416 COLUBEIBa;. 



Snout moderately long, pointed ; rostral with a trace of a short 

 lateral cleft ; internasals forming a short median suture ; a single 

 praefrontal, twice and a half as broad as long ; frontal nearly as long 

 as its distance from the end of the snout, slightly shorter than the 

 parietals ; frontal anteriorly nearly twice the] greatest width of the 

 supraoculars ; two loreals, anterior largest ; three prseoculars, upper 

 largest and in contact with the frontal ; a subocular ; two or three 

 postoculars ; temporals 2 + 3 (or 1+3); seven upper labials, none 

 in contact with the eye ; four lower labials in contact with the 

 anterior chin-shields ; posterior chin-shields smaller than the anterior 

 and separated from each other by two series of scales. Scales 

 smooth, in 19 rows. Ventrals 174-180 ; anal divided or entire; 

 subeaudals 44-46. Upper parts pale buff, with brown, black-edged 

 symmetrical markings ; an anchor-shaped marking on the head, the 

 cresoentic portion extending from one angle of the mouth to the 

 other, passing through the eyes and crossing the frontal and prae- 

 frontal ; the longitudinal branch expands in a large spot on the 

 middle of the parietals and bifurcates on the nape ; large transverse 

 spots disposed at regular intervals on the body and tail, and alter- 

 nating with smaller ones on the flanks ; lower parts uniform white. 



Total length 425 millim. ; tail 70. 



Afghanistan and Transcaspia. 



a-h. 6 (V. 174, 174 ; Chinkilok, Afghanistan. Dr. J. Aitchison [C.]. 

 C. 46, ?). Afghan Boundary 



Comm. (Types). 



3. Lytorhynchus paradoxus. 



Acontiophis paradoxa, Giinth. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1875, p. 232, fig. ; 



Murray, Ann. ^ Mag. N. H. (5) xiv. 1884, p. 110. 

 Lytorhynchus paradoxus, Boulertg. Faun. Ind., Kept. p. 323, fig. 



(1890). 



Snout long and acutely pointed ; rostral with a lateral cleft ; 

 suture between the internasals shorter than that between the prae- 

 frontals and shorter than the upper part of the rostral ; frontal as 

 broad as long, nearly as long as its distance from the end of the 

 snout, as long as the parietals ; supraocular narrow ; a small loreal; 

 three praeoculars ; two postoculars ; temporals 2 + 2 or 2 + 3 ; eight 

 upper labials, fifth entering the eye ; four lower labials in contact 

 with the anterior chin-shields, which are shorter but much broader 

 than the posterior. Scales smooth, in 19 rows, Ventrals 169- 

 175 ; anal divided ; subeaudals 40-53. Cream-colour above, with 

 a dorsal series of transverse brown spots and a less distinct lateral 

 series of smaller spots on each side; a large rhomboidal brown 

 spot on the back of the head, and a brown streak behind the eye ; 

 lower parts white. 



Total length 370 millim. ; tail 60. 



Sind. 



a. cf (V. 169;C. 40). N.India. T. C. Jerdon, Esq. [P.]. 



(Type.) 

 h. 2 (V. 175 ; 0. 53). Zangipur, Sind. J. A. Murray, Esq. [P.]. 



