432 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



(/) A^ariety longiceps (Gnnther). With dorsal bars, 

 broader than the interspaces, and no costal spots. 

 Temj^ioralis (Blanl'ord) I also place with this. It is 

 uncommon. I have seen specimens from Bombay 

 and Karachi. 

 (0) Body banded anteriorly, barred posteriorly. 



This form is intermediate between A and B. Such 

 a specimen was sent by Dr. Henderson to the British 

 Miisenm from ^ladras. 



Habits.— As one would expect from its conformation, it is 

 strong and active. It swims with vigour, and from its large 

 size might prove a very disagreeable foe to encounter in the water. 

 An amusing account of the capture of a giant specimen appeared 

 in this Journal in 1913 (A^ol. XXIl, p. 403) over the signa- 

 ture of Mr. Stone, the Chief Officer of the P. and 0. Steamer 

 Arcadia. 



Food. — I have lately had several specimens and submitted the 

 curious elongate fish whicli they had fed upon to Dr. Henderson 

 for identification. These fish were eel-like in conformation, 

 and were pronounced the young of a mur^nid, either Ophichthys 

 horo (Han. : buch :) or 0. orientalis (McClelland). 



Breeding. — For the only domestic occurrence known to me I am 

 indebted to Dr. Henderson. On the 1st June 1910a large gravid $ 

 was caught in Madras, and submitted to me with its unborn 

 brood of 14 for my examination. The brood in an advanced stage 

 of development included 10 males and 4 females. The males 

 (with genitals extruded) measured 10-^ to IH inches, and the 

 females lOf to 11^ inches. 



Length. — The young are probably about 15 inches long at 

 birth, judging from specimens of this length in which the 

 xmibihcus is open. Adults usually range between 4^ and 5-| 

 feet, and specimens over feet occur, but are unusual. Dr. 

 Henderson's gravid $ alluded to above measured 8 feet 3 inches. 

 Mr. Stone's specimen from Penang to which a reference has 

 been made, was 9 feet in life and the skin when I measured 

 it had shrunk to 8 feet 9 inches. This is much the largest 

 sea-snake I have ever heard of, and such a monster might 

 very easily have been the foundation for the story of " the 

 sea-snake," now I suppose universally discredited. A snake 

 always appears to be a great deal longer than actual measure- 

 ment reveals. Only lately Dr. Henderson showed me a pj^thon's 

 skin in the Madras Museum. A friend knowled gable in snake 

 matters was asked to compute its length as the snake lay alive in 

 the vivarium, and estimated it at about 26 feet. When dead it 

 proved to be IG feet. 



