78 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



my gravid 9 was of the light type and the two others of the dark. 

 It must not be understood that in either case the snake is uniformly 

 coloured for this is not so. It is always more or less obviously 

 finely speckled or streaked with hues darker than the ground 

 colour. There is very usually ;i series of large, oval, rufous or 

 brown spots on each side of the spine, most noticeable anteriorly, 

 and specially in the dark specimens. Sometimes these spots are 

 confluent to form crossbars over the back. In many specimens 

 there is a more or less distinct dark longitudinal band on the back 

 involving the median five rows and half the sixth row above the 

 ventrals, and a similar dark band in the flanks involving the lower 

 half of the fourth, the third and the second, and upper half of 

 the ultimate row. The flanks are often ornamented with white 

 streaks anteriorly which are more or less hidden until the reptile 

 dilates itself, and below these is usually a series of bright ochni- 

 ceous, yellow streaks or spots, sometimes confluent into a band which 

 are very conspicuous and ornamental. The head is usually streaked 

 longitudinally on the top, and the upper lip is adorned with a white, 

 black-edged mystaceous band. The belly is whitish or yellowish 

 streaked, and finely specked with bright ochraceous-yellow anteriorly 

 and with darker shades of brown further back. 



Abnormalities. — I have seen the 1st supralabial divided into two 

 superimposed parts once, and a similar condition of the loreal twice. 

 Three praj and three postoculars less rarely occur. Bonleuger says 

 the scale rows are rarely 19. 



Dentition* — Maxillary. — The first 3 (rarely 2) teeth are small 

 but progressively increase in size, and are succeeded without any 

 edentulous gap by two large subequal fang-like, but solid teeth 

 fully twice as long as any of the preceding. Behind these is a 

 short toothless gap, and then a series of 5 (rarely (!) small subequal 



*Bouleuger's description " Maxillary teeth ( J to 11. third or third and fourth much enlarged 

 fang-like, followed by a short interspace, last enlarged and grooved, anterior mandibular 

 teeth strongly enlarged'' is not very accurate, and it is therefore not surprising that 

 as recently as 1905, the snake was redescribed by Mr. Rosen (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. Vol. 

 15, p. 17G), as the type of a new gems under the name Anisodon lilljeborgi. It will be 

 seen however that the characters of the dentition as shown by him, prefectly agree with 

 that given by nae from my three skulls, and Mr. Boulenger's remarks on Mr. Rosen's paper 

 above alluded to showinj that A. lilljeborgi is in reality P. pi t> are undoubtedly 



correct. 



