1899.] BEPTILES OF THE MALAY PENINSULA AND SIAM. 667 



Localities. The Dharaan-or Eat-Snake seems to be numerous in 

 Bangkok, and I have come across several specimens, especially in 

 the Wang Na and at Sapatoom. There is a specimen in the British 

 Museum, obtained in Siam by M. Mouhot, and oue said to be from 

 Singapore, presented by Dr. Dennys. 



Habits. I have more than once seen the Dhaman moving in the 

 open in bright daylight. When newly caught it is fierce and bites 

 hard, and, as the teeth sometimes break off in one's flesh, it may 

 inflict a nasty wound unless the broken-off teeth are at once 

 extracted. When angry it utters repeatedly a curious threatening 

 sound, audible ?ome yards off, best described as " I'oaring," some- 

 thing like the the deep growling of a big dog. 



It also rears up its head like a Cobra and dilates its neck, 

 but not transversely like Naia or dorsally, but ventrally ; the 

 anterior ventral shields are thrust out and become acutely keeled, 

 and the skin on the sides ot the neck is widely stretched, showing 

 yellow between the brown scales. 



Colour (in life). Above olive-brown or light yellovi'ish brown, 

 shading towards the sides (on the anterior half especially) to very 

 pretty shades of purple and mauve-grey. On specimens up to 1000 

 mm. in length there are on the anterior half of the body indistinct, 

 narrow, light cross-bands, showing plainest on the sides, and 

 more or less obliterated in the vertebral region. In all specimens, 

 on the posterior part of the body and on the tail, are numerous 

 very distinct but irregular black cross-bands, narrower than the 

 pale brown interspaces. Below pale yellow, the cervical and 

 posterior ventral shields and the subcaudal shields are partially 

 edged with black. Labials yellow, strongly edged with black along 

 the sutures. 



Size. An individual from Sapatoom measured 2284 mm. (7 feet 

 6 inches) in total length, and others were nearly as large. 



Hah. Transcaspia, Afghanistan, Cashmere, Nepaul, Sikhira, 

 Lidia, Ceylon, Burma, Jj'ormosa, South China, Siam, Malay 

 Peninsula, Java. 



130. Zamenis spinalis (Peters). 



Zamenis spinalis, Blgr. Cat. Snakes, i. p. 394. 

 Hah. Mongolia, Corea, China, Hainan, Siam. 



131. Zamenis fasciolaxus (Shaw). 



Zamenis fasciolatus, Blgr. Cat. Snakes, i. p. 404. 

 Recorded from Province Wellesley (Cantor, p. 72). 

 Hah. Northern India, Madras, Malay Peninsula. 



132. Xenelaphj^ hexagonotus (Cantor). 

 Xenelaphis hexagonotus, Blgr. Cat. Snakes, ii. p. 8. 



Recorded from Penang, Pahang, and Singapore (P. Z. S. 1896, 

 p. 882). 



Eah. Burma, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo. 



