THE POISONOUS SNAKES OP INDIA. 19 



Colour. — Uniform black above. Belly white with more or less 

 dark mottling at the base of the posterior ventrals and subcaudals. 



BUNGARUS CEYLONICUS.-The Ceylon Krait or Karawala. 



Identification. — The bands are complete. It is the common 

 Krait of Geylon. 



Supplementanj characters. — The vertebral row is unusually large, 

 the breadth of the scales considerably exceeds the length, and in 

 this respect it almost compares with B. fasciatus. 



Distribution. — Peculiar to Ceylon. 



Poison. — The only cases of bites from this snake known to me are 

 reported by Mr. B. E. Green (Spol. Zeylan. April 1908, p. 103) 

 and Dr. Willey (Spol. Zeylan. April 1906, p. 228). In the former 

 record a cooly was bitten in the left foot at 4 a. m. At 5-30 a. m. he 

 was sleepy and drowsiness increased till 10 a. m. When dosed 

 with whisky shortly afterwards swallowing was difficult and vomit- 

 ing ensued. He wa;lked about till his legs refused to move. At 

 2 p. m. he was feverish and insensible and he died at 4 p. m. 



In Dr. Willey's case a Malay woman bitten in Colombo succumb- 

 ed within 12 hours. 



Dimensions.- — Grows to 3 feet and over. 



Colour. — Glistening black with white cross bars. Belly white 

 banded blackish. Young, with head white, spotted black. 



BUNGARUS C/ERULEUS.-The Common Krait. 



(Synonym — B. arcuatus). 



The " Karait " and " Dhomum chitti " or " chitti " of Bengal: 

 " Valla pamboo " of Malabar. " Katto virian " and " Anali " of 

 Madras. The " Godi nagera " of Mysore according to Rice, and 

 the " Gedi paragoodoo " and "Paktapoola" of the Coromandel 

 Coast (Eussell). " Kowriya" or " Chit kowriya" are names given 

 in the Punjab (Major 0. A. Smith), and "Kandor" in Bengal 

 about Kalna, so Mr. Muir tells me. 



* Gunther and other Authors have wrongly used this as the Singhalese name 

 for Ancistrodon hypnale. Ferguson, Willey, and others have, however, shown this 

 mistake- 



