238 SNAKES OF CEYLON. 



(b) Anomalies — Parietals : There is sometimes a detached 

 fragment forming a pseudo -temporal. Loreal : Rarely 

 absent (confluent with the prefrontal). Swpralabials : One 

 or more are rarely confluent. It is not unusual to see the 

 sixth not reaching the labial margin, but wedged between 

 the fifth and seventh. Infralabials : Sometimes five 

 (Fig. 48 C). Anal : Rarely entire. Subcaudals : A few rarely 

 entire towards the base of the tail. 



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

 7 to 11 ; an edentulous space anteriorly. Palatine: 4 (? 3) 

 to 6 ; an edentulous space anteriorly and posteriorly. 

 Pterygoid: 10 to 17 (?18); no edentulous space anteriorly. 

 Mandibular : 13 to 14 : no edentulous space anteriorly. 

 (Fig. 49.) 



Fig. 49. — (D) Maxilla of oligodon arnensis. 



(E) Gurkha's kukri for comparison. 



Distribution. — (a) General : Peninsular India and Ceylon. 



(b) Local : It is a snake that inhabits the plains. In 

 India I have had it fairly plentifully in the Western Himalayas 

 up to 5,000 feet, the highest altitude being 5,500 feet, but 

 I had no specimen from the Nilgiri Hills out of 1,699 

 specimens collected there in 1917. Haly reports it Very 

 common in Ceylon, and remarks he had had no specimens 

 from the hills. Mr. Drummond-Hay has never met with it 

 up-country. 



