154 Records oj the Indian Museum. [Vol. XXII, 



Specimens of pictiis present three distinct colour varieties. 



Variety A. typicus. — Dorsally bronze. The bases of all scales 

 black and the lateral borders of the vertebrals and lower borders 

 of the costals black, enclosing a turquoise-blue patch. Ventrallv 

 uniform buff, greyish, or greenish- buii" merging to buff anteriorly. 

 No buff vertebral stripe anteriorly. A series of more or less dis- 

 tinct, equidistant, lateral, black, oblique bars anteriorly. A buff 

 flank stripe with a well-defined black line below on the edges of the 

 ventrals and ultimate row of scales. Sometimes a thinner black 

 line above the buff on the upper half of the penultimate row. 

 Tail with no black lines. Head bronze, the lore dusky not: black. 

 No anterior labials with black posterior borders though these may 

 be dusky. A deep well-defined, black postocular stripe from the 

 edge of the parietals to the edge of the supralabials. No buff inter- 

 parietal spot. 



In all the five South Indian specimens I have seen, the buff 

 flank stripe is but faintly indicated or absent, and there are no 

 black lines above or below this. 



Food. — I have no records on this point. 



Breeding. — I have seen no gravid specimen. 



Length. — My largest specimen measured about 915 mm. 

 (3 feet). I have seen juvenile examples apparently recently hatched 

 measuring 298 and 330 mm. (iif and i2|- inches). 



Lepidosis. — The scales ate in 15 rows to behind midbody and 

 reduce to 11 or 9 before the vent. Ventrals, 173 to 194. Anal, 

 divided. Subcaudals, 131 to 160. The loreal is rather shorter 

 than the nasals, and its depth about two-fifths its lenglh. 

 Temporals, normally 2-I-2-I-2. Supralabials, usually 9, the 2nd, 

 3rd and 4th touching the loreal, and the 4th, 5th and 6th the 

 eye. 



Dentition. — From one skull in my collection. Maxillary, 25. 

 Palatine. 14. Pterygoid, 28. Mandibular, 22. 



Distribution. — Hills of ,S. India; Bengal; Assam; Burma; 

 Nicobars. 



5. India. Uncommon, Ponmudi, Travancore (F. W.) ; Castle 

 Rock, Mercara, Coorg, Thana (Bomb. N.H. coUn.). 



Bengal. Calcutta (No. 16661. Ind. Mus.). 



Assam. Nasira (No. 7701, Ind. Mus.) ; Samaguting, Naga Hills 

 (No. 7709, Ind. Mus.) ; Cachar (No. 14736, Ind. Mus.) ; Chittagong 

 (No. 7886, Ind. Mus.) ; No loc. (No. 7686, Ind. Mus.). 



Burma. Bhamo (No. 7696, Ind. Mus.) ; Upper Burma (No. 

 7698, Ind. Mus.) ; Tenasserim (Nos. 4074, S614 and 8615 Ind. 

 Mus.); S. Shan States (Taounggyi, No. 142-6, Bombay colln.) 

 Common in Lower Burma (F. W). 



Nicobars. (No. 8894, Ind. Mus.); No loc. (No. 14575, Ind. 

 Mus.). 



Note. — No. 7698, Ind. Mus., from Upper Burma with 154 

 ventrals, anal divided, and irS subcaudals (tail complete) and the 

 praeocular touching the frontal on both sides, though coloured as 

 above, suggests a distinct .species. 



