102 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIX. 



Shaw's Wolf-Snake [TACODGN striatvs\ 



Nomenclature — (a) Scientific. — The specific name striatum (Latin = 

 striped) originated with Shaw in 1802. Russell ha 1 figured the 

 snake prior to this in his work published in 18 ( JG. # 



(b) English. — The English rendering of the specific title is not dis- 

 tinctive enough as it applies equally well to many others of the genus, 

 so that I think "Shaw's Wolf-Snake" the most appropriate hamefor it. 



(V) Vernacular — The only names I know of are those given by 

 Russell, viz., Gajoo Tutta and Karetta the latte r in Hyderabad. Deccan. 



Dimensions — The longest of 14 specimens measured of my own 

 collection was 1 foot 3 \ inches, and I know of no greater length. 



JJodilt/ coiifi</ura'it>?>, etc — Very similar to aulicus. tfie main differ- 

 ence being that the belly is not angnlated on either side but evenly 

 rounded fr< m flank to flank. Boulenger calls the head of aulicus 

 spatulate but not that of drialns. 1 cannot see much difference bet- 

 ween the two, that of aulicus is perhaps rather flatter, and the snout 

 more rounded. The eye is jet-b!ack as in aulicus, the scales as glossy 

 and the tips of the tongue white. 



Colour. — Varying shades of dark-brown or black above with from 

 11 to 18 white cross bars on the body (not including tail) usually 

 very distinct in the whole body length, the anterior ones specially so. 

 The anterior ones again are more widely separated than the posterior. 

 These bars are divided more or less distinctly at the sides to include a 

 somewhat deltoid patch of the ground colour, very nicely shown in 

 our plate. The belly is pearly-white, and unspotted. The head is 

 brown or black above except the upper lip which with the lower 

 lip, and chin is pearly-white. Most of the specimens I have seen have 

 been a deep chocolate or pure b'ack, and the cross lar. pure white. 

 Many writers, however, say that the bars or bands are yellow at any 

 rate sometimes. Colonel Light in a letter mentions one caught at Bhuj 

 with bright yellow cross bands, and says several in that locality have 

 yellow bands. He mentions another from the same locality with the 

 bands white. Stoliczka speaks of one from the Lower Hills of Simla 

 with 58 broadish- yellowish cross bands. I have never seen a specimen 

 with anything approaching 58 bands which in itself suggests aulicus 

 rather than striatus. The ventrals 182 and subcaudals 57 would equally 

 * Ind. tcrp. I., Vol. I, Plates XVI <.nd XXVI. 



