SNAKES OF CEYLON, 169 



Dentition. — From two skulls in my collection. Maxillary : 

 9 to 10, compressed. Palatine : 8 to 9 ; very small, about 

 half the length of the maxillary. Pterygoid : 20 to 21 ; longer 

 than the palatine. Mandibular : 19 to 21. 



Distribution. — (a) General : South India as far north as 

 Orissa (Chilka Lake and Berhampore) ; Ceylon. Haly says 

 the 5 specimens in the Colombo Museum in his day were from 

 Jaffna, and Willey mentions it from Anuradhapura. Fergu- 

 son speaks of one from the south part of the Island without 

 specifying further. One in the British Museum is labelled 

 Trine omalee. 



(b) Local : It is a denizen of the plains, but ascends some 

 altitude into the hills. In South India it is rather an un- 

 common snake, and it appears to be equally uncommon in 

 Ceylon. Mr. Drummond-Hay tells me he has never met with it. 



Dryocalamus gracilis Gunther. 



(Latin " gracilis " graceful.) 



The Scarce Bridal Snake. 



Synonymy.— Odontomus gracilis, O fergusoni, Hydrophobics 

 gracilis. 



History. — Described by Gunther in 1864. 



General Characters. — As detailed under the genus. 



Identification. — The costals about as broad as long, and in 

 15 rows in the whole body length will identify it. The costals 

 in 15 rows in the whole body length, and a loreal touching 

 the eye, when taken together will establish the identification. 



Colouration. — It is exactly like nympha in every way. The 

 eye, too, in life is similar. 



Habits. — (a) Haunts : Appears to be similar to nympha. It 

 frequents houses, and climbs into the roof. One specimen I 

 had (Berhampore, Orissa) fell from the roof into the middle of 

 a family circle after dinner. 



Food. — Nothing known. 



Breeding. — Nothing known. 



Growth. — My two specimens were 570 and 619*5 mm. 

 (1 foot 10, and 1 foot 11 J inches), respectively. 



Lepidosis. — {a) Typical — Rostral : The rostro-internasal 

 sutures rather longer than the rostro-nasal. Internasals : The 



27 6(6)20 



