1847.] Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 947 



Iridescent dark greenish-or brownish-olive above ; the scales edged 

 with black ; in some two parallel light greyish lines from between the 

 eyes to the tip of the tail ; the lower half of the sides pale greenish or 

 brownish-grey; lips and throat white, edged and dotted with black. 

 Abdominal surface white or burl, with a greenish or brownish line on 

 each side, and a black central line dividing the scuta and scutella. 

 Iris greyish or pale olive ; pupil circular ; tongue whitish. 



Young : with lighter and more strongly iridescent colours than the 

 adult. 



Scuta 1 18 to 167 ; Scutella 53 to 71. 

 Habit. — Malayan Peninsula and Islands. 



Java, Tenasserim, Bengal, Coromandel. 



The head is small, ovate, scarcely distinct ; the nostrils are hemi- 

 spherical, with a slit towards the external margin of the shield ; the 

 single anterior frontal is small, rhomboidal, much broader than long ; 

 the eye is rather large, prominent, lateral and surrounded by two 

 rather broad post-orbitals, one or two narrow pree-orbitals, and beneath 

 by the fourth upper labial ; the frenal is small, rhombic. The external 

 margins of the occipitals are bordered by three elongated shields, and 

 each temple by five similar. The eight upper labials are larger than 

 the ten lower. The chin is covered by two central pairs of elongated 

 shields, between which and the labials is, on each side, a single very 

 elongated shield. The mouth is small, the teeth minute, numerous 

 and equal, except the last tooth of the upper jaw, which is longer than 

 the rest and furrowed. The trunk is very robust, broadly depressed ; 

 the sides obliquely compressed, and the abdomen very narrow, flatten- 

 ed. The scales are broad rhomboidal with rounded points, slightly 

 imbricate, and disposed on the anterior part in 25, in the middle in 

 21, and near the tail in 19 longitudinal series. The tail is very slen- 

 der, somewhat compressed, tapering and prehensile. The largest indi- 

 vidual was of the following dimensions : — 



Length of the head, ft. 1 inch. 



Ditto ditto trunk, 1 5| 



Ditto ditto tail, 5| 



2 ft. 

 Circumference of the neck, 1|, of the trunk, 2f, of the root of the 

 tail, { inch. 



6 G 



