SNAKES OF OBYLON. 215 



Lepidosis. — Rostral: Touches six shields. InUrnasals: Two. 

 Preefrovtals : Two. Frontal : Touches six shields. Nasals : 

 Divided. Loreals: None, one, or two. Prssoculars: One. 

 Postoculars : Two. Temporals : Two ; anterior Very small, 

 two median as long as the last labial, and two posterior as 

 long as the last labial. Swpralahials : Eight or nine ; two 

 or three touching the eye. Sublinguals : Two pairs, the 

 posterior subequal to, or longer than, the anterior. 



Gostals : At midbody. Longer than broad, smooth, with 

 single apical facets. Vertebral and ultimate rows enlarged, 

 rectiform, the intervening rows oblique. Vertebrals en- 

 larged ; originating in the neck by a gradual increase in 

 size, or by a confluence of 2 or 3 rows ; ending in the anal 

 region. Scale rows 13 or 15. Ultimate row enlarged. Ven- 

 trals : Strongly keeled laterally. Anal : Entire or divided. 

 Supracaudals : In even rows. Subcaudals: Divided; stronglj' 

 keeled laterally. 



Dentition. — Maxillary : Syncranterian, anododont, cory- 

 phodont. Palatine: Anododont, feebly kumatodont. Ptery- 

 goid : Anododont, isodont. Mandibular : Anododont, 

 kumatodont. 



Dendeophis bipbbnalis Boulenger. 



(Latin " bis " twice, " frenum " literally "a bit," refers 

 here to the loreal shield.) 



Boulenger's Bronze-back. 



Sinhalese : " haldanda " (Willey) (rice stick). 



Synonymy. — Dendrophis picta. 



History. — ^Described by Boulenger in 1890. It is nicely 

 figured in Plate IV. of the same author's Catalogue of Snakes, 

 1894, Vol. II. 



General Characters. — As detailed under the genus. The 

 tail is about one-third the total length. 



Identification. — The costals numbering 15, except behind 

 where they drop to 11 or 9, the keeled character of the ven- 

 trals, and the twin loreals taken together, denote this species 

 among Ceylon snakes. 



