216 SNAKES OF CEYLON. 



Colouration. — Uniform bronze dorsally, with narrow, black, 

 oblique streaks anteriorly. A yellow line along the outer 

 row of costals from nape to Vent. Head bronze above 

 lips and chin yellow. A dark streak from the lore, and 

 behind the eye to the side of the body. Ventrum greenish- 

 yellow between the keels, bronze above the keels to the light 

 flank lines. 



Habits. — Nothing special known. 



Food. — I found a small frog in the stomach of one. 



Breeding. — My Travancore specimen was egg-bound, but 

 the date unfortunately was not recorded. It contained 

 five large eggs, but I could discover no trace of an embryo 

 within. The Mpeoien from this is almost certainly oviparous 

 in habit. 



Growth. — Boulenger says 1,030 mm. (3 feet 4 inches). My 

 Travancore specimen was 962 mm. (3 feet 1| inch), tail 

 368 mm. (14r| inches). 



Lepidosis. — (a) Typical. — Rostral : The rostro-nasal and 

 rostro-internasal sutures subequal. Internasals : The suture 

 between them little shorter than that between the prae- 

 frontals, subequal to the internaso-prsefrontals. Prasfrontals : 

 The suture between them longer than the prsefronto -frontal, 

 touching the internasal, postnasal, two loreals, prseocular, 

 and usually the supraocular. Frontal : The fronto-supra- 

 ocular sutures more than twice the fronto-parietals. Supra- 

 ocular: As long as the frontal, and about as broad along a line 

 connecting the centres of the eyes. Nasals: Divided. 

 Loreals: Two ; one anterior, one posterior ; taken together 

 they are longer than the nasals ; the anterior touches the 

 internasals usually. Prseocular : One, nearly touching the 

 frontal. Po.stocwiars.' Upper larger. Temporals: Anterior as 

 small as the postoculars, median and posterior longer, nearly 

 as long as the supraoculars. Supralabials : Nine ; 1st and 

 2nd touching the nasals, 5th and 6th the eye. Sublinguals : 

 The posterior touch the 5th and 6th infralabials. Infra- 

 labials : Six ; the sixth largest, shorter than the posterior 

 sublinguals, much broader than those .shields, touching two 

 scales behind. 



