23 



usually with light centres; on the head the triangular dark 

 marking is only distinct in its posterior part, on the nape 

 (fig. i la). This form is found in India and Ceylon. 



P. bivittatus is distinguished by WERNER by a row of sub- 

 oculars, by its greater length (loM.) and by its darker colour, 

 the lanceolate marking on the head is dark and distinct to 

 the tip of the snout (fig. i \b) and the dark spots of the flanks 

 have no light centres. The places, where this form lives are: 

 Indo-China, S. China, the Malay Peninsula, Java and Sumatra?. 



After examination of the specimens in the collections of 

 the British Museum, the Leiden and Amsterdam Museums, 

 and the living specimens in the Amsterdam, Rotterdam and 



Fig. 10. representing the extremes, a. Light Python [/*. molurus (L.)] 

 b. Dark Python \P. bivittatus Schleg.]. Nat. size. 



London Zoological Gardens, I came to the conclusion, that 

 P. bivittatus cannot be held up as a distinct species, but that 

 the specimens of P. molurus, living in S. China and Java 

 belong to a darker race than those from the Indian Continent. 

 Proofs for my supposition are the following remarks. A young, 

 light-coloured specimen from Assam in the British Museum, 

 with the dark marking on the head distinct as far as the prae- 

 frontals has a series of suboculars; the skin from Hyderabad- 

 Sind in Russell's Indian Serpents is light-coloured but the 

 triangular marking on the head is distinct as far as the nasals ; 

 a young specimen from India, also light-coloured has the dark 

 marking on the head sharply defined as far as the internasals, 



