XENOCHROPHIS. 353 



Hob. Southern India and Ceylon, Bengal, Burma, Yunnan, 

 Malay Peninsula. 



Cantor says this species is very fierce, and has the power of 

 flattening and laterally expanding the skin of the anterior part of 

 the body, like the Cobra, but in a much slighter degree. 



Genus XENOCHROPHIS, 

 Gunther, Rept. Brit. Ind. p. 273, 1864. 



Maxillary teeth about 20, subequal ; anterior mandibular teeth 

 longest. Head slightly distinct from neck ; eye moderate, with 

 round pupil ; head-shields normal, but nostril in the upper part of 



Fig. 102. Head of Xenochrophis cerasogaster. 



a single nasal. Body moderately elongate, cylindrical ; scales 

 keeled, in 19 rows, without apical pits ; ventrals rounded ; sub- 

 caudals in two rows. 

 A single species. 



441. Xenochrophis cerasogaster. 



Psammophis cerasogaster, Cantor, P. Z. S. 1839, p. 52. 

 Tropidonotus cerasogaster, Cantor, J.A. 8. B. xvi, 1847, p. 939. 

 Xenochrophis cerasogaster, Gilnth. Kept. B. I. p. 274 ; Theob. Cat. 

 p. 180. 



Head narrow, elongate, with angular canthus rostralis and 

 slightly concave lores; eye moderate or rather small. Rostral 

 once and one third to twice as broad as long ; suture between the 

 internasals nearly as long as that between the prafrontals ; frontal 

 much longer than its distance from the end of the snout, as long 

 as the parietals ; lorealas long as deep or a little longer than deep; 

 one praeocular; two or three postoculars and one or two sub- 

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

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

 anterior chin-shields, which are as long as the posterior or a little 

 shorter. Scales strongly keeled, in 19 rows. Ventrals 140-151 ; 



2A 



