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



pressure behind the vent they were directed downwards instead of" 

 forwards. They are thin, long, and spirally twisted reminding 

 me of a black buck's horn. Again they are entirely lacking in 

 asperities or tentacles such as one usually sees on these organs 

 in other snakes. The secretion from the anal glands in both sexes 

 is greenish-yellow. 



Breeding. — I can give no precise information in this direction. 

 We do not know yet whether the species is oviparous or vivi- 

 parous. The breeding season is probably about May. I had young 

 in August 1906 measuring respectively 1 foot 2 f inches and 1 

 foot 4j| inches which were obviously that year's production. The 

 smallest specimen I have ever had measured llf inches from 

 Muktesar, date not known. I believe this was a hatchling, and if 

 so, the two young alluded to above must have probably taken three 

 months to grow to the lengths mentioned. Further of eight adult 

 females collected in July and August none were gravid showing 

 that the production of the young was already past. The length 

 of the young when entering the world is probably about a foot, 

 and my notes make it appear that they grow about eight inches 

 a year. 



Distribution. — As will be seen from the accompanying map the 

 distribution of this snake based on the available records up to 

 date is decidedly peculiar. 



It inhabits Peninsular India from Sind in the West to Bengal 

 (about 86° longitude) in the East, and from Kurnool in the 

 South to the Western Himalayas in the North. It does not appear 

 to occur in the Eastern Himalayas, nor in the Brahmaputra 

 Basin, nor the Irrawady Basin except near its mouth, but 

 re-appears in the Salween Basin. Beyond this it does not extend 

 to Indo-China nor the Malayan Peninsula. 



In the Indian Plains it is common in the Ganges Basin (at least 

 in the United Provinces) but everywhere else is a decidedly uncom- 

 mon snake. It may however prove to be a commoner snake than 

 available records would make it appear, for it was not known from 

 the United Provinces below the Himalayas before I went to Fyza- 

 bad where I found it common. In the Western Himalayas it is 

 one of the commonest snakes at altitudes between 3,000 and 6,000 





