208 Indian and Malayan Amphibia and Reptilia. [No. 3, 



the ventrals mostly tinged or finely checkered with dark grey. The 

 snake is considered by the natives to be poisonous, though of course 

 without any reason. When placed on the ground it moves without 

 difficulty and, as Dr. Cantor says, does " not offer to bite," but 

 when excited it is very fierce, attacking everything that comes near. 

 Having been assured by the natives of the dangerous bite of this 

 snake, I took, on leaving Amherst, two live specimens in my boat, for 

 the purpose of making some experiments during a prolonged row up 

 the river, in order to see whether the bite would have any effect 

 upon fish or fowl, but my men got so alarmed that I had to kill the 

 snakes. There is, however, no doubt that the species is harmless. 



Cantoria, G i r a r d, (G ii n t h e r, 1. cit. p. 277). 



E. D. Cope (Proc. Acad. N. S. Phil., 1866, p. 312,) first ob- 

 served that Hydrodipsas, Peters, is identical with Cantoria, an 

 opinion which is also endorsed by Eeinhardt, and a compa- 

 rison ofPeters' figure in Monathsb. Berlin Akad., 1859, p. 270, 

 fig. 1, leaves no doubt about it ; the Bornean species Hydrodipsas 

 elapiformis, Peters, also appears to be the same as Cant, ehnyata, 

 in which case, however, the former specific name will have the 

 priority. 



67. Cantoria Dayana, n. sp., PL XI, Fig. 5. 



Body long, slender, subcyli ndrical, head not distinct from neck* 

 obtusely rounded in front. Scales smooth, elongately hexagonal' 

 in 19 series, ventrals 268, anal bifid, subcaudals 56, in two rows. 

 Kostral pentagonal, broad, deeply indented below, very narrow 

 above, with concave sides ; anterior frontal almost linear, in contact 

 with the rostral, little widening posteriorly, separating the two large 

 elongately quadrangular nasals, and scarcely longer than these ; pos- 

 terior frontals two, each irregularly hexagonal, forming a short su- 

 ture, and being in contact with the anterior frontal, the nasal, loreal, 

 pre- and supra-oculars ; vertical large six sided, with an obtuse 

 angle in front, with very slightly converging sides, posteriorly form- 

 ing almost a rectangle ; occipital considerably longer than vertical, 

 obtuse and slightly diverging posteriorly ; supraciliaries moderate. 

 Five high upper labials, the suture of the third and fourth is be- 

 low the eye, but none enters the orbit ; loreal squarish a little 



