18 SNAKES OF CEYLON, 



Loreal : Absent. Prseoculars : Absent. Postoculars : One. 

 Temporals : One. Supralabials : Six ; the 3rd and 4th 

 touching the eye. Sublinguals : Two pairs. Infralahials : 

 Three. 



Costals : Broader than long ; broadly-rounded posteriorly ; 

 reotif orm ; smooth. Vertebrals not enlarged. Last four rows 

 subequal and broader than the rest. Ultimate row about 

 four-fifths the breadth of the ventrals. In 19 or 21 rows at 

 midbody. Ventrals : Feebly enlarged. Anal : Divided ; one 

 and a half times the breadth of the ventrals. Subcaudals : 

 Divided or some entire ; numbering from 4 to 10. 



Dentition. — Maxillary : Anododont, feebly kumatodont. 

 Palatine : Anododont, feebly kumatodont. Pterygoid : Ano- 

 dodont, scaphiodont. Mandibular : Anododont, kumato- 

 dont. 



Distribution. — Ceylon, Burma, Indo-China, Malay Penin- 

 sula, and Archipelago to Celebes. Tliere are three species 

 only, one of which occurs in Ceylon, viz., maculatus. 



Cylindrophis maculatus (Linne). 

 (Latin " maculatus " spotted.) 



Linne' s Cylindrophis {or Earth Snake). 



Singhalese : " Depat-naya " (two-headed snake). 



Synonymy. — Anguis maculata, A. decussata, Tortrix 

 maculatus, Ilysia maculata. 



History, — Described and christened by Carl Linne as far 

 back as 1754. 



General Characters. — A small snake growing to about 

 2| feet. Head broad, but not so broad as the body, depressed ; 

 wedge-shaped seen in profile. Snout moderate in length, 

 broadly rounded terminally ; without canthus. Eye very 

 small with a vertically elliptic pupil. Nostril small, round, 

 directed upwards ; situated on the outer side of the nasal shield. 

 Cliin with a mental groove. Neck stout, not constricted. 

 Body very stout ; cylindrical ; moderately elongate. Belly 

 rounded. Tail very short, conical, ending in a subacute point. 



