98 BARBOUR: ZOOGEOGRAPHY. 



and the Siamese Malay states. It is, so far as I know, confined to the vicinity 

 of Singapore, where Cantor took it, and Malacca, whence there are specimens 

 in the British museum. For a long time it was known only from Java, but 

 Dumeril and Bibron {loc. cit.) record it as common in Java and equally so in Suma- 

 tra. Gray (Cat. Uzards Brit, mus., 1845, p. 134) records specimens from India 

 presented by General Hardwicke. In 1893, however, Boulenger {he. cit., p. 15) 

 records the only example taken by Hardwicke as from Singapore, and also 

 questions the correctness of locality of the Hong Kong specimen, which is proba- 

 bly the same as the one mentioned by Giinther {loc. cit., p. 171). In 1896 Werner 

 (Verh. Zool. bot. ges. Wien, 46, p. 13) describes " Typhlops lineatus Boie typ. und 

 var. sumatranus n." This is said to differ from the typical form in having 24 

 rows of scales around the body and a U-shaped mouth, the typical form having 

 22 rows of scales and a more V-shaped mouth. The latter character is one which 

 varies greatly in Javan examples; for one of a series of four taken at Buitenzorg 

 in April, 1907, has a mouth with almost parallel sides. The number of rows of 

 scales seems to vary Uttle in these forms, and probably constitutes a valid basis 

 of separation. Dr. Werner ends by suggesting that perhaps this is entitled to be 

 considered a new species, but it seems more probable that extensive collections 

 will show that it can not even be distinguished as a geographical race. There 

 were six other typical examples in the Brj^ant collection from Buitenzorg, Java. 



Typhlops braminus (Daudin) . 



Daudin, Hist. nat. rept., 1803, 7, p. 279 (based on Russell's Account of Indian serpents, 1796, 1, p. 

 48-49, pi. 43). Stejneger, Bull. 58, U. S. nat. mus., 1907, p. 260-262, figs. 232-235. 



Type locality: — Vizagapatam, Madras presidency, India. 



Color brown, in varying shades; often each scale is dark at the apex and 

 paler at the base. This gives the specimens a minutely speckled appearance. 

 The snout and tip of tail are almost invariably whitish, and frequently also the 

 region about the vent. In those individuals which are about to shed the skin 

 the color is steely gray. 



This species is found in a number of situations, most frequently under 

 ground in soft leaf -mould ; often under rocks or rotten logs, and under the bark 

 of decaying trees. During January, 1907, two specimens were taken in Buiten- 

 zorg, Java, about seven feet from the ground, living in small accumulations of 

 decaying vegetable matter between the base of the leaf of a palm tree and the 

 trunk. The tree was well covered with masses of epiphytic vegetation, and the 

 creatures must have crept up through this to reach the position in which they 

 were taken. 



