BUNGARUS. 387 



sub-caudals two-rowed. One oi' two small ordinary teeth at a short 

 distance behind the fangs. 



Naja tripudians, Merr-. Te/ii. p. 147; Gray, Ind. Zool. ; Gitnth. 

 Colub. Snal-es, p. 223; Rep. British Ind. p. 338; Tlieoh. Cat. Rep. 

 Br. Ind. p. 208. N. atra, Cant. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1842. N. 

 lutescens^ Laiir. Sijn. p. 91. 



Six upper labials, the third and the fourth entering the orbit; the 

 sixth small and forms a suture with a large temporal shield. Two 

 temporals in contact with the post-oculars. Scales on the fore neck in 

 23-25 series. 



Colour variable, from brownish olive to blackish brown, with or 

 without spectacles on the neck, which also vary much in develop- 

 ment. The Sind varieties are — 1. Uniform brownish olive, spectacles 

 conspicuous, black-edged ; belly yellowish, more or less marbled. 

 Found also in Poena, Bombay, Madras. 2. Uniform blackish, 

 or brown-black. No spectacles. Found also in Bombay and Poena. 

 3. Uniform black above and below, with a brownish ocellus on necks 

 (Kurrachee and Jempeer). Attains to 60 inches. 



Hab. — All India aud-Beloochistan ; not yet recorded from Persia and 

 Afghanistan, but it is not unlikely it occurs in both. 



Bungarus, Baud. 



Body elongate. Tail comparatively short. Head scarcely distinct 

 from neck. Neck not dilatable. Nostril between two nasals. Loreal 

 none. One prie and two post-oculars. Scales smooth, in oblique rows, 

 forming 13-15 longitudinal series round the body, those of the verte- 

 bral row broad and hexagonal. Maxillary with a fang in front. A 

 second, small, simple tooth behind it. 



Bung-arus cseruleus, Baud. Hist. Rep. v. p. 270; Gnntli. Rep. 

 Br. Ind. p. 343; Theoh. Rep. Br. Ind. p. 215. {Kraif, Hind; 

 Kalgundait, Punjab). — The Krait. 



One pras-ocular, two post-oculars. Nostrils between two nasals. 

 First temporal shield considerably longer than high. Veutrals 

 201-221 ; sub-caudals 38-50. Scales smooth, in lifteen rows, bower 

 parts uniform white, upper parts bluish or brownish black, more or less 

 lusti^ous, or with numerous narrow white cross streaks, radiating from 

 a vertebral spot. 



Hab. — Sind, Punjab, N. W. Provinces, Oudh, Central Provinces, 

 Bengal, Rajputana, Central India, Kutch, Guzcrat, Concan, Deccan 

 and Southern India. Attains to GO inches. 



Next to the Cobra, this species is most destructive to human life ; 

 its bite is fatal usually in from 20 minutes to an hour; and in cases 

 where immediate medical aid has been obtained, perhaps for a quarter 

 of an hour longer. Very few recoveries are reported. The effect of tlie 

 poison generally produces a greater degree of stupor than that of the 

 Cobra, and there is apparently less convulsive twitchings ; bleeding 

 from the mouth, bloody urine and sputa, and difficult and stertoreous 

 breathing are the fatal symptoms. 



