380 HOMALOPSlDiE. 



Head rather narrow ; body and tail of moderate length. Scales in 

 19 rows. Ventrals 125-161. Sub-caudals 50-79. Anterior frontals 

 pointed in front. Occipitals rounded behind, not much larger than 

 vertical. One prse-ocular extending to the upper surface of the crown; 

 three, rarely four, post-oculars. Loreal square. Eight upper labials, the 

 third, fourth and fifth entering the orbit; the third and fourth are 

 sometimes united into one shield. Temporals large, 1+1. Colour 

 greenish or brownish olive, with numerous reticulated cross bars, 

 intersected by two yellow or white longitudinal dorsal bands. Lower 

 parts white. Head brown above, the shields more or less distinctly 

 edged with black. Prae-ocular and post-ocular white, the former with a 

 black anterior margin. The suture between the 5th, 6th, 7th and 

 8th upper labials black. Seasonally the head, neck, and sides are 

 yellowj diffused with vermilion. 



Hah. — Sind and throughout India. Like the last inhabits pools, &c., 

 and feeds on fishes. Attains to a length of 26 inches. 



Tropidonotus pliimbicolor, Cantor, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1839, 

 p. 54. Xenodon viridis, D. et B. vii. p. 763 ; Ounth. Eep. Br. Ind. 

 p. 272; Theoh. Cat. Rep. Brit. Ind. p. 179. 



Form stout. Scales in 25 rows, sometimes in 23 or 27. Ventrals 

 160-161. Sub-caudals 42. Prse-frontals more than half the size of 

 post-frontals. Two prse and three post-oculars ; seven upper labials, the 

 third and the fourth entering the orbit. Temporals 2+3. Vertical 

 five-sided. Occipital not twice as large as vertical. The pree-orbital 

 scarcely reaches the upper surface of the head. 



Colour dirty greenish. In the young a broad white or yellow collar, 

 pointed in front and forked behind, with a similar black band in front. 

 An oblique black streak behind the eye. Trunk with ten or eleven 

 narrow cross bars. Sides of the throat black dotted. Belly more or 

 less blackish. 



Hah. — Sind, Northern, Southern, Western and Central India ; through- 

 out Bengal and Ceylon. Attains to a length of 25 inches. Tail 

 3 inches. 



Family, HOMALOPSID^. 



Febshwater Snakes. 



Body of moderate length, cylindrical or slightly compressed. Head 

 rather thick and broad, not very distinct from neck. Tail strong, 

 tapering, more or less prehensile and compressed. Scales sub-equal, not 

 much imbricate. Anal bifid. Sub-caudals two-rowed. Eyes small. 

 Nostrils situated anteriorly on the upper surface of the head, valvular. 

 Anterior frontals small. A grooved fang at the hinder extremity of 

 the maxillary bone. 



Habits thoroughly aquatic. Several species enter the sea and have 

 a distinctly prehensile tail. All are viviparous. Of the five genera- 

 composed in this family one genus only is found in Sind, 



