SERPENTS. 



387 



known as the c-hittul, and is characterized by having the scales faintly keeled, the ven- 

 trals l)io:i<], and the terminal scale of moderate size. Its color is greenish olive above, 

 shading into yellow below, and decorated with from fifty to seventy-five black cross- 

 bars, which in young specimens surround tlie body, though the adults generally have 

 the vi'iitral portions obsolete. It is (^ne of the most connnon sea-snakes, being found 

 south and east of Asia, and among the islands of the archipelago. It reaches a 



Fig. '223. — Jli/i/rojihi.'i ajanocincta, cbittul, sea-suake. 



length of six feet. II. stokesii is also a large form, an old female having been known 

 to reach the length of si.Kty-one inches, and a height of four and a half. It is an 

 abiuidant snake on the northern shores of Australia, though its more e.vtended distri- 

 bution is uncertain. The adults are of a uniform grayish color, shading into white 

 below. II. rohusta is a form which has caused considerable confusion among nat\iral- 

 ists. It is large, ornamented with as many as thirty-live black rings, and is found in 

 the -waters at the south of India, as well as among the islands of the archipelago. 



The eyed sea-snake is a beautiful animal inhabiting the Australian seas ; it is known 



