TBOPIDONOTUS. 349 



Eye moderate, as long as its distance from the nostril in the 

 adult ; rostral just visible from above ; internasals much narrowed 

 anteriorly, subtriangular with the anterior angle truncated, nearly 

 as long as the praefrontals ; frontal longer than its distance from 

 the end of the snout, as long as the parietals ; loreal as long as deep 

 or deeper than long; one praeocular, three postoculars; temporals 

 1 + 1 or 1+2 ; upper labials 8 normally, third, fourth, and fifth 

 entering the eye ; 5 or 6 lower labials in contact with the anterior 

 chin-shields, which are shorter than the posterior. Scales in 19 

 rows, strongly keeled, outer row perfectly smooth. Ventrals 125- 

 161 ; anal divided ; subcaudals 50-85. Greenish or brownish 

 olive, with black spots or reticulated cross bars intersected by two 

 yellow longitudinal bands which are best marked posteriorly ; prse- 

 and postoculars yellowish ; lower surfaces white, usually with a 

 black spot on each side of each ventral ; nape red during the 

 breeding-season. 



Total length 2 feet 3 inches ; tail 7 inches. 



Hub. A common species all over India and Ceylon, extending to 

 Sind ; specimens were collected by Mr. Davison in the Nilgiris at 

 an altitude of 5900 feet. Occurs also in Burma and the Malay 

 Peninsula, and in Southern China. 



435. Tropidonotus piscator. 



Russell, Ind. Serp. i, pis. xx, xxviii, xxxiii, and ii, pis. iii, xiv, xv A. 



Hydras piscator, Schneid. Hist. Amph. i, p. 247. 



Coluber rectangulus, Gray, III. Ind. Zool. ii, pi. Ixxxii, figs. 4-7. 



Tropidonotus piscator, Boie, Isis, 1827, p. 535. 



Tropidonotus quincunciatus, Schley. Phys. Serp. ii, p. 307, pi. xii, 



tigs. 4 o ; Dum. $ Bibr. Erp. Gen. vii, p. 592; Giinth. Rept. 



B. I. p. 260 ; Jan, Icon. Ophid. 27, pi. i ; StoKcska, J. A. S. B. 



xxxix, 1870, pt. 2, p. 190, and xl, 1871, pt. 2, p. 431, pi. xxvi, 



fig. 1 ; Blanf. J. A. S. B. xxxix, 1870, pt. 2, p. 371 ; T/ieob. Cat. 



p. 175 ; Anders. An. Zool. Res. Yunnan, p. 821 ; Murray, Zool. 



Sind, p. 379. 

 Tropidonotus umbratus, Schley. t. c. p. 309 ; Cantor, J. A. S. B. xvi, 



1847, p. 936. 



Tropidonotus tytleri, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xxxii, 1863, p. 88. 

 Tropidonotus striolatus, Theob. Cat. Rept. As. Soc. Mus. 1868, 



p. 55. 



Eye rather small, shorter than its distance from the nostril in 

 the adult ; rostral visible from above : interuasals much narrowed 

 anteriorly, subtriangular with the anterior angle truncated, as long 

 as the prsefrontals ; frontal longer than its distance from the end 

 of the snout, as long as the parietals or a little shorter ; loreal 

 nearly as long as deep ; one praeocular ; three (rarely four) post- 

 oculars ; temporals 2+2 or 2+3 ; upper labials 9 normally, fourth 

 and fifth entering the eye ; 5 lower labials in contact with the 

 anterior chin- shields, which are shorter than the posterior. Scales 

 in 19 rows, strongly keeled, outer rows smooth. Ventrals 125- 

 158 ; anal divided ; subcaudals 64-90. Coloration very variable, 



