SNAKES OF CEYLON. 205 



Colouration. — Yellowish or reddish -brown dorsal] y, with 

 four more or less distinct, darker, longitudinal stripes, and a 

 vertebral series of blackish dots. Some specimens have a few 

 lateral spots anteriorly which alternate with the vertebral 

 series. A dark oblique streak on each side of the neck 

 and sometimes a median nuchal spot. Ventrally uniform 

 yellowish, sometimes sparsely speckled on the body, and 

 with darker mottlings on the tail. 



Habits. — (a) Haunts : Apparently lives beneath the loose 

 soil. The slough found by me had the head embedded in the 

 earth. The three obtained for me by a collector at Kandy 

 were reported dug out of some leaves and debris that had 

 silted up a drain on the hillside. 



(6) Disposition : The three live specimens just referred to 

 allowed me to pick them up and handle them freely, without 

 attempting to bite. They crawled through my fingers rest- 

 lessly, protruding the tongue frequently. 



Food. — The stomachs investigated showed that earthworms 

 had been eaten. 



Breeding. — (a) The Sexes : Females appear to grow longer 

 than males, and have shorter tails. The male dasper is a 

 cylindrical organ beset with fine spinous processes. 



(6) Method of Reproduction: The size and character of 

 eggs extracted by me leaves little doubt that it is an oviparous 

 snake. 



(c) Season : Not known. No dates have accompanied my 

 gravid females. 



(d) The Eggs : Three gravid females that have passed 

 through my hands contained two, four, and five eggs respec- 

 tively. In one subject these were very large, measuring 28 by 

 6 mm. (1 J by J of an inch). No embryos could be discovered. 



Growth. — (a) The Hatchling : The length is not known. 



(b) Maturity. — One of my gravid females was 317 mm. (12J 

 inches long). 



(c) Maximum Length : The largest record is 390 mm. 

 (15 inches). 



Lepidosis. — (a) Typical : As detailed for the genus except. 

 Prefrontals : Touch the 2nd and 3rd supralabials, praeocular, 

 and supraocular. Supraoculars : Length about two -thirds 



