47 



THE COMMON HIMALAYAN VIPER {Ancistrodon 

 HiinalayaiiiLs). 



Length— About 2 feet in length. 



Shape — As given above. The snout is a little turned 

 up. Pupil vertical with the iris edged with 

 yellow. 



Head shields — It has a normally shielded head like 

 the snakes in Group III. The loreal pit will 

 distinguish it. 



Scales— 21 or 23, keeled. 



Ventrals— 150 to 160 ; anal entire. Sub-caudals 40—50, 

 divided. 



Colouring — Brown of various hues ; sometimes nearly 

 uniform, especially in light specimens, but more 

 often mottled or variegated so as to form bars, 

 or a nondescript carpet-like pattern. Wall 

 thus describes it ; Nicholson says : dark-brown 

 with band-like spots. One I found in the 

 Liddah Valley, Kashmir, had a regular 

 pattern of a double row of large diamond- 

 shaped marks, outlined black, with a plain, 

 steely black belly. The belly may be peppered 

 blackish and red on a whitish ground or black, 

 marbled with yellow. 



Habitat. — Only found in the Himalayas, where it is 

 very common in certain localities. 



CHAPTER VI. 



HOW TO DISTINGUISH POISONOUS FROM 

 NON-POISONOUS SNAKES. 



Hardl}'^ any one could remember enough about snakes 

 to spot even all the common ones without the book ; but it is 



