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



The genus Lycodon is one of many into which the Aglyphous 

 series of the family Colubridce is divided. This series is charac- 

 terised by an absence of either grooved, or tubular fangs, in the 

 maxillae, and all the representatives are, therefore, non-poisonous. 



When treated by Mr. Boulenger in 1893 * it included 15 spe- 

 cies. Since this time he has described another, viz., butleri from 

 Perak in this Journal f, and I have described two, viz., mackinnoni 

 from the Western Himalayas +, and jlaromacidatus from the 

 Deccan.§ Of the 18 species now grouped together under this 

 title, 11 occur within our Indian Dominions. 



As shown by Stejneger,if the title Lycodon is a misapplication 

 to this genus, for the type of Lycodon is the S. American snake, 

 now wrongly known as LycognatMis cervenus (i.e., the Coluber 

 andax of Daudin). 



Lycodon then being clearly preoccupied should give place to 

 Wagler's name Ophites of which the Malayan mbcinctas is the type. 



In spite of this I adhere to the name with which we have all 

 grown familiar. This is an instance where in order to avoid con- 

 fusion, custom, whether right or wrong, should be allowed to over- 

 rule the ethics of nomenclature. If American systematists, however, 

 adopt the title Lycodon to designate their present Lycognatkus, 

 we have no alternative but to change our generic name to Ophites. 

 LYCODON FASOIATUS (Anderson). 

 Anderson's Wolf-snake. 



History. — The species was discovered b}>- J. Anderson during 

 his expedition to Western Yunnan, and was subsequently in 

 1879 described, and figured by him.** 



Nomenclature (a) Scientific. — The generic name from the Greek 

 " lukos " a wolf and " odous " tooth was given by Ferrusacf f in 

 1826, on account of the teeth in the maxillae, and mandible which 



* Catalogue, Vol. 1, p. 348. 



t Vol. XIII, p. 336. 



t Vol. XVII, p. 29. 



§ Vol. XVII, p. 612. 



if Herp of Japan, 1907, p. 356. 



** An. Zool. Res. Yunnan, p. 827, and fig. 4, Plate LXXVIII. 



tt Bull, de Science Xat., p. 238. 



