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Fig. 31.—Ancistrodon hypnale.

(The Carawalla of Ceylon.) (After Sir Joseph Fayrer.)

Coloration brown, with black spots or transverse bands; black, light-edged band from the eye to the angle of the mouth; belly dark brown, or more or less whitish.

Total length, 590 millimetres; tail 90.

Habitat: Himalayas (5,000 to 10,000 feet), especially in the North-west; Khasi Hills.

This snake feeds chiefly on mice.

A. rhodostoma.—Snout pointed, somewhat turned up at the tip: 7–9 supralabial shields; body scales in 21 rows; 138–157 ventrals; 34–54 subcaudal pairs.

Coloration reddish, grey, or pale brown above, with large angular, dark brown, black-edged spots arranged in pairs or alternating. Vertebral line almost black; lips yellow, speckled with brown; brown, black-edged band, running from the eye to the angle of the mouth. Belly yellowish, spotted with greyish-brown.

Total length, 810 millimetres; tail 90.

Habitat: Java.

A. hypnale (fig. 31).—Snout more or less turned up, with a hard, pointed end; 7–8 supralabial shields; body scales in 17 rows; 125–155 ventrals; 28–45 subcaudal pairs.

Coloration very variable; brown, yellowish, or greyish above, sometimes with dark brown spots or transverse bands. Cheeks brown, with a longitudinal, white, black-edged streak on each side of the neck. Belly more or less speckled with dark brown.

Total length, 480 millimetres; tail 65.

Habitat: Ceylon, and Western Ghats of India as far north as Bombay.

In Ceylon this snake is known as the Carawalla. It is much dreaded, but its bite is not rapidly fatal.