22 Col. R. H. Beddorae on the 



C. Snout obtuse. 

 a. Nasals not separated by the rostral. 

 a. Without red marking. 



Silyhura Petersi. 



Silyhura Petersi, Bedd. Proc. Zool. Soc. Feb. 5, 1878. 



Snout obtuse ; rostral verj small, not separating the nasals ; 

 eye small ; tail somewhat compressed, caudal disk convex, 

 terminal scute very small, square at the end or shovel-shaped ; 

 caudal scales mostly quite smooth, a few of the terminal ones 

 very inconspicuously 2-o-keeled ; no chin shields between 

 the first pair of lower labials and the ventrals. Scales in 17 

 rows round the middle of body; ventrals 155 to 160, without 

 reference to sex ; subcaudals 10 to 12 pairs in the males, 

 about 6 in the females. Length 6-7 inches, girth | inch. 

 Colour uniform brown, sides with indistinct yellowish spots 

 or narroAV transverse bars, which sometimes extend across the 

 belly, a broad yellowish band across the anal region (but no 

 lateral bands as in S. ElUotii). 



Hah. Anamallays, 4000 feet, in forests above Ponachi j 

 rare. 



This is not unlike S. EJUotii'iw coloration, except that it has 

 not the lateral bands on the tail; it differs, however, much in 

 the caudal disk. 



b. With red blotches. 

 Silyhura maculata. 

 Silybura maculata, Bedd. Proc. Zool. Soc. Feb. 5, 1878. 

 Snout obtuse ; rostral rounded, very small, not separating 

 the nasals, which are as large as the frontals j eye rather 

 large ; tail somewhat compressed ; caudal disk convex ; the 

 terminal scute small, size of two scales only, square at the 

 end or inconspicuously bicuspid, the points side by side, the 

 caudal scales smooth, but a few of the terminal ones have faint 

 traces of keels ; no chin-shields between the first pair of lower 

 labials and the ventrals ; scales round the middle of the body 

 in 17 rows ; ventrals about twice as large as the scales of the 

 adjoining series, about 155 in the males and 164 in the 

 females; subcaudals 11 to 13 pairs in males, about 8 pairs in 

 females (some of them often entire). Length 12-14 inches, 

 girth about If inch. Colour of a uniform dark brown or 

 blackish, with several deep red blotches along the sides of 

 the anterior portion of the trunk and about the tail, and rarely 

 several are present along the sides of the trunk. 



Hah. Anamallays, higher ranges 6000 to 7000 feet eleva- 

 tion. Not uncommon. 



