{') 



THE POISONOUS SNAKES OF INDIA. 15 



STTITGAIIUS LIVIDUS.-The Lesser Blacls Hrait. 



Identification. — Its uniform black coloui' taken with the slight en- 

 largement of the vertebral row in which the scales are longer than 

 broad at midbody make its identit\- easy. Both ventrals and sub- 

 caudals are fewer than in niger. 



Distritution, — A rare snake. Of -1 specimens in the British 

 Museum 3 are from Assam, and 1 from India, the precise locality of 

 which is not noted. I have lately had a specimen from the dalpaiguri 

 District and two from Tindharia, E. Himalayas 2,800 feet. Another 

 mentioned by Sclater from Saidpur is probably of this species but 

 I failed to find the specimen in the Indian Museum.* 



Poison. — Nothing known. f 



Dimensions. — Somewhat uncertain owing to its confusion hitherto 

 with B. nlger. The largest of 8 I have seen is ?> feet and 2 inches. 



Colour. — Uniform black above, white below with more or less dark 

 mottling at the base of the ventrals and sub-caudals. 



BTTiraARUS FASCIATUS.-Tlie Banded Krait. 



The " Raj samp " and '' JSankni " of Bengal. Fayrer % says it is 

 called " Koclea Krait " in the North- West. I presume he means 

 N.-W. Bengal, for it does not e^ist in N.-W. India. Accord- 

 ing to Russell it is called " Bungarum pamah " on the Coromandel 

 Coast. In Burmah it is known as " Gnandawja," " Ngan-wa," 

 " Ngan-than-kwin-syut," '' Nat-mywe," and " Mywe-min." 



Identification, — The alternate bands of yellow and olack are suffi- 

 ciently distinctive. The one snake which bears some superficial 

 resemblance to it is Lycodoa fasc'iatus, a harmless snake known from 

 the Assam and Burmese Hills. This latter is much smaller, the bands 

 more numerous and their outlines very irregular unlike the banded 

 krait. Moreover, the scale characters mentioned as peculiar to the 

 kraits are all absent in the Lycodon. 



* I have just had a specimen submitted to me for identificatiou, from near Tezpur, 

 Assam, which caused the death of a cooly . No further details have j-et been received. 

 t -See footnote to B. niger. J Thanaiophidia, p. 1 1 . 



