210 MAJOR F. WALL, 1.M.S., C.M.Z.8. 
all of which appeared to me to be the young of the species labelled in the British 
Museum brugmansi (Boie). Upon examining the posterior maxillary teeth I- could 
discern grooves in them. ‘The one important difference between the two supposed 
species judging from the descriptions of the two in Mr. Boulenger’s Catalogue was 
therefore abolished. The other apparent differences affect the supralabials and the 
ventrals. Though Mr. Boulenger’s description of spiralis gives the supralabials as 
‘“ six or seven,’’ in all the specimens so labelled in the British Museum they are seven 
except in one specimen on one side only where they are six. It is to be noted, too, 
that in four of the twelve specimens labelled brugmansi in the same institution, there 
are six supralabials on one or both sides and seven in the rest. As regards ventrals 
the same authority gives the range for spiralis 270 to 334, that for brugmansit 300 to 
354. The overlapping is great, and the available species meagre in the case of 
spiralis and not very numerous in the case of brugmansii. I would point out that 
four of the five specimens of spiralis are so alike in size and general appearance as to 
leave one with the conviction that they are hatchlings of the same brood, an idea 
supported by the fact that they are all preserved in the same bottle, and presented 
by the same donor. A careful examination of the available specimens of the two 
supposed species side by side strengthened my conviction, for I failed to discover any 
difference between them. The slight difference apparent in the number of ventrals 
entirely disappears within the range given me by the large series of specimens I have 
examined. 
The vertebral spots which occur between the annuli by no means form a complete 
series in some of the specimens of sfzrvalis; and it is to be specially remarked that a 
very good series of these spots occurs ‘n Beddome’s specimen labelled brugmansi from 
Malabar, and there is at least one pronounced vertebral spot in one of Henderson’s 
specimens. I think the most that can be conceded to the two forms is the rank of 
colour varieties retaining for the species the name spiralis which has precedence. My 
figure (19) is from a specimen of mine from Pegu now in the Bombay Society’s collec- 
tion referred to by Evans and me as Distiva robusta in the Bombay Journal, Vol. xiii, 
p 615. The scales in the neck are 27, midbody 34, posteriorly 34. The ventrals are 
320. 
brugmansi (Boie).—Of the twelve specimens so named in the British Museum, 
only nine appear to me to be identical, and should, I think, be included under the 
older specific title spiralis with the five small specimens already so described by 
Mr. Boulenger. This species I propose, for the present, to consider distinct as above 
constituted, but it is so extremely closely allied to the forms cyanocincta (Daudin) and 
lapemordes (Gray) that I cannot escape the conviction that the three will eventually be 
united. Certain specimens, indeed, can be definitely referred to one or other of these 
three forms by the possession of certain groups of characters which seem to mark 
very definite specific differences. But, on the other hand, many specimens present 
these same characters in varying combinations of such extreme confusion that it is 
impossible to place them with certainty with either of the three species, to all of 
which they show almost equal affinity. I am strongly of opinion that these specimens 
