318 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL RTSTORY SOCTETY. 1892 



as long as the hand. Pale olive-brown above, with a few irregular 

 darker blotches. 



A single specimen, a gravid female, measuring 46 millim. from 

 snout to vent, was found by Mr. H. S. Ferguson at Trevandrum, on 

 the Cavalry Parade ground, in August, 1891, and presented by him 

 to the British Museum. 



DESCRIPTION OF A NEW EARTH-SNAKE FROM 

 TRAVANCORE. 



By Gt. a. Boulenger. 



Rhinophis travancoricus. 



Head very small, with acutely pointed and compressed, but not 

 keeled, snout; rostral shield about one-third the length of the 

 shielded part of the head, wedged in between the pra-f rentals and 

 narrowly separated from the frontal ; latter shield once and one-third 

 as long as broad, and slightly shorter than the parietals ; eyes hardly 

 half as long as the ocular shield ; four upper labials, first very short, 

 fourth nearly as long as second and third together. Diameter of 

 body 34 times in the total length. 17 scales round the middle 

 of the body, 19 behind the head. Ventrals, about once and a half 

 the size of the contiguous scales, 146; subcaudals 6 ; caudal disk a 

 little shorter than the shielded part of the head. Dark purplish- 

 brown, the scales on the sides aid belly edged with whitish ; anal 

 region black ; tips and lower surface of tail yellow. 



Total length, 170 millim. 



The single specimen sent to the British Museum by Mr. H. S. 

 Ferguson was obtained near Trevandrum, at the 6th mile-stone 

 towards Yambayam, in June^ 1892. 



Distinguished from the other S. Indian species of this genus, 

 E. sanguineus, Bedd., by having 17 instead of 15 scales round the 

 middle of the body, by the low number of ventral scales, and by 

 the coloration. In the Ceylonese species, the rostral is keeled above, 

 or, if not, the caudal disk is very short. 



