OPHIDIA. 827 



The following specimens from Bhamo and Ponsee agree in coloration with the 

 variety y of Giinther's E/cptiles of India. In both examples the anal is bifid. 



Length 18"' 54; tail 3-67 . . . . Ventrals 184; sub-caudals 1% 



IVm; „ 3-30 .... ,,200; ,, 59 



This species has now been received from Amoy, Ponsee, Bham6, Assam and 

 Agra. It extends also throughout the Peninsula of India to Ceylon, through 

 Burma and the Malayan Peninsula to the Andamans, Nicobars, Java, Philippines 

 and Timor. 



Genus Ophites, "Wagler. 

 Ophites fasciatus, n. s. Plate LXXVIII. 



Head flat and rather spatulate, distinct from the neck. Anterior frontals rather 

 broader than long ; posterior frontals much more so ; vertical of moderate size nearly 

 as broad as long ; occipitals narrow and elongate ; nostril between two nasals, the 

 anterior frontal and the first labial. The loreal long and tapering to a point poste- 

 riorly and entering the orbit. One preocular reaching to the upper surface of the 

 head. Two postoculars. Temporals 2 + 3 -f 2 ; two in contact with the postoculars. 

 Eight upper labials, the third, fourth and fifth entering the orbit. The posterior 

 chin-shields narrow and much longer than the anterior shields, which are in contact 

 with five labials. The second and third teeth are elongated, followed, after a con- 

 siderable interval, by two small teeth, the most posterior being the longer. These are 

 succeeded by two much longer, almost fang-like teeth. The palatine teeth are 

 numerous and sub-equal in size. The mandible has an anterior fang. Seventeen 

 rows of feebly keeled scales, the keels becoming more pronounced posteriorly. 

 Ventrals 213. Suboculars 90. The anal entire. 



Total length 21 inches ; tail 4*34. 



Body encircled by fifty-five broad purplish-black bands separated by reddish in- 

 tervals about half their breadth. Upper surface of the head dark-brown. Upper 

 labials yellowish with dusky sutures. The first black band does not encircle the neck. 



I captured this specimen at Ponsee. 



This species differs from O. suhscinctus in having a preocular along with the 

 loreal entering the orbit, and in having two anterior temporals instead of one. The 

 young of O. suhscinctm has the body and tail embraced by only 13 broad black 

 bands which, unlike O. fasciatus, do not extend on to the ventrals. O. albofuscus 

 like 0. fasciatus has a loreal and preocular, but the loreal does not enter the orbit, 

 and the vertical is much broader anteriorly than in O. fasciatus and is slightly 

 broader than long, which is the reverse of what occurs in the latter snake. The 

 body of O. albofuscus is dorsally marked by 53 dark bands, but they do not pass 

 on to the ventrals as in O. fasciatus, which is also the case with O. septentrionalis 

 in which the shields of the posterior pair are shorter than the anterior, which is the 

 opposite of what occurs in this species. In 0. albofuscus there are 256 ventrals, 

 but there are only 213 in this species. 



