsienlu, 

 Szechwan). 

 1871. Tropidonotus sikkimensis Anderson, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vol. 

 40, pt. 2 (Nat. Hist.) No. 1, p. 17 (type locality, Darjeeling, Himalaya, 

 5,000 feet alt.; cotypes in Mus. Calcutta). 

 It may be well here to recapitulate briefly the history of the names 

 of this and related forms, which Guenther at one time embraced un- 

 der the term of Xenodon macrophthalmus or Tropidonotus macroph- 

 thalmus, and which originally also included specimens of Tropidono- 

 tus himalayanus. 



The first segregation took place in 1864 when Guenther separated 



the Chikiang,*^ China, specimen from the Fortune collection, as 



Tropidonotus dorsaiis^"^ in which he was followed by Boulenger 



1890 and 1893^^ the two forms being distinguishable as follows: 



a\ Strongly keeled scales in 19 rows, anteriorly ; ventrals, 158-178 ; sub- 



caudals, 55-75 ; no black lines on supralabial sutures P. macrops. 



a^ Feebly keeletl or smooth scales in 17 rows, anteriorly; ventrals. 140; 

 subcaudals, 51; supralabials with fine black lines at the sutures. 



P. dorsalis. 



In the former he included two specimens collected by A. E. Pratt 

 at Kia-ting-fu, Szechwan, 7,070 feet above the sea, already recorded 

 by Guenther ^^ as Tropidonotus macrophthalmus. But, in 1904, hav- 

 ing received additional specimens from Szechwan and Yunnan, he 

 described them as Pseudoxenodon sinensis.^^ Exprcvssed in " key " 

 form the characters relied upon to distinguish the three species are 

 now (1904) as follows: 



c\ Strongly keeled scales. 



?>\ Scales anteriorly in 19 rows; ventrals, 160-175; subcaudals, 55-75; 

 supralabials, 8, without sutural black bars; anterior part of belly 



with dark brown spots P. macrops, 



b\ Scales in 19 or 20 rows on the middle of the body as well as on the 

 neck ; ventrals, 144-158 ; subcaudals, 55-67 ; supralabials usuaUy 7 

 with sutural black bars; anterior part of belly without dark brown 

 spots !•• sinensis. 



*» This, I take it, is the locality in tlie province of Hupeh ; Doctor Werner regards it 

 as equivalent to " Tschekiang," the province of Chekiaug. 



MRept. Brit. India, 1864, p. 263. 



^^Pseudoxenodon dorsalis Boulenger, Cat Snakes Brit. Mus., vol. 1, 1S93, p. 271, pi. 

 17, fig. 2. 



52 In Pratt's To Snows of Tibet, 1892, p. 241. 



"Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, vol. 13, Feb. 1904, p. 134. 



