74 SNAKES OF CEYLON. 



Family XENOPELTID/E, 



Distribution. — Burma, Indo-China, Malay Peninsula, and 

 Archipelago as far East as Java. 



Represented by a single genus which contains but one 

 species. 



Not found in Ceylon. 



Family COLUBRID/E. 



(Named from the type genus Coluber.) 



General Characters. — Head small or moderate, narrow, 

 moderate or broad. Snout short, moderate, or long, with or 

 without can thus, pointed, narrowly or broadly obtuse. Eye 

 small, moderate, or large, with round vertical or horizontal 

 pupil. Nostril small, moderate, or large ; open or valvular ; 

 lateral or superior. Neck not, slightly, or markedly con- 

 stricted. Body cylindrical, compressed or depressed, slender, 

 moderate, or robust- Belly rounded, angulate, or keeled. 

 Tail short, moderate, or long ; cylindrical, slightly or highly 

 compressed. 



Habits. — Terrestrial, arboreal, subaquatic, fluviatile, lacus- 

 trine, or marine. Active. 



Food. — Mammals, birds, reptiles, batrachians, fishes; a vine, 

 reptilian, and batrachian eggs ; worms. 



Breeding. — Oviparous or viviparous. 



Poison. — The majority are not poisonous, many are 

 poisonous, and of these some very fatal to man. 



Lepidosis. — The head is covered with large shields of a 

 form and disposition peculiar to the family, except in 

 Chersydrus. 



