254 SNAKES OF CEYLON. 



Dentition. — From one skull in my collection. M axillary : 

 21 (?) to 24 (?). Palatine : 15 to 16. Pterygoid : 15 to 18 ; 

 larger than those in any of the other jaws. Mandibular : 

 18 to 21. 



Distribution. — (a) General: Hills of Peninsular India and 

 Ceylon. 



(b) Local: In India I have seen examples from Maha- 

 bleshwar, Wynaad, Nilgiris, and Bangalore. In the Himalayas 

 from Almora, Gonda, Phiiibhit, and Baksa Dooars. It is not 

 uncommon about Bangalore. 



In Ceylon it appears to be uncommon. I saw no specimen 

 in any collection. No precise localities are on record. 



Sub-family 3 Rachiodontinae. 



(Greek " rachis " the spine, " odous " tooth.) 

 Identification. — There is nothing distinctive whereby the 

 the sub-family can be recognized on external characters. It 

 is separated on osteological characters from the other sub- 

 families, the most distinctive difference being that the spine 

 in its second eighth has several of the hypopophyses remark- 

 ably developed, so that they penetrate the gullet, and act as 

 oesophageal teeth. 



Food.— Lives on birds' eggs, which are sawn in halves by the 

 oesophageal teeth. 



Distribution. — Peculiar to Africa. 



Series B. OPISTHOGLYPHA. 

 Sub-family 4 Homalopsinse. 



(Takes its name from the type genus Homalopsis.) 

 General Characters. — Head moderate to large ; snout mode- 

 rate to long, without canthus. Nostrils valvular and 

 superior. Eye small, with vertically elliptic pupil. Neck 

 fairly evident. Body cylindrical, moderate in calibre, or stout. 

 Belly rounded. Tail short, somewhat compressed basally. 



Identification. — Known by the cylindrical tail and the val- 

 vular superior nostrils. The ventrals too are rather narrow, 

 so that when homalopsids are laid on their backs two or more 

 costal rows can be seen on each side of them. 



