1871.] DR. J. ANDERSON ON INDIAN REPTILES. 173 



the lower and hinder parts of the orbit; temporals scale-like; a 

 distinct ridge along the sides of the abdomen ; anals sometimes 

 showing a distinct tendency to division. 



No. Length total. Tail. Ventrals. Cau-lals. 



1 64" J3|" 24/ 93 



2 62| 11* 246 89* 



3 60g 121 245 99 



4 58| 9* 246 64* 



5 42J 9J 23/ 108 



6 401 8^ 249 10r, 



7 34f 7£ 245 104 



Nos. 1, 2, and 3, adults ; the head is all black with metallic lustre 

 as far as the occipitals, with or without a short narrow notched band 

 prolonged backwards for about one inch. As age advances, the black 

 appears to involve not only the whole upper surface of the head, but 

 to stretch backwards even beyond the gape. In adolescents the black 

 does not extend in front of the eye, but backwards as a broad tem- 

 poral band, and it sometimes stretches backwards for about an inch 

 as a narrow vertebral band. In the young specimens from Bhurt- 

 pore and Dholepore, not many miles to the east of Agra, there is a 

 black spot on each shield, a broad interorbital one connected by a 

 short narrow mesial band with a large black spot on each occipital, 

 which are connected with the band at the anterior extremities ; a 

 short vertebral band from the occipitals, aud^ confluent behind with 

 the first dorsal spot ; a black band through the upper loreal and 

 prseocular, and through the eye from the postoculars to the gape ; 

 an interrupted black band through the labials. 



In adults the ground-colour is uniform bright pinkish red, with 

 a dash of olive-brown, especially on the hinder parts ; under surface 

 rich pinkish ; a dorsal series of round metallic black spots, with two 

 series of longitudinal broken lines of the same colour along the side, 

 sometimes forming round spots with smaller scattered ones between 

 them and the angles of the ventrals on which they also occur. The 

 under surface is sometimes covered with large black spots, but in 

 others it is without any trace of them. In one specimen even the 

 dorsal spots are restricted to one scale, and the ventral spots all but 

 disappear. 



In one young specimen, No. 7, the ground-colour was brownish 

 olive, with a dorsal series of brown spots slightly edged with metallic 

 black. 



This species is highly characteristic of the dry and rather arid 

 country of the North-west Provinces, where it appears to be not 

 uncommon. 



Although the rows of scales are only twenty-seven, the prseocular 

 is usually divided into two, and does not invariably reach the vertical ; 

 the upper labials vary from nine to thirteen ; and the anal in two 

 specimens is distinctly partially divided. There can be no doubt 

 that all of these specimens belong to this species, which appears to 



* Imperfect. 



