«J^ 



SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



V. — Rhinophis jjunctatus, Miiller, 1832. 



Muller, Joh., Beici-age zur Anatomie und Naturgeschichte der 



Amphibien. Zeitscbrift f. Physiologic (Tiedemanu u. 



Treviranus), IV., 1832, p. 249. 



In October of last year, whilst travelling on the road from 



Puttalam to Gliilavv, I picked up a dead though fresh " depatnaya" 



near Madurankuli, which excited my interest at the time, and 



subsequently proved to be the first si)eciinen of the kind ever 



acquired by the Colombo Museum, namely, Rliinojiliis 'punctatus^ 



a species peculiar to Ceylon, as indeed are all the other members 



of the genus lihinophis, with one exception, E. sanguineus of 



Southern India. 



Rhinophis punetatiis. Slightly reduced. 



It is a long slender snake witii inconspicuous head, and with a 

 large tail shield. Its more superficial peculiarity depends upon the 

 character and distribution of the pigment in the skin, producing 

 .11 variegated appearance. In most snakes the ventral surface of 

 the body is paler than the dorsal and lateral surfaces, but in this 

 instance the scheme of coloration is reversed, and the upper 

 surface is that which displays the least dark pigment. 



This is in fact a very well-marked species, much more so in 

 reality than would appear from written descriptions, though I 

 have not had access to the figure of it contained in Peters's 

 Monograph of the Uropeltida^. 



The median dor-^al or vertebral scales have a black blotch in 

 each, the series of blotches producing a moniliform pattern down 

 the back ; the submedian scales are pale, devoid of black pigment. 



