382 OPHIDIA. 



black rhombic bands across the back, which become fainter with age, and finally disappear 

 entirely. 



This species is rather common in the Bay of Bengal and in the western parts of the Archi- 

 pelago, extending to the coast of New Guinea ; it attains rarely to a length of 4 feet, a new- 

 born individual measuring 10|^ inches. 



PELAMIS. 



Pelamis, sp., Baud. 



Head flat, with very long, spatulate snout ; neck rather stout ; body of 

 moderate length. Nasal shields contiguous, longer than broad, pierced by 

 the nostril posteriorly ; only one pair of frontals. Scales not imbricate, not 

 i)olished, tubercular or concave. Ventral shields none or very narrow. 

 Lower jaw without notch in front. 



Pelamis bicolor. 



Russell, i. p. 47. pi. 41. 



Hydrus bicolor, Schneid. Hist. Amph. p. 242. Cantor, Mai. Rept. p. 135. 



Pelamis bicolor, Baud. Rept. vii. p. 366. Gray, Viper. Snakes, p. 41. Fischer, Abhandl. Naturvj. 



Hamb. 1856, p. 61. 

 Hydrophis variegata, Schleg. Faun. Japon. tab. 8. 



pelamis, Schleg. Phys. Serp. ii. p. 508. pi. 18. figs. 13-15. 



Pelamis oruata, Gray, Viper. Snakes, p. 43. 



Two or three postorbitals. Neck surrounded by from forty-five to fifty-one longitudinal 

 series of scales. From 378 to 440 scales in a lateral longitudinal series between the angle 

 of the mouth and the vent *. Coloration variable. 



Var. a. The upper part of the head and the back are uniform black, the sides and belly 

 miiform brownish olive ; both colours are sharply defined, and sometimes separated by a 

 yellow band. Tail with large black spots. 



Var. (3. The black of the back and the brown of the sides are separated by a yellow band, 

 as in var. a, but there is another black lateral band, below the yellow one, broken up pos- 

 teriorly into a series of large round black spots. 



Var. y. The black band of the back is rather narrow, becomes sinuous on or behind the 

 middle of the length of the body, and is broken up posteriorly into a dorsal series of rhombic, 



* Numerous examples have a small spiny tubercle, or a series of two or three tubercles, on each scale of 

 the lower and lateral parts ; other specimens do not show any trace of these tubercles, but a more or less 

 distinct groove instead. I have never observed tubercular scales in young examples. 



