A. B. Wynne — Notes on an Earth quahe in the Punjab. 101 



Colour in spirit, evidently somewhat faded. The body is surrounded 

 by alternating dusky and light rings with very irregular crooked margins. 

 Head above dusky olivaceous with pale spots in the middle of most of the 

 shields ; upper labials and anterior lower labials pale with dusky margins. 

 An imperfect pale collar behind the head : all the lower part of the head 

 and neck whitish. There are 30 pale rings on the body, the first pale ring 

 imperfect above, and the dark patch in front not continuous across the 

 throat, the rest of the rings encircle the animal. Farther back the pale 

 rings become grey with pale margins and light spots occur in the dark 

 rings. On the belly, throughout the anterior part of the body, the dark 

 rings are only about half as broad as the white, above the difference is lerjs, 

 and near the head the dark rings are much broader above than the white. 

 There are 16 rings on the tail. 



This snake is distinguished from all other species of Ophites by having 

 19 instead of 17 rows of scales round the body. It approaches nearest 

 to O. septentrionalis* ., the precise habitat of which is unknown, but is 

 probably the Himalayas or Assam, the type specimen having been collected 

 by Dr. Jerdon soon before his departure from India, and found unlabelled 

 amongst his collections after his death. From O. septentrionalis the pre- 

 sent species ajipears to be distinguished by more numerous scales, by its 

 differently shaped anterior frontals, and by the dark rings extending across 

 the belly. 



A single specimen was procured by Mr. Gammie at the Cinchona 

 plantation in South-eastern Sikkim. This specimen measures 31^ inches, 

 of which the tail is 7. It is rather surprising to find a new snake in so 

 well explored a locality. 



VIII. — Notes on the Earthquake in the Funjah of March 2nd^ 1878. — 



By A. B. Wynne, F. G. S. 



(Eead 5th June.) 



Earthquakes in the Punjab are not uncommon, but little effort 

 seems to have been made to record their occurrence in any way that 

 might prove useful ; indeed as a rule they are neither sufficiently frequent 

 nor pronounced to leave more than a passing impression, though the direc- 

 tions from which the undulations come are occasionally noticeable, and 

 doubtless, with proper appliances, they would form an interesting study. 



On the 2nd of last March the most severe shock which has occurred 

 within the memory of the present generation, so far as I can learn, affected 

 the whole of the northern part of the province. With regard to it I have 

 collected a few notes which I offer more as a record of the event than as 



* Giinthcr, P, Z. S., 187-5, \\ 233. 



