200 MAJOR F. WAULL, I.M.S., C.M.Z.S. 
Hydrophis cantoris, Boulgr. in Blanford, Fauna Ind. Rept. and Batrach., 1890, p. 405. 
Sclater, List Snakes Ind. Mus., 1891,p.64. (Except No. 8232). 
Boulgr. Cat. Brit. Mus., 18096, iii, p. 281, and pl. xiv. 
re Wall in Mem. As. Soc. Bengal, 1go6, p. 284. 
5 fasciatus, Sclater, loc. cit., p. 63, No. 8258. 
Distira gillespie, Boulgr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xii, p. 642, and plate. 
Wall in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xv, p. 723 and fig. 
Wall, loc. ctt., Xvi, p. 311. 
” ” 
”) be} 
) 9) 
”’ V5) 
A B Cc 
Fig, 12.—Distira gillespie. After Boulenger. 
This species is poorly represented in the British Museum, where there are but five 
examples. These, however, include the type obtained by Cantor in Penang. I have 
examined in all 22 specimens exclusive of the type of Mr. Boulenger’s Distiva 
gillespie! which I consider identical. 
Distira gillespie (Boulenger).—This is known from a single large specimen from 
Karachi. Mr. Boulenger finding grooves in the post-maxillary teeth, placed it with 
his genus Distiva, and made it a new species. I find, however, that typical specimens 
of cantoris have grooves in these teeth contrary to Mr. Boulenger’s belief, and in the 
enormous specimen of canforis presented by Rogers to the British Museum since the 
publication of Mr. Boulenger’s catalogue, they can be seen with the naked eye. 
Cantoris is an extremely well differentiated member of the family, and marked off 
from al! the other species of this genus by one feature peculiar to itself, vzz., the contact 
of the prefrontal with the third labial. Added to this it presents a combination of 
characters which it shares with gracilis alone, viz., the shape of the commissure of the 
mouth, the great length of the rostral, the contact of only two scales behind the fourth 
infralabial, and the peculiar divided condition of the posterior ventrals. All of these 
! Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xii, p. 642. 
