THE POISONOUS SNAKES OF INDIA. 15 



BUNGARUS LIVIDUS.-The Lesser Black Krait. 



Identification. — Its uniform black colour taken with the slight 

 enlargement of the vertebral row in which the scales are longer 

 than broad at midbody make its identity easy. Both ventrals and 

 subcaudals are fewer than in niger. 



Distribution. — A rare snake. Of 4 specimens in the British 

 Museum, 3 are from Assam, and 1 from India, the precise locality 

 of which is not noted. I have lately had 5 specimens from the 

 Jalpaiguri District and two from Tindharia, E. Himalayas (2,800 

 feet). Another mentioned by Sclater from Saidpur is probably 

 of this species, but I failed to find the specimen in the Indian 

 Museum. 



Poison. — Mr. A. E. Lloyd submitted for my identification a 

 specimen of this snake 3 feet 2 inches in leng-th that bit a cooly 

 woman below the ankle one night on his estate in Assam. She 

 succumbed after the lapse of some hours. 



Dimensions. — Somewhat uncertain owing to its confusion hither- 

 to with B. niger. The largest of 1 2 I have seen is 3 feet and 5 

 inches. 



Colour. — Uniform black above, white below with more or less 

 dark mottling at the base of the ventrals and subcaudals. 



BUNGARUS FASCIATUS.-The Banded Krait. 



The " Eaj Samp " and " Sankni " of Bengal. Payrer * says it is 

 called " Koclea Krait " in the North-West. I presume he means 

 N.-W. Bengal, for it does not exist in N.-W. India. According 

 to Russell it is called " Bungarum pamah " on the Coromandel 

 Coast. In Burmah it is known as " Gnandawja," "Ngan-wa," 

 " Ngan-than-kwin-syut," " Nat-mywe," and "Mywe-min." 



Identification. — The alternate bands of yellow and black are 

 sufficiently distinctive. The one snake which bears some superfi- 

 cial resemblance to it is Lycodon fasciatus, a harmless snake known 

 from the Assam and Burmese Hills. This latter is much smaller, 

 the bands more numerous and their outlines very irregular unlike 

 the banded krait. Moreover, the scale characters mentioned as 

 peculiar to the kraits are all absent in the Lycodon. 



* Thanatophidia, p. 11. 



