48. LYCODON. 355 



7. Lycodon travancoricus. (Plate XXIV. fig. 3.) 



Cercaspis travancoricus, Beddome, Madras Monthly Joum. Med. Sc. 



1870. 

 Lycodon travancoricus, Bouleng. Faun. Ind., JRept. p. 293 (1890). 



Snout mucli depressed, -with, swollen lips, subspatulate ; eye 

 rather small. Rostral much broader than long, hardly visible from 

 above ; internasals much shorter than the prsefrontals ; frontal 

 once and one third to once and a half as long as broad, as long as 

 its distance from the end of the snout or a little longer, a little 

 shorter than the parietals ; loreal elongate, rarely entering the eye, 

 not touching the internasal; one prseocular, usually in contact 

 with the frontal ; two postoculars ; temporals smaU, scale-like, 

 2+3 or 3+3 ; nine upper labials, third, fourth, and fifth entering the 

 eye ; four or five lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields, 

 which are longer than the posterior. Scales smooth, in 17 rows. 

 Yentrals 175-202, obtusely angulate laterally ; anal undivided ; 

 subcaudals usually in two rows, sometimes single*, 56-76. 

 Coloration very similar to that of L. striatus, viz., dark brown or 

 black above, with white cross bands and white lineolations on the 

 sides, and uniform white below ; but the upper lip is brown, or 

 white spotted with brown. 



Total length 600 millim. ; tail 125. 



Southern India, as far north as the Bombay Ghats. 



a 2 ("V. 178 ; 0. 66). Travancore Hills, Col. Beddome [C.]. 



5000 ft. (Type.) 



b-c $ (V. 184 ; 0. 68) & Travancore. Col. Beddome [C.]. 



hgr. (V. 181 ; C. 69). 

 d. § (V. 181 ; C. 56). Trevandrura, Travan- H. S. Ferguson, Esq. 



core. [P.]. 



e-t. cJ (V. 194 ; C. 75) & Anamallays, 4700 ft. Col. Beddome [C.]. 

 hgr. (V. 190, 199, 189, 

 190: C. 70, 71, 69, 68). 

 k l-m $ (V. 185 ; C. 64) Anamallays. Col. Beddome [C.J. 



'&hgr. (V. 190, 200; C. 



72 71). 

 n-p ' 2 (V 201 ; 0. 69) & Coonoor, Nilgherries, Col. Beddome [C.]. 



hgr. (V. 190, 196 ; C. 76, 5900 ft. 



67). 

 y-r. Hgr. (V. 202, 189 ; C. Malabar. Col. Beddome [C.]. 



s-t Hgr ' (V 186 ; 0. 72) Matheran, Bombay. Dr. Leith [P.]. 

 &yg (V. 175; 0.74). 



* Out of 19 specimens examined, 14 have all the subcaudals paired ; three 

 (5, d, g) have them in part single (50 j^ 1 ; 4 j| 1 ; j 44 jj) ; and two {a, c) 

 have them all single. Ool. Beddome mentions another specimen with 



38 1 1. 



2a2 



