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



menace. Except the specimens encountered while digging nearly 

 all were killed at night. It does not appear to share the acrobatic 

 attainments of aulicvs, at least I have never known one leave the 

 ground. 



Food. — Three of my specimens contained skinks in Fyzabad, of the 

 species Mafmia dissimUis. I have no knowledge of its gastronomic 

 tastes otherwise. 



Breeding — All I know of this is from my notes in Fyzabad. 



The Sexes. — On two occasions in August pairs were found in 

 company. In a small heap of kunkur by the side of a road a gravid 

 female was dislodged one evening, and a male dislodged the next 

 morning when the heap was broken further into. On the other 

 occasion two snakes were seen together (not united) a little way 

 beneath the soil during digging operations. Several coolies vouched 

 for this, one of the snakes escaped in the excitement their discovery 

 aroused, the other the male was captured, and in the hole were 4 

 eggs. It is remarkable I think that the partnership had not been 

 dissolved even after the deposition of the eggs. The male organs are 

 beset with numerous minute claw-like appendages. 



The length of a gravid female of mine was 1 foot and \ an inch. 

 Mr. E. E. Green wrote to me some years ago of a gravid specimen 

 which he identified as auticus obtained by him at Peradeniya, Ceylon. 

 I feel pretty certain that the specimen was not a Common Wolf-Snake, 

 but Shaw's Wolf-Snake, for it was only 12 inches long, a length far 

 more in keeping with what we know of striaius, and opposed to what 

 we know of aulicus, the smallest gravid record of which is 1 foot 

 6^ inches. Of specimens I have sexed 7 were^ and 4 9, the longest 

 specimen 1 foot 3| inches being a female. The periods of gestation 

 and incubation are not known. 



Season. — Shaw's Wolf-Snake breeds at about the same season as the 

 Common Wolf-Snake. I have known a gravid femaie with small 

 eggs in July, one gravid with large eggs in August, and the deposit- 

 ed eggs alluded to above were found in August. Mr. Green's 

 specimen was also gravid on the 30th August. 



Eggs. — This species is not so prolific as aulieus, the eggs number- 

 ing from 2 to 4. They are very large for the size of the snake, and 

 much elongate, I think, more sj than those of auluus. They vary 

 from 1 to JJ inches in length, and are about .7,, of an inch in 



