860 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVII^ 



from the eye (Giinther says they are inconspicuous or absent in some 

 specimens from Nepaul and Ceylon). The anterior passes as a 

 subocular between the 5th and 6th or 6th and 7th supralabials to the 

 margin of the lip. The posterior crosses the temporals, and the 

 8th supralabial to the gape or beyond. A more or less distinct black 

 chevron, or a modification of such, is usually borne upon the nape. 



Ventrally the colour is usually uniformly dull white or yellow, but 

 many specimens, and especially those heavily blotched with black 

 dorsally, bear black subterminal transverse bars, more or less complete 

 on each scale. Where the ventrals meet the ultimate costal row in the 

 flanks, may be seen a black, pink, or brilliant crimson streak. The 

 throat and forebody are sometimes bright yellow or orange. 



These brilliant colours are not seasonal, though Stoliczka * inclines to 

 this belief, nor are they the prerogative of either sex. I have satisfied 

 myself that they are present in the hatchling. To the best of my belief, 

 I have only met with these gaudily attired specimens on the Malabar 

 Coast of India and in Burmah. Our artist has shown the markings in 

 the two bottom figures too regular, so that they are more suggestive of 

 the conventional or wall-paper style of decoration than that bestowed 

 by Nature. So numerous are the colour varieties of this species that it 

 is most perplexing to know how best to describe and group them. 

 Russell t figured no less than 7 examples, all of which he named 

 differently and evidently considered distinct. Similarly, Daudin 

 described as 5 different snakes, specimens which at the present day are 

 merely considered varieties of a single species. Boulenger J recognises 

 8 varieties, but includes all those from our Indian Region under one 

 heading. At the time he wrote (1893) the British Museum collection 

 contained only 17 specimens of this snake, and it is not surprising 

 therefore that our most notable varieties escape mention. 1 have seen 

 and examined, at the lowest computation, fully 200 of this species, and 

 from many and distant parts of the Empire, and propose the following 

 grouping of our numerous varieties : — 



(a) Unicolor. — Without dorsal marks. Blanford § mentions such a 

 specimen from Ajmere which he described as uniform olive-grey. 



* Jourl., Asiat. Soc, Bengal, Vol. XL., page 431. 



t Indian Serpents. 



X Cat., Snakes, Brit. Mas., Vol. I, page 28 i. 



§ Jourl., Asiat. Soc, Bengal, Vol. XLVIII, p. 126. 



