( 201 ) ■ 



Cercaspis, Wagler. 



Body strongly compressed. Head flat, not very distinct from 

 neck. Scales strongly keeled, or smooth, with apical groove in 

 19 rows. Ventrals with a lateral keel. Subcaudals entire. 

 Pupil erect. 



C. carinata, Kuhl. 



Prsefrontals small. Loreal longer than high. One prseocular 

 just reaches the top of the head. Two postoculars. 8 upper 

 labials, the third, fourth and fifth entering the orbit. Colour 

 black, encircled with white rings, broad below, but only one 

 or two scales wide above. The first ring forms a broad collar, 

 and the rings are broader in the young. In adults the head 

 and neck are whoUy black. 



Grows to 24 inches. • (TaU 4 or 5.) 



Inhabits Ceylon. 



C. Travankoricus, Bed. Mad. Mon. J. Med. Sc, 1870. 



"Rostral deeply grooved below, not much prodjiced back 



between the anterior frontals; anterior frontals small. Not 



half the size of the posterior. Vertical shield-shaped, three-sided, 



pointed behind. Occipitals longer than the vertical, pointed 



behind. Loreal much longer than high. Preeocular reaching the 



surface of the head and touching the postfrontal and vertical. 



8 upper labials, third, fourth and fifth entering the orbit; two 



postoculars. Scales in 17 rows, quite smooth, with small apical 



groove. Ventrals angled at the side. 66 entire subcaudals, or 



a few of them double towards the apex of the tail. Total 



length 15 inches, of which the tail is 2f . Colour black, with 



white transverse bars. Belly uniform whitish. Very like 



Lycodon striatus, but with entire subcaudals. Travankor hiUs, 



Attraymallay, 5,000 feet elevation ; under stones, rare : it has 



quite the colouration of Lycodon striatus. Two specimens were 



found, one of which had aU the subcaudals single, and the other 



had the first 38 entire, and the 28 small ones towards the apex 



of the tail, double." 



b2 



