A MONOGRAPH OF THE SEA-SNAKES (HYDROPHIIN!). 241 
(1) Completely banded. ‘This is an unusual form seen generally in young 
specimens. Jerdon’s example in the British Museum from Madras affords a good 
illustration. Another such is No. 8277 in the Indian Museum from Puri. I have seen 
one other in the Bombay Society’s collection from Karwar. Some of the bands are 
frequently confluent vertebrally. 
It is analogous to var. (1) of ornata. 
A young specimen in the Indian Museum, No. 8274, is intermediate between 
this and the next form. It has dorsal bars anteriorly, and complete bands 
posteriorly. 
(2) Forma typica (Schmidt). With black dorsal bars, sometimes confluent 
vertebrally. This is one of the commonest forms, and very comparable to the forma 
typica of ornata. 
(3) Like the last but the bars modified into rhombs, the angles of which are 
very prone to vertebral confluence. It is one of the commonest varieties. I have 
seen specimens from Karachi, Malabar, and Swatow in South China. (‘The last in the 
City Hall Museum, Hong-Kong, No. 2, labelled Hydrus major). 
It is analogous to var. (3) of ornata. 
(4) gavakani (Boulenger). The whole dorsum black as from a confluence of the 
bars seen in forma typica. The band thus produced sharply defined costally. Two 
such examples are in the British Museum including the type which is from Muscat. 
The other is from the Indian Ocean. A similar specimen in the Indian Museum 
(No. 8276) is from Puri. A somewhat modified form is that from Bombay presented 
to the British Museum by Mr. Phipson in which very indistinct bars can be discerned 
across the dorsal band. This variety is analogous to variety phipsoni of cyanocincta, 
and imornata of ornata. 
(5) nigra (Anderson). ‘This is known from a unique example now in the British 
Museum, which is young and completely black. It should be considered a melanotic 
freak, but it is convenient to tabulate it here as a colour variety. It is from Puri. 
DISTIRA JERDONI (Gray). 
“« Shiddil, ’’ Russell, Ind. Serp., 1801, ii, pl. xii. 
? Hydrus nigrocinctus, Cantor, Cat. Malay Reft., 1847, p. 129, pl. xl, fig. 8 (nec 
Daudin, nec Jan). 
Kerilia jerdonii, Gray, Cat., 1849, p. 57. 
Hydrophis jerdonii, Ginther, Rept. Brit. Ind., 1864, p. 362, pl. xxv, fig. B. 
te “ Fayrer, Thanatoph. Ind., 1874, pl. xx. 
a. * Ewart, Poisonous Snakes Ind., 1878, pl. 14. 
Distira jerdonii, Boulgr. in Blanford, Fauna Brit. Ind. Rept. and Batrach., 18090, 
p. 408, and Cat. Brit. Mus., 1896, iii, p. 299. 
a3 a Sclater, List Snakes Ind. Mus., 1891, p. 65. 
at 2g Wall in Mem. As. Soc. Bengal, 1906, p. 293, and in Spol. 
Zeylan., August, 1907, p. 171. 
