402 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HLST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXII. 



It is peculiar in that the scales are in 17 rows in the whole bodylength. 

 The scales iu the vertebral row are decidedly broader than long, the 

 ventrals 206, subcaudals 43, and the 2nd supralabial is not narrower than 

 the 1st and 3rd. The body is as far as I can judge not compressed. In 

 all particulars excepting the scale rows, the specimen agrees with typical 

 CcBvuleus. This is the first krait I have any knowledge of with 17 rows of 

 scales from the Punjab. 



Specimen No. 2 is still more interesting. It was collected at Sholapur 

 (Lat. 17° Long. 75°) by Mr. R. E. Macpherson. This specimen also has 

 17 scale rows in the entire bodj^. The scales in the vertebral row are as 

 broad as long, the ventrals 194, subcaudals 44, and the 2nd supralabial is 

 very slightly narrower than the 1st and 3rd. If anything the body 

 is depressed rather than compressed. It is among other things remarkably 

 coloured and is perhaps a melanotic specimen, being quite black dorsally 

 except for a series of white distant vertebral spots. Low in the flanks 

 corresponding with some of these spots are very short indistinct indica- 

 tions of a cross bar which is otherwise suppressed. Here again the most 

 important characters in identification are in agreement with cceruleus, the 

 scale rows being the only exception. 



Hitherto I have never seen a Bungarus south of the Ganges basin and 

 Rajputana with 17 scale rows. Again I have only seen one Bungarus from 

 Baluchistan with 15 scale rows, they all have 17 usually. The new concep- 

 tion of the species finds a very good parallel in the case of the Cobra 

 ( Naia tripudians ) . Specimens of variety typica from the south part of the 

 Peninsula usually have 23 to 25 scale rows in midbody, whilst those in 

 the Punjab and the Western Himalayas have usually but 21. 



I have 5 skulls of cceruleus, in my collection from Fyzabad and Altuora, 

 ard 2 of kraits. I have hitherto called sindanus from Indore, and Fort 

 Sandeman. A very critical examination of these side by side reveals 

 to me nothing distinctive in the cranial osteology or dentition that 

 might lead one to suppose they were different species. The dentition is 

 as follows ; — 



Scale rows. 



Habitat. 



-{ 

 -{ 

 -{ 

 -{ 

 -{ 

 -{ 

 -{ 



Left 



Right 



Left 



Right 



Left 



Right 



Left 



Right 



Left 



Right 



Left 



Right 



Left 



Right 



[■ Fyzabad. 



} Do. 



\ Do. 



I Do. 



f Almora. 



> Indore. 



>Fort Sandeman. 



