1873.] F. Stoliczka — Malayan Beptilia and AonpJiihia. 125 



confluent along the middle line, and all are about equally broad as the brown 

 bands separating them ; towards the tip of the tail the light coloration 

 prevai.s and almost entirely suppresses the dark one. 



Mr. Stahlknecht obtained only a single specimen near Dilli on Sumatra* 

 Dumeril and Bibron also described a specimen from Sumatra ; another one 

 is reported by Dr. Giinther as having been brought from Malabar, but as it 

 was bought from a dealer, the locality is not considered reliable. 



HlPSIRHEN'A [FeEANIa] ALTERNANS, EcuSS. 



Eurostus alternans, apud Dum. and Bib., Herp. Gen., YIT, p. 957. 

 Homalopsis decussata, Schlegel. — Hi;psirhina alternans apad Jan, Ophid., Livr. 30 

 pi. vi, figs. 1 and 2. 



One specimen measures : total length 8'25 inches, the tail being one 

 inch. It has two anterior frontals, the first scarcely half as large as the 

 posterior, vertical six-sided, much smaller than one occipital ; one loreal, one 

 prae-ocular, two post-oculars ; seven upper labials, the fourth under the orbit ; 

 the two first lower labials are in contact ; two pairs of chin-shields, the 

 first forms a suture, the shields of the second pair are much smaller, diverg- 

 ing and with their upper pointed ends lying between the first chin-shields and 

 the labials. There are twenty-six rows of scales immediately behind the head, 

 twenty-two round the neck, below interrupted by the second ventral, and 

 nineteen round the middle of the body, ventrals 157, anal bifid, subcaudals 

 thirty- four, the first five entire, the last conical. 



General colour brown ; head, above, anteriorly with a few pale spots ; 

 back with narrow pale (yellowish) cross bands : the first passes over the hind- 

 edges of the occipitals and is laterally bipartite, the next four are simple and 

 complete, the following after these mostly interrupted along the centre, 

 and after the middle of tlie body the bands become reduced to indistinct 

 lateral spots. The sides of the body are marked with a series of pale 

 yellow cross-bars, more than one scale broad, and are separated by equally 

 broad bands of the general brown coloration ; the lateral pale bands more or 

 less encroach upon the ventrals, but the general colour of these latter is 

 pale brown. Chin and upper labials spotted with yellow. 



This coloration slightly differs in minor details from that given by Jan, 

 but it agrees with it in all essential points. 



The larger size of the occipitals as compared with the vertical, the 

 smaller number of upper labials and of the scales round the middle of the 

 body, and the coloration readily distinguish the present species from F. 

 Sieboldi* 



* Giinther, in Ann. and Mag. N. H., 1860, xviii, p. 28 and in Zool. Rec. for 1868 

 says, that Jan figured F. Sieholdi as Hijpsirhina Bocourti (Iconograph. Livr. 28, pi. v, 

 fig. 2). Jan's H, Bocowrti has apparently only 23 or 25 rows of scales round the body, 



