HYDROPHIS JERDONII. 
Dr. Anderson describes this species as follows :— 
“Head short, with the snout declivous and rather pointed ; body 
of moderate length. Frontal shields small, not much larger than pre- 
ocular ; one post-ocular ; five upper labial shields, the third and fourth 
of which enter the orbit, the last below the post-ocular ; two or three 
large temporals on the side of each occipital, the anterior of which enters 
the labial margin behind the fifth labial shield. Two pairs of chin- 
shields, in contact with one another. Scales imbricate, large, higher 
than long, with apex slightly truncated ; each scale with a strong keel ; 
they are disposed in fifteen or seventeen series round the neck, and in 
nineteen or twenty-one in the middle of the body. Ventral shields 
distinct, but not twice as large as the scales of the adjoining series, 
bituberculate 235-238 in number. Anal shields small ; terminal scale of 
the tail large. A series of seven simple teeth behind the grooved fang 
in front. Trunk with from thirty-four to thirty-eight black cross-bands, 
broadest on the back and extending to the belly in young and half- 
grown specimens.” 
