SNAKES OF CEYLON. 451 



Dentition. — Maxillary : Postnodal, 4. Palatine: 10 to 11. 

 Pterygoid: 11. Mandibular: 15. 



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



(6) Local: In India it extends from Cape Comorin to 

 the Himalayas, and is to be reckoned a common snake 

 everywhere. In the north-west it reaches Sind, and in the 

 north-east occurs up to about the longitude of Calcutta. It 

 is a snake of the plains, but I have had it up to 5,000 feet at 

 Almora in the Himalayas. 



In Ceylon it is apparently a very rare snake. Haly refers 

 to three specimens, one of which was from Jaffna. I have seen 

 a specimen in the Colombo Museum labelled " Polgahawela," 

 and I found a specimen among a small collection made by 

 Mr. Carlos Beven, which he assured me was killed at Veyan- 

 goda. Mr. Drummond-Hay has never obtained a specimen. 



Bung Anus ceylonicus (Giinther). 



(Latin, implying pertaining to Ceylon.) 



The Ceylon Krait. 



Sinhalese : " Karawala " (Ferguson), " dunu-karawala" 

 and " tel-karawala " (Willey). 



Synonymy. — Bungarus fasciatus. 



History. — First depicted in 1734 by Seba in his Thesaurus 

 (Plate XLIII., Fig. 5). It escaped further notice until 

 Giinther referred to it in 1858. 



General Characters.- — This is the smallest of the eleven 

 known kraits, attaining to about 3 feet in length. Head 

 moderately depressed, short. Snout short, slightly declivous, 

 without canthus, broadly rounded terminally. Eye small, 

 like a black bead in life, the pupil indistinguishable. Nostril 

 rather large, occupying the full depth of the suture between 

 the nasal shields. Neck hardly constricted. Body cylindrical, 

 moderately elongate and stout, of even calibre throughout, 

 with lustrous scales. Belly rounded. Tail short, about one- 

 tenth the total length, attenuating to a point. 



Identification. — The ventrals are more numerous than in 

 cseruleus, and the 2nd supralabial is shorter than the 3rd. 



63 6(6)20 



