44 MEMOIES OF THE QVEEXSLAXD MT'SEVM. 



Fore part of the body small and circular, about 16 mm. in diain. ; posterior 

 part tlattened, its vertical diameter being fully three times that of the neck. 

 Rostral slightly bi-oader than deep; nasals a little shorter than the frontal, 

 nearly three times as long as the suture between the prefrontals; frontal sub- 

 hexagonal, shorter than parietals, longer than broad, a little longer than its 

 distance from the rostral ; one pre- and two postoeulars ; one large anterior 

 temporal, followed by a second. Seven upper labials, second largest, third and 

 fourth entering eye. Two pairs of sube(jual chin-shields, the second being only 

 in contact anteriorly ; 27 scales round the neck, 44 round the body ; scales 

 slightly imbricate. They are prominently keeled on the posterior part of the 

 body where the ventral scales are also feebly marked with two keels, but the 

 eariuation entirely disappears ou the neck. Ventrals 880, distinct throughout, 

 though a little irregular in places. There are two pairs and 46 single subcaudal 

 scales between the anal region and the large terminal shield. 



The head, bod.\\ and tail are of a dirty whitish colour, with yellowish 

 tinges. On the dorsal surface there are 48 large rhomboidal spots, pale slate 

 on the body but .somewhat greenish near the head ; these alternate with a series 

 of smaller lateral spots, w-hich are less distinct anteriorly. There are no special 

 colour patterns on the head. A series of black spots on the ventral scales forms 

 a well-marked interrupted black line on the anterior half of the body. 



Total length 1.490 mm. ; tail V20. Reg. No. Q.M.J. 17/2878. 



The wiitiT believes that the variations here noted in the mother and 

 offspring, although of considerable interest, are but an indication to the far 

 greater variation M'ithin the entourage of a llydrid species. 



l'"<ill(j\\ing othei' workers, we have examined the teeth of certain specimens 

 of IJijdropliis, and these show under magnifii-ation traces of the grooves which 

 were once thought to be distinctive of Dislcira and which are certainly much 

 more obvious in .some species than in others. J. -Van Denburgh and J. C. 

 Thompson have .set out the evidence on this point."" As the distinction between 

 these genera .seems to bi'eak down, we have preferred to call the snakes actually 

 under review Disteira elegans. In llie larger number of tlie body scales, these 

 specimens agree with Boulenger's Disteira grandis.-^ In his monograph of the Sea 

 Snakes, AVall-'- has interpreted the range of Shaw's Sjiiralis so as to iiu'lude some 

 half-a-dozen others since described. Should this altitude be adopted, and there 

 are many reasons for so doing, certain of the (iueen.sland Museum specimens now 

 named as Disteira rlegan.s should be designated as spirnlis. liOiniberg and 

 Andensson's Disteira mjiilirrfjr'^ woul<1 also come near to spiralis in the broJ^dcr 

 sense. I'robahly many of the difliculties in this group would be best solved by 

 using trinomials. 



" Proc. Cilifoinia Acad. Sci., iii, p. 41, 190ji. 



" Brit, MuFi. Catalogue, iii, p. 293. 



" Mem. Af^iatic Soc. Ifotigul, vol. 2, No. 8, lltd!). 



" Vet. Ak. iriUKll., Str.cklioliii, r>2. No. :!, p. I :i, l!)i:!. 



