SNAKES OP CEYLON. 215 



Lepidosis. — Rostral: Touches six shields. I nter nasals : Two. 

 Prefrontals : Two. Frontal : Touches six shields. Nasals : 

 Divided. Loreals : None, one, or two. Prseoculars: One. 

 Postoculars : Two. Temporals : Two ; anterior very small, 

 two median as long as the last labial, and two posterior as 

 long as the last labial. Supralabials : Eight or nine ; two 

 or three touching the eye. Sublinguals : Two pairs, the 

 posterior subequal to, or longer than, the anterior. 



Gostals : At midbody. Longer than broad, smooth, with 

 single apical facets. Vertebral and ultimate rows enlarged, 

 rectiform, the intervening rows oblique. Vertebrals en- 

 larged ; originating in the neck by a gradual increase in 

 size, or by a confluence of 2 or 3 rows ; ending in the anal 

 region. Scale rows 13 or 15. Ultimate row enlarged. Ven- 

 trals : Strongly keeled laterally. Anal : Entire or divided. 

 Supracaudals : In even rows. Subcaudals: Divided; strongly 

 keeled laterally. 



Dentition. — Maxillary : Syncranterian, anododont, cory- 

 phodont. Palatine: Anododont, feebly kumatodont. Ptery- 

 goid: Anododont, isodont. Mandibular: Anododont. 

 kumatodont. 



Dendrophis bifrenalis Boulenger. 



(Latin " bis " twice, " frenum " literally "a bit," refers 

 here to the loreal shield.) 



Boulenger 's Bronze-back. 



Sinhalese : " haldanda " (Willey) (rice stick). 



Synonymy. — Dendrophis picta. 



History. — Described by Boulenger in 1890. It is nicely 

 figured in Plate IV. of the same author's Catalogue of Snakes, 

 1894, Vol. II. 



General Characters.— As detailed under the genus. The 

 tail is about one-third the total length. 



Identification. — -The costals numbering 15, except behind 

 where they drop to 11 or 9, the keeled character of the ven- 

 trals, and the twin loreals taken together, denote this species 

 among Ceylon snakes. 



