368 SNAKES OF CEYLON. 



Growth. — The ] ength is reported to be 1,000 mm. (3 feet 

 3 J inches). 



Lepidosis. — Rostral : The portion visible above two -thirds 

 the suture between the nasals. Nasals : A single suture from 

 the nostril to the 2nd supralabials . Prefrontals : Touching the 

 2nd supralabials. Frontal : Entire ; longer than broad ; the 

 fron to -parietal sutures rather longer than the fronto -supra- 

 oculars. Supraoculars : Length four -fifths the frontal ; 

 breadth two -thirds the frontal. Parietals : Entire ; touching 

 the upper postoculars. Prseocular : One. Posioculars : Two. 

 Temporals : One large anterior, succeeded by a subequal 

 posterior. Supralabials : Seven ; the first five large ; 1st and 

 2nd touching the nasals ; 3rd and 4th the eye. Sublinguals : 

 Two well-developed pairs, the posterior separated by one scale. 

 Infralabials : Four ; the suture between the first as long as 

 that between the anterior sublinguals ; 4th largest, and 

 touching three or four scales behind. Cuneate : One between 

 the 3rd and 4th infralabials. 



Costals : Longer than broad and imbricate anteriorly ; 

 subimbricate or juxtaposed posteriorly ; with short, median, 

 bidentate keels. In 28 rows two heads-lengths behind the 

 head, and 47 in midbody (I was informed by Herr Tornier, 

 the Superintendent of the Zoological Museum, Berlin, in 1907). 

 Ventrals : 278 ; nearly twice the breadth of the last costal rows. 



Distribution. — Colombo, Ceylon. 



Genus CHITULIA. 



(Latinized form of the vernacular name "chittul.") 



General Characters. — Length moderate. Habit robust. 

 Body moderately attenuated anteriorly, the diameter being 

 about half to three -fifths that of the extreme depth posteriorly. 



Cranial Osteological Characters. — Nasals : Sutured to pre- 

 frontals and frontal ; longer than frontal. Prefrontals : 

 Meeting parietals and postfrontals. Frontal : As broad as 

 long ; not (?) meeting postfrontal at rim of orbit. Parietal : 

 Not keeled inferiorly. Quadrate : Oblique from above back- 

 wards ; extreme length superiorly four-fifths its depth. 



