4 NILS GYLDEXSTOLPE, THE SWEDISH ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITIONS TO SIAM. 1. SNAKES. 



vast rice-fields and great swamps and on account of this together with the number 

 of traversing rivers and canals this district is a verv good collecting ground for dif- 

 ferent kinds of snakes especiallv water-snakes which abound. Even the deadly cobra 

 (Naia naia L.) and the hamadryad [Naia bungarus Schleg.) are not uncommon, 

 though the latter is more common in sonie other parts of the country. The Python 

 {Pilthon reticulatus Schneid.) has even several times been found in the houses and 

 gardens in the middle of the city. 



Tha Laiv is a small village a few kilometres south of Pitsanulok, the largest 

 town of Central Siarn. The village which lies on the bank of a small tribut arv to 

 the Menam is surrounded on every side by big swamps and scattered bamboo-jungles. 



Ban Sakerat and Non Luum are both small villages a few days march south 

 of Korat in Eastern Siarn. The whole of Eastern Siarn consists of a shallow basin 

 surrounded by a circle of hills. The country is covered by a scanty vegetation and 

 large areas are onty saltmarshes, or covered with forests called »Dry laterite forests». 



Sriracha is a small fishing village on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Siarn a 

 few miles south-east of the mouth of the Menam river. Right opposite lies the great 

 island of Koh Si Chang. The village is situated not very far from the eastern great 

 evergreen forest belt and the neigbourhood is very rich in snakes and has always 

 turned out to be an excellent hunting ground both for sea-snakes which abound, and 

 other rare and interesting species. 



Petriu in the neighbourhood of which the rare Herpeton tentaculalum Lacép. 

 has been collected is situated almost due east from Bangkok and is connected with 

 the capital by a raihvay line of about 80 km. 



The first place vvhere I collected reptiles in Northern Siarn was Sop Tue, a 

 village situated just outside the old Laos- town Nakorn Lampang. This is a fairlv 

 important place and in a few years the northern railway will have reached the town. 

 Sop Tue itself lies on the right bank of the Me Wong river which is one of the 

 biggest tributaries to the Menam. It is a typical Siamese village surrounded by 

 rice-fields. 



From Sop Tue T went further north, stopping for some months at Koon Tan, 

 where a great tunnel is being built for the raihvay up to Chieng Mai. The Koon Tan 

 range is fairly high (about 2000 metres) and the summits of the hills are ilad with 

 pines. In the ravines, however, there are primeva] evergreen forests. 



The next collecting place was Chieng Mai thfl great Laos town, which is situated 

 on the banks of the Meping river on 18° 46' N. Iatitude and 99° 0' E. longitude. Quite 

 close to the town lies t hc great Ii ill Doi Sutep, the highest peak of which rises to 

 a height of almost 8000 feet above the sea. Chieng Mai itself lies about 800 feel 

 above the level of the sea. 



From Chieng Mai I went up to the North following the Meping river which 1 

 orossed south of Muang Ngay. I stopped for some time at the foot of Doi Par 

 Sakeng with its precipitous lime-stone cliffs, making a short trip halt' way up tho 

 Doi Vieng Pur, which probably ia one of the highest and wildesf mountains in Siani. 

 Then I crossed the mountain range and went up to Chieng Hat, a small town on 



