1870.] Indian and Malayan Amphibia and Reptilia. 135 



described from these islands, there appeared several doubtful 

 points to be settled. I was, therefore, most anxious to obtain as 

 large a material as was possible, and on two different occasions 

 despatched my collector to those islands. With the very kind 

 assistance of Capt. J. A v e r n, of the Steamer " Scotia," Capt. 

 Eundell, Assistant Superintendent of the Nicobars, Th. Ad. de 

 Eoepstorff, and Mr. Homfray, at the Andamans, I have 

 not only procured nearly all the species which had been already 

 recorded as occurring on these islands, and several others previously 

 known from India, Burma, Penang and Java, but also a few as yet 

 undescribed forms. It was to be expected that the Amphibien and 

 and Eeptilien fauna of the Andamans and Nicobars will shew a 

 great similarity to each other ; several species of lizards and snakes 

 are common to both, and the whole fauna greatly resembles the 

 Malayan, gradually passing into the Burmese fauna, both being in 

 a great many points very closely related to each other. The detailed 

 lists of species known to occur on the islands will exhibit this more 

 clearly. They will not only shew the distribution of some of our com- 

 mon Burmese and Indian species, but at the same time indicate the 

 peculiarity of each of the small geographical provinces alluded to. 



The number of Amphibia as yet known is very small, and there 

 cannot be the least doubt that many more species of frogs will yet 

 be discovered on both the Andamans and Nicobars ; tree-frogs 

 especially ought to be numerous in the damp jungles of the 

 Andaman and South Nicobar islands. Of Lacertilia there are 

 several peculiar species, and the genera mostly agree with Malayan 

 forms, such as Tiaris, Ptychozoon, Cyrtodactylus, P/ielsuma, Peripia, 

 Bronchocele, and others ; a few more are of Indian and Burmese 

 type. Among the Ophidia, the genera are more generally distri- 

 buted all over India, such as Python, Dendrophys, Gonyosoma, Comp- 

 sosoma, Tropidonotus, Ptyas, Ablabes, &c. Most of the species from 

 the islands belonging to these genera are also found in Burma, 

 in the Malayan peninsula, and the neighbouring Philippine islands. 

 One of the most marked features in the Reptilian fauna of the Nico- 

 bars and Andamans consists in* the great number of Trimeresurus ; 

 particularly at the Nicobars, where the jungle appears to swarm 



* HydropMdce, or the poisonous water-snakes, appear to be comparatively 

 rare, they prefer sandy shores to those surrounded by coral reefs. 



