126 SNAKES OF CEYLON. 



below 2,800 feet. The difference in the altitude to which it 

 wanders in this, compared with the. western part of the same 

 mountain range, is certainly noteworthy. 



In the plains of Assam, out of 615 snakes collected, 1 in 

 every 4 was a stolaia, and in the Khasi Hills at Shillong 

 (4,900 feet) it was nearly as common, for among 264 snakes 

 collected, 1 in every 7 was this species. 



In Lower Burma, out of 615 snakes, mostly collected about 

 Rangoon, 1 in every 15 was a stolata. I have had a specimen 

 from Haka in the Chin Hills (6,500 feet). 



Genus MACROPISTHODON.* 



(Greek 'makros" large, " opisthe " behind, " odous " 

 tooth.) 



General Characters. — Small snakes, 3 feet or less. Head 

 subovate, snout short, with rounded canthus, and bluntly- 

 rounded extremity. Eye moderate, pupil round. Nostril 

 open, round, in the upper two-thirds of the suture between 

 the nasals. Neck evident. Body cylindrical, robust, attenuat- 

 ing from the middle in both directions. Belly rounded. 

 Tail short to moderate, from about one -ninth to four-ninths 

 the total length. 



* I question whether this genus is entitled to rank as distinct from 

 Amphiesma, on the characters of the maxillary dentition, upon which 

 it appears to be entirely based. The only difference I can find in the 

 figures in Boulenger's Catalogue (Vol. I., pp. 245 and 265) is that the 

 posterior maxillary teeth are relatively larger than in Amphiesma. 

 This may be true of some of the species of Amphiesma, but in others, 

 notably suhminiata and himalayana, the posterior maxillary teeth 

 are relatively as long or almost as long as in Macropisthodon plumbi- 

 color. I find good grovmds, however, in the lepidosis for separating 

 M. plumbicolor from Amphiesma and its nearest allied genera. 



