18 Col. R. H. Beddome 07i the 



slightly compressed ; nasals forming' a suture behind the 

 rostral ; eye very small ; caudal disk convex, twice as long as 

 broad, the terminal scute more or less bicuspid, the caudal 

 scales prominently 3-4-keeled ,• the tirst pair of lower 

 labials form a suture behind the median, followed by a pair 

 of chin-shields; scales in 17 rows round the middle of 

 the body ; ventrals twice as large as the adjoining scales, 

 from 193 in males to 203 in females ; subcaudals, 10 pairs in 

 males, about 8 in females (sometimes entire). Length 10-15 

 inches, girth -^1 inch. Colour of the male yellowish, 

 yellowish brown towards the head and tail; female dull 

 brownish ; young purplish brown : all banded with rather 

 irregular close-set transverse series of yellow black-edged 

 ocelli ; a series of yellow transverse bands along each side or 

 right across the belly corresponding to the ocellated bands. 



Hab, Nilgiris, western slopes below Sispara, about 3500 

 feet elevation, in dense moist forests ; Tinnevelly Hills. 



Silyhura Jiura. 

 Silyhiira Ika-a, Giintlier, Proc. Zool. Soc. March 16, 1875, pi. xxxi. fig. A. 



Snout rather pointed, but more obtuse than in S. ocellata ; 

 rostral very short ; nasals forming a suture behind the rostral ; 

 eye very small; caudal disk very convex above, terminal 

 scute small, bicuspid; the caudal scales smooth, except very 

 inconspicuous keels on some of the final ones ; the first pair of 

 lower labials form a sutm'e behind the median, followed by a 

 pair of chin-shields ; scales round the middle of body in 17 

 rows ; ventrals twice as large as the adjoining series, from 

 173 in males to 188 in females ; subcaudals about 12 pairs 

 in males, 8 in females. Length of adults 10-13 inches, girth 

 |— If inch, the females the stouter. Colour purplish brown, with 

 transverse series of ocellated small yellow spots ; belly and 

 sides (2 or 3 outer rows of scales) with numerous irregular 

 yellow cross bars. 



Bab. Tinnevelly and Madura Hills, 3000 to 5000 feet eleva- 

 tion. 



Two males in the British Museum have 173 and 183 ven- 

 trals and 12 subcaudals ; a female has 188 ventrals and 8 

 subcaudals ; the coloration is that of S. ocellata, and it only 

 differs, besides having rather fewer ventrals, in the rostral 

 being more obtuse and in the caudal scales being much 

 smoother, neither of which characters may prove to be con- 

 stant, and it may have to be united with the preceding 

 species. 



