42 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIII. 



newly hatched specimen. As far as I can judge the species appears 

 to grow abont 10 or 12 inches each year until mature, i.e., about the 

 end of the third year, but like other snakes they will grow consider- 

 ably after attaining sexual maturity. 



Distribution. — It has been found in the Indian Tropical Kegion 

 in the Konkan, (Bombay, Poona, and Deolali), on the confines of 

 the Tropical Eegion, [Deesa, (B, N. H. S. Collection), Jeypore 

 (Sclater), and Delhi (F. W.) ], but otherwise only in the Mediter- 

 ranean subregion of the Holarctic (Sind, Rajputana, Punjab, 

 Western Himalayas, (West of Almora,j Kashmir, Chitral, Afghanis- 

 tan, Baluchistan, Persia, Transcaspia, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Egypt 

 and Somaliland). It is common everywhere on our N. W. Fron- 

 tier. Major Bukhle tells me it is abundant at Sukkur, Sind. 

 Alcock and Finn found it frequently on the Perso-Baluch bound- 

 ary, and I have examined many specimens from Baluchistan. In 

 the Aden Hinterland it was one of the commonest snakes met with. 

 It is evidently plentiful in Persia judging from the many speci- 

 mens in various Museums from that countrj^, 



Lepidosis. — Rostral. — Touches 6 shields, the rostro-nasal sutiwes 

 larger than the rostro-internasal. Internascds. — Two ; the suture 

 between them rather less than that between the prsefrontal fellows, 

 subequal or rather less than the internaso-preefrontals. Prcefrontcds — 

 the suture between them, rather greater than the prsefronto-frontal ; 

 in contact with internasal, postnasal, loreal and preeocular. Frontal — 

 Two ; touches 8 shields ; the fronto-supra ocular sutin^es twice or more 

 than twice the fronto-parietals. Su'praoculars — About as long, and 

 as broad as the frontal. Nasals; — Two, in contact with the 1st and 

 2nd supralabials. Loreal — One ; longer than high. Prceocular — One ; 

 touching frontal. Postoculars. — Two. Temporals — Two; the lower in 

 contact with 3 supralabials (usually the 6th, 7th and 8th). Su])rala- 

 hials. Usually 9 ; the 4th divided and the 4th, 5th and 6th touching 

 the eye (sometimes 8; the 3rd divided and the 3rd, 4th and 5th touch- 

 ing the eye). Infralahials — Six ; the 6th largest and in contact with 3 

 scales behind normally. Sublinguals — Two pairs ; the posterior longer, 

 and in contact with the 5th and 6th infralabials, quite separated by 

 small scales. Gostals — Two headslengths behind the head 19, in 

 midbody 19, two headslengths before the vent 13. In the reduc- 

 tion from 19 to 17, the 3rd or 4th row above the ventrals is absorbed, 

 in the second step from 17 to 15 the two rows next to the vertebral 

 coalesce ; and from 15 to 13 the two rows next to the vertebral 

 again fuse. As the first two steps occur close together, they are 

 sometimes reversed, or intermixed. Keels absent. Apical facets in 

 pairs. Ventrals — Angulate laterally. In the few shielded " form " 

 190 to 222; in the many shielded 214 to 246. Anal — Divided 

 8ubcauclals — In the few shielded " form " 82 to 125, in the many 

 shielded 124 to 145. 



