208 AMBLYCEPHALID.i;. 



oblique, in 13 rows, vertebral row strongly enlarged ; ventrals 

 rounded. Tail moderate ; subcaudals single. 

 A single species. 



227. Haplopeltura boa. 



Ambli/cephalus boa, Bole, Isis, 1828, p. 1034 : Giintb. Rept. Brit. 



Imi. p. 325 (1864). 

 Dipsas boa, Cantor, Jouni. Asiat. See. Bengal, xvi, p. 925, pi. xl, 



tig. 3 (1847). 

 Haplopeltura boa, Bouleng. Cat. Sn. iii, p. 439 (1896) ; S. Flower, 



P. Z. S. 1899, p. 693; Bouleng. Fascic. Mai, Zool. i, p. 170 (1903). 



Snout very sbort and deep. Eostral narrow, nuicb deeper 

 tban broad : frontal not broader than the supraocular, once and 

 two thirds to twice as long as broad, longer than its distance from 

 the end of tbe snout, as long as or a little longer than the parietals ; 

 two or three enlarged occipitals ; two or three superposed loreals, 

 the lower often entering the eye, Avhich is bordered by 6 to 8 

 shields in addition to the supraocular; temporals 3 + 3 or 4; 8 to 

 10 upper labials, none entering the eye ; 2 pairs of lower labials 

 in contact on the median line behind the symphysial ; 3 or 4 pairs 

 of large chin-shields, the anterior pair sometimes fused to a 

 single azygous shield or preceded by an azygous shield. Scales in 

 13 rows. Ventrals 148-191; anal entire; subcaudals 88-127. 

 Yellowish or pale brown above, yellowish beneath, mottled with 

 dark brown ; usually with large dark brown blotches, ^^•hich may 

 extend across the belly ; a large dark brown blotch on the head ; 

 sides of head yellowish white, with three or more dark streaks 

 radiating from the eye. 



Total length 750 millim. ; tail 220. 



Malay Peninsula and Archipelago. Known from Penang Hills, 

 Bukit Besar (Patani States), the Larut Hills in Central Perak, 

 2000 feel, and Kelantan. A specimen taken at Bukit Besar by 

 Dr. Annandale was lying almost straight along the middle of the 

 leaf of a small palm in the jungle. The whole coloration and 

 attitude suggested a stick that had fallen from above, and the 

 blunt snout and buff markings on the head appeared to represent 

 that part of the stick which had been broken from its present 

 branch. 



Genus AMBLYCEPHALUS. 

 Kuhl, Isis, 1822, p. 474. 



Maxillary bone very short, deep, with 5 or 6 subequal teeth ; 

 mandibular teeth gradually decreasing in length. Head distinct 

 from neck ; eye moderate, with vertical pupil ; nasal single. 

 Body more or less compressed; scales smooth or feebly keeled, 

 without pits, more or less oblique, in 15 rows, vertebral row 

 enlarged or not. Ventrals rounded. Tail moderate or short; 

 subcaudals in two rows. 



South-Eastern Asia. Four species in the Malay Peninsula. 



