7o4 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXII. 



oviparous though this is probably the case. My youngest speci- 

 mens which I took to be hatchlings measured 6^ and 6f inches 

 in April, 7^ and 7| inches in May and 7^ and 7f inches in July. 

 It is probable, therefore, that the breeding season embraces three 

 or four months of the year. 



Groivth. — From my records of length it appears that the young- 

 grow some 4< to 5 inches in their first year, and 3 to 4 inches in 

 the second, third and fourth years of life. 



Bistrihution. — Peninsular India and Cej^lon. In India it ex- 

 tends north to the Himalayas and East and West to the outside 

 limits of the territory drained by the Ganges and Indus Rivei's. 

 To the North-East it appears to be limited by the Teesta River, at 

 any rate I can find no record East of this river excepting the 

 Sikkim one to which I will refer again.* To the North-West it 

 ranges to the Frontier, but there is no record of its occurrence in 

 the Indus system farther South, viz., in Rajputana and Sind, and 

 it is quite likely that it does not extend into these Provinces. 



It is for the most part a snake of the plains, but is common in 

 Almora at 5,400 feet, so that one may siippose it occurs in other 

 hills up to about 6,000 feet. I have had it from the Himalayas as 

 far West as Bakloh (4,500 feet). There are specimens from Nepal 

 in the British Museum, with no altitiide specified, but I discredit 

 the locality of the specimen in the same institution said to be 

 from Sikkim. I Nicholson mentions it from Bangalore (circa 3,000 

 feet) in Southern India, and there are examples in the British 

 Museum from the Anamallays, altitude not specified. 



I found it a common snake in the United Provinces. Mr. Reid 

 tells me it is common in Behar, and Mr. Muir says it is fairly 

 common in Bengal (Kalna). Jerdon reports it rather common in 

 Southern India, and Haly in the low country in Ceylon. In the 

 last locality it does not appear to have been collected at a greater 

 altitude than Kandy (circa 1,600 feet). 



The precise localities known to me are set forth in the accom- 

 panying map. 



Leindosis. — Rostral — Touches 6 shields, the rostro-internasal 

 sutures being equal to, or rather longer than, the rostro-nasal ; the 

 portion visible above equal to or little less than its distance to the 



* Mr. W. A. Jacob, l.F.S., has collected assiduously in the Jalpaigfuri District, 

 East of Teesta, for some years and has given me a list of 29 species he has foiind 

 there. This does not include arnensis. The fauna of this District agrees with 

 that of Assam as remarked upon by me in a previous paper in this Journal 

 (Vol. XIX, p. 897). 



t As already stated I can find no record other than this one from East of 

 Teesta ; and here, I may remark, that I have exainined at least 1,200 snakes from 

 various altitudes in Sikkim, but never seen arnensis. It is a very significant fact 

 too that Messrs. Von Schlagintweit from vs^hom this record emanates are also 

 responsible for the records of Eryx coniciis. and E. johni from Sikkim, both of 

 which are discredited by Mr. Boulenger {vide Catalogue, Vol. I, pp. 124 and 128). 



