A NEW KRAIT FROM OUDH. 



609 



parietal sutures being rather the largest, and the prcefrontal rather the 

 smallest. Length about half the parietals. Supraoculars, breadth 

 about three-fifths the breadth of frontal, length about three-fourths 

 frontal. Nasals, divided ; touching the 1st and 2nd supralabials 

 Prceocular, one. 



Eye, jet black, in life, not revealing the pupillary shape. Postocu- 

 lars, two. Temporal, one anterior, touching the 5th and 6th suprala- 

 bials. Supralabials, 7 ; the 2nd unusually narrow, decidedly more 

 so than any other in the series ; the ?rd and 4th touching the eye. 

 Anterior sublinguals, rather longer than posterior. Posterior sublin- 

 guals, touch the 4th only of the infralabial series. Infralabials, 4 ; the 

 4th largest, nearly twice the breadth of the posterior sublinguals, and in 

 contact with 2 scales behind ; the suture between the first about half the 

 suture between the anterior sublinguals. Scales, 2 heads lengths behind 

 head 19, midbody 17, 2 heads lengths before vent 17. Vertebral row 

 considerably enlarged, at midbody the breadth exceeding the length 

 of a scale. Last row fairly enlarged. Ventrals, 203. Anal, entire. 

 Subcaudals, 55, all entire. Configuration, the body is decidedly com- 

 pressed. Colour, black with a greyish tinge. Body striped with 

 a series of close-sst white arches, which are about equidistant, fading 

 anteriorly and composed of a chain of white dots. The head is black 

 above, the upper lip yellow, fading to white at the margin. No trace 

 of proeocular white spot. Belly rather a yellowish white, unspotted. 

 Mottled plumbeous beneath the tail. This description is taken from 

 a large adult. The other specimens agree in every respect with the 

 following exceptions : — 



