A POPULAR TREA TISE ON THE COMMON INDIAN SNAKES. 77 



Hills and Plains, Tndo -China, Tenasserim, the Malay Peninsula, and 

 the whole Malayan Archipelago to Formosa. 



The precise localities from which it has been collected within 

 Indian limits are shewn in the accompanying map. 



In the Indian Museum there is a specimen said to be from the 

 Central Provinces of India, but as this seems to me most unlikely 

 it is best to await confirmation of this locality, which is so far 

 removed from its certain area of distribution, before accepting it. 



Lepidosis. — Rostral. — Touches 6 shields, the rostro-nasal sutures 

 longest. Internasals. — Two, the suture between them § to f that 

 between the prefrontal fellows, about f the internaso-prEefrontal 

 suture. Prefrontals. — Two, the suture between them equal to or 

 rather greater than the prefronto-frontal suture ; in contact with 

 internasal, nasal, loreal, upper praaocular, supraocular, and frontal. 

 Frontal. — Touches 6 shields, the supraocular suture about three times 

 the length of the parietals, and more than twice that of the prefron- 

 tals. Supraoculars. — .Length subequal to frontal, breadth about twice 

 that of the frontal along an imaginary line connecting the centres 

 of the eyes. Nasals. — Single ; in contact with the 1st only of 

 the supralabial series. Loreal. — One, rather longer than high. 

 Prceoculars. — One or two (rarely three). Postocular. — Two (rarely 

 three). Temporals. — Two anterior, in contact with the 6th and 7th 

 supralabials, making a longer suture with the 6th than with the 7th. 

 Supralabials.— Eight, the 3rd, 4th and 5th touching the eye ; the 6th 

 and 7th subequal, and largest. Infralabials. — Four, the 4th largest 

 and in contact with two scales behind ; the first three touch the anterior 

 and the 4th only the posterior sublinguals. Sublinguals. — Three pairs. 

 Costals. — Two headslengths behind the head 17, midbody 17, two 

 headslengths before the anus 15 ; the row absorbed is the 4th above 

 the ventrals ; no keels ; no apical pits. Ventrals 146 to J 75. Anal. — 

 entire. Subcaudals. — 45 to 68 divided. 



Colour. — Theobald speaking of this snake says :" This species is 

 somewhat variable in colour and markings." I would go further, and 

 say it is very variable, as much so as any snake I know. Some 

 specimens are extremely dark, almost black, others very light, the 

 prevailing hue being a pale ochraceous, but these extremes cannot 

 be considered colour varieties for they are completely connected by 

 transitional forms. Moreover one of the embryos I extracted from 



