SNAKES OF CEYLON. 221 



Dentition. — Maxillary : Syncranterian, anododont, feebly 

 scaphiodont. Palatine : Anododont, feebly kumatodont. 



Pterygoid: Anododont, isodont. Mandibular : Anododont, 

 kumatodont. 



Six species have been described all from the Oriental Region. 

 Of these, only one, viz., tristis, occurs in Ceylon. 



Dendrelaphis tristis (Daudin). 



Variety taprobanensis (Wall). 



(Latin ' tristis " sad, from its sombre colouration.) 



Seba's Bronze-back. 



Sinhalese: " haldanda " (rice stick) (Green). Tamil: 

 Frequently called " komberi muken " (snouted branch 

 climber), but this name is properly applied to the green 

 whipsnake, Dryophis mycterizans. 



Synonymy. — * Coluber tristis, Dipsas schokari, Leptophis 

 mancas, L. pictus, Dendrophis chairecacos, D. maniar, D. boii, 

 D. pictus, D. helena. 



History. — I think there can be no doubt that the earliest 

 figure of this species is shown in Seba's " Thesaurus " (Plate 

 CIX., fig. 1), which appeared in 1734. The figure is taken 

 from a Ceylon specimen referred to by Russell in 1796, 

 and figured by him in his Volume I. (Plate XXXI.). 

 Volume II. Plates XXV. and XXVI. also depict this snake. 

 Christened by Daudin in 1803. 



General Characters. — Head depressed. Snout broadly 

 rounded. Neck Very evident. Body round, smooth, of 

 nearly even calibre, and very graceful in outline. Belly 

 sharply keeled on each side. Tail also sharply keeled below, 



* There has been much confusion in the past as to the name of this 

 snake. Gunther (Rept. Brit. Ind., 1863) alluded to it as Dendrophis 

 pictus. Boulenger (Faun. Brit. Ind., Reptilia, 1890) referred to it 

 under the same title. The same authority, however, in 1894 (Cat. 

 Snakes, Brit. Mus., Vol. II.) adopts the name Dendrelaphis tristis 

 for the South Indian and Ceylon form, separating it from Dendrophis 

 pictus (Gmelin). Abercromby (Snakes of Ceylon, page 75) uses the old 

 name for it. At least, I presume, it is this species he refers to. 



