232 SNAKES OF CEYLON. 



the ventrals, but break up in the flanks into streaks. They 

 vary somewhat in width, but are, I think, always distinctly 

 narrower than the intervals left between them. Their 

 number seems to vary with the locality. In the United 

 Provinces, Punjab, North-west Frontier, and the Western 

 Himalayas my examples have shown from 41 to 54 on the 

 body, and 9 to 12 on the tail. From Orissa I have had one 

 with 37 bars on the body, and only 6 on the tail. Russell's 

 Arni specimen had only 22 in the whole length, and Gunther 

 mentions one from Ceylon with only 17 on the body. I have 

 seen as many as 62 bars in a specimen from Behar. In the 

 vast majority of specimens these bars are of even width in 

 mid-dorsum and taper costally, but I have seen a specimen 

 in Fyzabad, and another from Bannu, in which they were 

 indented in the median line anteriorly and posteriorly, and 

 converted into twin beads or figures-of-8. This form of 

 mark is common in many of the species of Oligodon. In the 

 intervals between the bars the flanks are variegated with 

 short streaks. The belly is usually of a uniform pearly 

 white, but is often black spotted, or, Boulenger says, the 

 ventrals may be bordered at their free edges with brown. 

 The spotted specimens are, I find, not peculiar to any locality, 

 for I have seen a specimen in Almora in which most ventrals 

 had a spot at one or other side, and Boulenger records such 

 from Nepal and South India, where the majority of specimens 

 are unspotted. The head is adorned with three conspicuous 

 black marks which are often, if not usually, bordered narrowly 

 with white or pale yellow. The anterior mark is crescentic, 

 and passes across in front of the eyes to reappear below them. 

 The median and posterior are sagittate, the apex of the 

 former reaching to the frontal and the arms to behind the 

 gape, whilst the apex of the latter passes to the parietals 

 and the arms to the sides of the neck. The posterior sagitta 

 is much the broader one. These three marks are nearly 

 always discrete, unlike the same marks in some other species 

 which are connected by a median shaft. In very old speci- 

 mens these head marks tend to disintegrate and become 

 obscured. There are usually some dark streaks to be seen 

 in some of the supra labial sutures. 



