100 JOURNAL. BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. Vol. XIX. 



greater than the internaso-prajfrontals. Prefrontals. — Two, the 

 suture between decidedly greater than the pnvfronto-frontal sutures; 

 in contact with internasal, loreal, prajocular, : sometimes the supraocu- 

 lar) and frontal. Frontal. — Touches 8 shields usually, (sometimes 6 

 only, when the pneocular fails to meet it) the sutures sometimes sub- 

 equal or more often the supraoculars rather longest. Supraoculars — 

 About two-thirds the length, and half the breadth of the frontal. 

 Nasals. — Two, subequal, in contact with r lx j Lsf and slightly with 

 the 2nd supralabial. Loreal. — One, twice as long as high, longer 

 than the two nasals. Prceocular. — One, usually meeting the frontal. 

 Postoevlars. — Two. Temporals. — Two, the lower touching the 6th 

 and 7th labials. Supralabials. — !', the 3rd, 1th and 5th touching the 

 eye. Sublinguals. — Two pairs, subequal or the anterior rather 

 largest, the posterior in contacl with the 5th and 6th infra- 

 labials. Infralabials. — 6, the suture between the l>t as long as 

 that between the anterior sublinguals ; the tith much (lie largest, 

 twice as broad as the posterior sublinguals, an 1 in contact with three 

 scales behind. Costals. — Two heads-lengths after the head 17, 

 midbody 17, two heads-lengths before the vent 15. The reduction 

 from 17 to 15 which occurs well behind the middle of the body is 

 due to an absorption of the 3rd row usually into the 1th, rarely into 

 the 2nd above the ventrals. The vertebra Is are not enlarged, and 

 the ultimate row but little if at all. Keels absent ; apical pits present, 

 and single (see D. of diagram). Ventrals.- 177 to 212, Trichinopoly 

 188 to -202. Oannanore 177 to 203, Burma 180 to 200 Fyzabad 193 

 to 208, Dibrugarh 197 to 210, E. Himalayas 197 to 212, I 1 7* to 224 

 Boulenger) ; angulate laterally. A rial. — Divided usually (rarely entire). 

 Subcaudals. — 56 to 80 (Boulenger); divided. Anomalies. — Very 

 rarely the loreal is subdivided into two, an anterior and a posterior. 

 Commonly the prseocular fails to meet the frontal. The postoculars 

 and temporals are sometimes three. Not infrequently, the supralabials 

 are abnormal in number, >•/:., S or 10, and the 3rd, 1th, 5th and 6th 

 may touch the eye, either two, three, or all four of them, Rarely 

 the nasal fails to touch the 2nd supralabial. Not infrequently the anal 

 is entire, and rarely some of the subcaudals at the base of the tail. 

 1 'cave lately seen one from Tindharia in which the first 3 were entire, 

 and Flower mentions one from Penang with the 4th and 5th 

 entire. 



