ON THE CAVES IN THE MALAY PENINSULA. 579 



The immense abundance of bat remains in the floors is very striking 

 in comparison with their rarity in the European and other caves. Fruit- bats 

 are very characteristic of high jungle, as they require so great an amount 

 of fruiting trees, and the discovery of their bones in any quantity in any 

 deposit would be ])'>'i'>nd facie evidence of the surrounding country ha-ving 

 been, at the time of their deposition, densely wooded. 



Reptilia. 



The cave- snake (Coluber tceniurus) is common in all the darker caves 

 where bats are abundant. I have to thank Mr. Boulenger for its identifi- 

 cation. According to the 'Catalogue of Ophidia,' it occurs also in Darji- 

 ling, Sumatra, Borneo, and China. But in the description in the work 

 above referred to the colouring differs considerably from that of the cave 

 snake. Thus it is described as being ' grey brown or olive above; head 

 and nape uniform; anterior part of the back with black transverse lines 

 or network; posterior part with a pale vertebral stripe between two broad 

 black ones ; belly yellowish anteriorly, greyish posteriorly ; a black stripe 

 along each side of the posterior part of the belly and along each side of 

 the tail, separated from the upper lateral stripe by a whitish stripe.' 



Now of the cave-snake no part can be called even grey brown, still 

 less olive, the upper parts being of a pale, ochreous colour. The 

 head is light bluish grey, with a black line running through each eye. 

 There is no trace of any black transverse lines or network. The colouring 

 of all the snakes I have seen (eight in number) was exactly similar. 



These differences in colouring may appear very trivial, but to the 

 animal itself they are of no small importance. The cave-snake never, 

 apparently, leaves the caves, and very rarely even comes into any part of 

 the mouth where there is much light. Indeed, it is usually to be found 

 in the darkest parts of the caverns, where it rests on ledges of rock 

 looking out for its prey, the bats. 



Its colouring is so exactly similar to that of the cave walls^a pale 

 yellowish ochre — that it is very difficult to see, and the largest I ever 

 found (six feet seven inches in length) I had passed by without noticing, 

 though I was looking for snakes. Not only is the general body colour 

 that of the cave walls, but the grey lines darkening into black towards the 

 tail add to the illusion, exactly resembling the shadow of a crack or ridge, 

 such as is commonly to be seen on the walls. Upon the black mud of the 

 floor the snake is tolerably conspicuous, but when lying on a ledge, or reared 

 erect along a wall, it is exceedingly easily overlooked. No colouring 

 could be more suited to its surroundings. Were it, however, to leave the 

 caves and live in the jungle like other snakes, it would be as conspicuous 

 as possible, as it then would appear by contrast almost pure white. 



I can find no account of the habits of the species elsewhere, nor 

 whether this peculiarly coloured form has elsewhere been seen; but it 

 seems of the greatest interest to find a snake so peculiarly and beautifully 

 adapted to such strange surroundings. 



It seems to feed exclusively on bats. Twice I have seen it just fallen 

 from a rock-ledge with a bat in its mouth, seized as the bats, disturbed 

 by our torches, flew wildly about the cavern. Cast skins and skeletons 

 were several times found in the caves. One of the latter was partly 

 cemented to a stalagmite by a deposit of lime, and was in process of being 

 fossilised. 



p r 2 



