98 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



NOTES ON SNAKES FROIVI DIYATALAWA, CEYLON. 



By T. Bainbrigge Fletcher, R.N., F.E.S. 



TOURING a stay in camp at Diyatalawa (4,000 feet) between 

 -^ July 27 and October 9, 1907, I obtained a few specimens of 

 various species of snakes, and as all information concerning the 

 distribution of even the commonest snakes in Ceylon seems to be 

 rather a desideratum, it may be of interest to give a list of them 

 here. 



Rhinophis hlythii. 



One specimen, lOf inches long, was taken on October 2, amongst 

 flood refuse washed down by a small stream after heavy rain on the 

 previous night. The ventrals in this example number 192, and 

 the proportion of its length to diameter is as thirty-seven to one, so 

 that its length is comparatively greater than usual, as shown both 

 by its greater slendemess and by the increased number of ventrals. 

 This specimen is now in the Colombo Museum. 



Aspidura trachyprocfa. 



One specimen, taken in June on Craig estate, Bandarawela (about 

 5,000 feet), was given to me by Mr. J. F. Jowitt. Altliough this is 

 probably not an inhabitant of Diyatalawa in the strict sense of the 

 word {i.e., " water plain "), yet this specimen seems sufficiently 

 interesting to record here ; the head scales are asymmetrical, the 

 prseocular being present on the left side of the head but totally 

 absent on» the right side. The other scale peculiarities (much 

 broader frontal, &c.) leave no doubt that this specimen is trachy- 

 procta. Wall records a specimen with no prseocular {'' Spolia/^ 

 III,, 145), but in his example the variation was presumably 

 symmetrical. 



Oligodon sublineatus. 



One specimen was taken on August 12, just below the Railway 

 station. / 



Zamenis mucosus. 



Common all round the camp, and large individuals are often seen 

 on the rifle range. During the forenoon of August 27 a rat-snake 

 shed its skin in the drain just outside our hut ; the cast skin was 

 quite perfect, and measured 6 feet 5 inches. 



