36 COLUBEID^. 



than long, much shorter than the prsefrontals ; frontal once and one 

 third to once and a half as long as hroad, as long as or a little 

 shorter than its distance from the end of the snout, shorter than the 

 parietals ; loreal longer than deep, often united with the prsefrontal ; 

 one large praeocular, rarely with a small suhocular helow it ; two 

 postoculars; temporals 2-|- 2 or 2 + 3; normallj- eight upper labials, 

 fourth and fifth entering the eye ; five lower labials in contact with 

 the anterior chin-shields, which are as long as the posterior or 

 a little longer. Scales in 23 rows, feebly keeled on the posterior 

 part of the body. Ventrals 233-246 ; anal divided ; subcaudals 

 79-90. Brownish olive above, most of the scales black-edged ; 

 young with blackish cross bands ; lower parts yellowish, the outer 

 part of the margin of each ventral shield blackish. 



Total length 600 millim. ; tail 230. 



Himalayas. 



a. 2 (V. 245; C. 90). Tsomoriri, Ladak. Messrs. v. Schagin-') o 



tweit [C.]. / S 



i-c. c? (V. 246; 0. 79) Nepal. B. PI. Hodgson, Esq. ( K 



& $ (V. 233 ; C. 88). [P.]. ) Z^ 



A $ (V. 234; C. 83). Darjeeling. W. T. Blanford, Esq. [P.]. 



8. Coluber helena. 



Mttssell, Ind. Serp. i. pi. xxxii. (1796). 



Coluber helena, Baud. Mept. vi. p. 277 (1803) ; Bouleng. Faun. Ind., 



Rept. p. 331 (1890). 

 Herpetodryas helena, Schleg. Phys. Serp. ii. p. 192 (1837). 

 Cynophis bistrigatus. Gray, Ann. ^ Mag. N. H. (2) iv. 1849, p. 246. 

 Piagiodon helena, Dvm. 8^ Bibr. vii. p. 170 (1864) ; Jan, Icon. Oen. 



20, pi. iv. fig. 1 (18G7). 

 Herpetodryas malabaricus, Jerdon, Journ. As. Soo. Beng. xxii. 1854, 



p. 630. 

 Cynophis helena, Ounth. Cat. p. 95 (1858) ; Cope, Proc. Ac. Philad. 



1860, p. 665 ; Oilnth. Sept. Brit. Ind. p. 247 (1864) ; Theob. Cat. 



Pept. Brit. Ind. p. 167 (1876) ; Blanf. Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xlviii. 



1879, p. 125 ; Murray, Zool. Sind, p. 376 (1883). 

 malabaricus, Ounth. Pept. Brit. Ind. p. 248, pi. xxi. fig. A ; 



Theob. I. c. p. 167. 

 malabaricus, var. carinata, F. Miill. Verh. nat. Ges. Basel, 



vi. 1878, p. 671. 



Eostral a little broader than deep, visible from above ; inter- 

 nasals broader than long, much shorter than the prsefrontals ; 

 frontal once and one third to once and three fourths as long as 

 broad, as long as its distance from the end of the snout, shorter than 

 the parietals ; loreal somewhat longer than deep ; one large prte- 

 ocular, sometimes in contact with the frontal ; two postoculars ; 

 temporals 2-|-2 or 2-1-3; nine (exceptionally ten or eleven) upper 

 labials, fifth and sixth (or fourth, fifth, and sixth) entering the eve ■ 

 five or six lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields 

 which are as long as or a little longer than the posterior. Scales in 

 23 to 27 rows, smooth, or feebly keeled on the posterior part of the 



