JOURNAL 



OF THE 



BOMBAY 



A POPULAR TREATISE ON THE COMMON INDIAN 



SNAKES. 



Illustrated by Coloured Plates and Diagrams. 



By Captain F. Wall, I.M.S., C.M.Z.S. 



Part II. — With Plate II, and Diagrams IV, V and VI. 



(Continued from page 554 of Vol. XVI.) 



The Green Keelback. 



Macropisthodon plumbicolar. 



Nomenclature. Scientific. — The generic name is derived from the 

 Greek words " makros" great, "opisthe" back, i( odous" tooth, and 

 calls attention to an unusual feature in the dentition of this snake 

 inasmuch as the maxillary at its hindmost extremity is provided with a 

 pair of very large teeth separated by a short interval from the normal 

 array met with in other snakes (see Fig. 1). These troth may be very 

 easily mistaken for poison fangs, but a careful scrutiny will show that 

 they possess neither canal nor groove. Until recently this snake was 

 included with the genus Tropidonotus, several member's of which have 

 enlarged teeth similarly situated (see Fig. 2) notably among familiar 

 kinds the common buff-stripes (Stolatus), and the painted Keelback 

 (Subminiatus). None, however, exhibit a development of these teeth 

 to the degree which has led Mr. Boulenger to separate this snake with 

 its two Malayan congeners under the generic title of Macropisthodon. 

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