SNAKES OF CEYLON. 497 



present. Postoculars : One or two. Temporal : One, large. 

 Supralabials : Six or seven. Sublinguals : Two subequal 

 pairs. Infralabials : Four. 



Costals : Longer than broad, rectiform, smooth, without 

 apical pits or facets. Vertebrals not enlarged. Last two 

 rows increasing in breadth. Last row broadest. Ventrals : 

 Rounded. Anal : Divided. Supracaudals : In even rows. 

 Subcaudals : Divided. 



Dentition. — Maxillary : Postnodal, 1 to 3 ; isodont (absent 

 in macchllandi) . Palatine : Anododont, feebly kumatodont. 

 Pterygoid : Anododont, scaphiodont. Mandibular : Ano 

 donont, scaphiodont. 



Distribution . — South-Eastern Asia. 



Five species have been described, of which one occurs in 

 Ceylon, viz., Irimaculatus. 



Callophis trimaculatus (Daudin). 



(Greek " treis " three, and " maculatus " spotted.) 



The Slender Coral Snake. 



Synonymy. — Coluber melanurus, Viper a trimaculata, Elaps 

 trimaculatus, E. melanurus. 



History. — First referred to by Russell in 1796, who also 

 gave a very fair figure in his first volume (Plate VIII.). 

 Christened by Daudin in 1803. 



General Characters. — A small snake, scarcely exceeding 

 1 foot in length. Head moderately depressed, moderately 

 long. Snout moderately long, slightly declivous, without 

 canthus, broadly rounded terminally. Eye rather small. 

 Nostril moderately large ; in the upper two -thirds of the 

 suture between the nasals. Neck barely evident. Body very 

 elongate, slender, of even calibre throughout. Belly rounded- 

 Tail very short, being about one-sixteenth the total length. 



