18 THE POISONOUS SNAKES OF INDIA. 



Colour. — Black with 11 to 14 light bands on the body and 2 or 

 3 on the tail. These bands are white streaked with black lines in 

 the length of the snake. Belly quite white. 



BUNGARUS MULTICINCTUS-The Many Banded Krait 



Identification. — This species has more bands than any other krait. 



From ccerideus it is distinguished by the narrow 2nd supralabial, 

 its colour, and habitat, from candidus by colour, and habitat, and 

 from magnimaculatus by the fewer ventrals, colour, and habitat. 



JDistrihution. — Eare in Burmah. Evans and I obtained one from 

 Insein, another dubiously from Rangoon, and there is a specimen 

 in the British Museum from Toungoo. Two specimens in the 

 Indian Museum are labelled Purneah. Occurs also in the 

 Andamans, Southern China, Hainan, and Formosa. 



Poison. — Nothing known. 



Dimensions. — 3 feet 8 inches is the largest measurement I know. 



Colour. — Black with from 31 to 48 pure white bands on the 

 body, 11 to 13 on the tail. Belly white. 



BUNGARUS NIGER. -The Greater Black Krait. 



Identification. — Quite black or blue-black above, with the verte- 

 brals broader than long in the middle of the body. The ventrals 

 and subcaudals are more numerous than in lividus. 



Distribution. — I obtained seven specimens in Dibrugarh and one 

 from Sadiya, Assam, ana have lately received four from the Eastern 

 Himalayas, Tindharia 2,800 feet, and Pashok 2,000 to 4,500 feet, 

 Sibsagar and Garo Hills (Sclater.)* 



Poison. — Nothing known. 



Dimensions. — My largest specimen was 4 feet and half an inch. 



* Sclater (in the Jourl., Asiat. Soc., Bengal, Vol. LX., p. 2i6) mentions 3 specimens 

 under the title Bungarus lividm. He notes that two of these haye the vertebrals 

 broader than long-. These, I have examined- Those from Sibsagar and the Garo 

 Hills are B. niger- The third specimen from Saidpore (Dinapur District) is pro 

 bably the true lividus, but I failed to find it. 



