SNAKES OF CEYLON. 281 



touching the 5th, 6th, and 7th infralabials. Infralabials : 

 Seven ; the 7th shorter than the posterior sublinguals, but 

 about the same breadth ; touching three scales behind. 



Costals : Vertebrals, about as broad as long, and rather 

 broader than those of the ultimate row. Ultimate row with 

 scales rather longer than broad. In 19 rows to behind mid- 

 body, reducing to 15 or 13 two heads-lengths before the vent. 

 The reduction is due to an absorption of the third row from 

 the ventrals once, and the uppermost row into the vertebrals 

 at the other steps. Ventrals : 209 to 243 (Ceylon specimens 

 218 to 231). Anal : Entire. Subcaudals : 91 to 112 (Ceylon 

 specimens 91 to 112). Taken together, the ventrals and 

 subcaudals range from 311 to 342. 



(b) Anomalies. — Prseoculars : Sometimes two. Swpra- 

 labials : Sometimes nine, with the 4th, 5th, and 6th touching 

 the eye. Costals : The vertebrals occasionally disintegrate, 

 and the count in consequence at such places will become 21. 

 The scale rows should not, however, be regarded as 21 in these 

 cases, as there is no supernumerary row strictly speaking. 

 Subcaudals : Some of those at the base of the tail may be 

 entire. 



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

 Prsecranterian, 14 to 15 in Ceylon specimens, 18 to 20 in 

 Nilgiri. Palatine : 7 to 8 in Ceylon specimens, 9 in the 

 Nilgiri. Pterygoid : 18 to 20 in Ceylon specimens, and 19 to 

 21 in Nilgiri. Mandibular: 21 to 24 in Ceylon specimens, 

 and 25 to 28 in Nilgiri. 



Distribution. — {a) General: Hills in Southern India and 

 Ceylon. 



(b) Local : In the Nilgiris it is a common snake that favours 

 an elevation between about 3,000 and 5,000 feet. In Ceylon 

 it is evidently a fairly common snake, which, Willey says in a 

 letter to me, extends about as far north as Sigiriya. I have 

 had specimens from Kandy, Peradeniya, and Moragalla. 

 Pearless records it from Badulla. One in the Colombo 

 Museum is from Nanu-oya, another from Horana. All the 

 specimens I saw in the Colombo Museum (except barnesi and 

 forsteni), eight in number, conformed to this type. 



41 6(6)20 



