OCR Text |
Show 1871.] DR. J. ANDERSON ON INDIAN REPTILES. 187 is minutely marbled in the same way as in this species; and there is the black line behind the eye. I am strongly inclined to regard this as simply a rare variety of D. hexagonata; for, as I have already observed, the number of the scales on the body, the character of the head-shields, the number of the ventrals and caudals, correspond with this species. In other specimens of this Snake, when the scales are pulled aside, they are found to have the margins slightly edged with black ; and I believe that D. multifasciata is only an intensified variety of this character. The coloration of this species removes it from D. bubalina and D. trigonata. It appears to be a very common species on the hill-sides about Darjeeling, at elevations of 3500 to 4000 feet. It occurs also in Bengal, whence Blyth obtained his type, and extends also to the Andamans. DIPSAS FORSTENI, D. & B.; Gthr. 1. c. p. 309. I have received three specimens of this species from Gwindpur, Maunbhoom, and Doomercoonda, iu Bengal ; and a variety of this Snake was procured by me in Ceylon, in a densely wooded part of the island, about twenty miles to the east of Galle. The Bengal specimens agree in every particular with Giinther's description, even to the splitting of the third labial. Ventrals 259 ; subcaudals 112. The largest specimen is much decayed in the posterior half of the body, so that I cannot count the ventral or sub-caudal shields. It measures in total len°-th 45 inches 6 lines. The Ceylon specimen, which measures 35 inches in length, of which the tail is 6 inches 6 lines, is distinguished from the continental specimens by the brighter colouring of the head, especially in the greater intensity of the occipital and postocular bands, the former of which has a marked yellow margin, and the latter a line of the same colour from above the eye along its upper edge. All the labials, too, have black margins. The ventrals, besides the lateral spots, have their margins spotted with brown, and are finely punctulated with the same colour on the posterior six-eighths of the trunk. The subcaudals are finely margined with brown. With the exception of these differences, it agrees in every other particular with true D. forsteni. It has 270 ventrals and 107 subcaudals. It maybe indicated as D. forsteni, D. & B., var. ceylonensis. LYCODON STRIATUS, Shaw ; Gthr. I. c. p. 318. I have two specimens of this Snake-one from Agra, the other from Lahore. The occipitals in both specimens are the length of the vertical, and one-half that of the postfrontals. With that exception, and that the Lahore specimen has 190 ventrals, they present no other variations in the shields or scales. Lahore :-Body 13^-, tail 2-| inches ; ventrals 190, caudals 49. Ao-ra :-Body 10^, tail 2 | inches ; ventrals 171, caudals 59. |