64 
Zoological Miscellany. 
D. Tail with 2 series of shields beneath. Nostrils between 2 plates i Ab- 
dominal shields heeled on each side ; scales smooth. 
XIII. Bitia. Head small, crown shielded : frontal plate solitary, he-^ 
tween the two larger nasal plates; vertebral plate longitudinal, rather larger 
than the rather narrow superciliary shields : occipital plates trigonal, placed 
in pairs ; 1 triangular rather large loreal ; 1 high hand-like anterior and a 
larger inferior and small superior posterior ocular: front upper labial shields 
moderate, hinder very large : body elongate, slender, rather compressed : 
dorsal scales smooth : tail short, conical, subtrigonal, end compressed, sharp 
edged above : upper nasal scale the smallest. 
1 . Bitia hydroides. Lead-coloured in spirits, with broad blackish cross 
bands : head blackish ; throat and beneath whitish. 
Inhabits ? Brit. Mus. 
E. Tail with 2 series of shields beneath. Nostrils in centre of a large nasal 
shield.^ with a groove from their outer end to the outerside of the shield. Ven- 
tral shields rounded (not keeled). Frontal shields 3, small; anterior one 
sometimes divided ; I anterior and 2 posterior oculars. 
a. Scales keeled, when nearly dry, or minutely longitudinally grooved. / 
* Hinder upper labial plates divided. 
XIV. Cerberus, Cuv. Head dilated behind, shielded to the eyes: an- 
terior frontal divided ; superciliary small ; no vertical nor occipital : upper 
labial shields large, 2 or 3 hinder divided : loreal small : 1 or 2 small shields 
under the eyes : body elongate, round ; tail conical : scales all keeled. 
1. Cerberus cinereus. Col. cinereus, Daud. Hydrus cinereus, Shaw. 
C. Rhyncops, Schn. Enhydris Rhyncops, Latr. Python Rhyncops, Mer- 
rem ; all from Russ. Ind. Serp. t. 17. Cerberus Russellii, Cuv. Flaps 
boceformis, and Boa moluroides, Schn. Col. Schneiderii. Hurria Schnei- 
deriana, Daud. Python Molurus and P. elapsiformis, Merrem. Homal. 
Schneiderii, Schlegel, 341 , t. 13, fig. 6, 7. Young brown, with rather close, 
narrow, black cross bands : lips and throat white, black-spotted, sides 
white : belly black, yellow mottled ; tail blackish, sides slightly pale spot- 
ted : Dr. Russell’s figure of the head-scales is not quite exact ; the super- 
ciliary shields are not divided as in the figure. 
Inhabits India. Brit. Mus. ; from Dr. Russel and Gen. Hardwicke. 
XV. Homalopsis, Kuhl. Head dilated behind, shielded; anterior fron- 
tal (sometimes divided into 2) triangular ; vertebral, superciliary and occi- 
pitals moderate : loreal elongate (or 2 short), with 1 or 2 small plates under 
the eyes : the labial shields behind the eye divided : body thick, fusiform : 
scales keeled : tail elongate. 
* Hinder lateral scales simple : inferior oculars 2 : scales in 37 or 39 rows. 
1. Homalopsis buccata, Schlegel, Phy. Serp. 337, t. 13, fig. 1 — 3 ; Rus- 
sel, Ind. Serp. ii. t. 33. Col. subalbidus, Gmel. Seba, ii. t. 23, fig. 3. Col. 
huccatus, Lin. Mus. Ad. t. 19, fig. 3. Col. viperinus, Shaw. Co/, horridus, 
Daud. Echidna semifasciata, Merrem. 
Var. 1. Anterior frontal plate divided into 2. Brit. Mus. 
Var. 2. Vertebral plates divided into 3 parts. Mus. Leyd. 
Inhabits India ; Java. Brit. Mus. 
