1920.] Dr. Malcolm Smith : Sea Snakes. 29 



states that in 17 individuals examined by him, three infrala- 

 bials only were in contact with the chin-shields. All my 

 specimens have four, the first three in contact with the 

 anterior pair. 



Colour. — ^The adult is light greyish above, yellowish- 

 white below, with 50 broad black dorsal bars which are in- 

 distinctly carried round the body as narrow bands. The 

 young have the back pale olivaceous, and the bands (40 and 

 48) more distinct below. Head pale olive with a dark mark 

 on the snout. 



Dentition. — Posterior maxillary, 8 — 9 ; palatine, 9 ; 

 pterygoid, 14 — 15 ; mandibular, 19 — 20 (2 specimens 

 examined) . 



Thalassophis anomalus Schmidt. 



Thalassophis anomalus, Schmidt, Abb. Naturw. Hamb., II, 

 1852, p. 81, pi. 4 ; Bouleng., Cat. Sn. B. M., Ill, p. 269 (1896) ; Smith, 

 Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc. Slam, II, p. 176, pi. (1916) ; Ouwens, De voor- 

 naamste giftslangen van nederlandsch oost-indie (1916)) ; N. de 

 Rooij, Kept. Ind. Aust. Archlpel., II, p. 223 (1917). 



I have now examined 17 examples of this snake, all 

 obtained from various localities at the head of the Gulf. 



The following points may be added to my recent 

 description. The eye may be slightly greater than its 

 distance from the mouth. 27 to 30 scales round the neck, 

 31 to 35, usually 33, round the body. Ventrals 218 to 256. 



The young may have a pale band across the snout and 

 extending along either side of the head to join the white 

 of the under surface. 



Dentition. — Posterior maxillary, 5 ; palatine, 7 ; ptery- 

 goid, 20 to 22 ; mandibular, 18 or 19 (2 specimens 

 examined) . 



Ouwen's coloured illustration of this species is not very 

 representative of my specimens. The body is too elongate 

 and the bars are much too dark. 



Thalassophis annandalei (Laidlaw). 



Distira annandalei, Laidlaw, P. Z. S., 1901, ii, p. 579, pi. xxxv, 

 fig. 1. 



Thalassophis annandalii, Boulenger, Fascic. Malay, Zool. i, p. 

 16 (1903) ; idem, Fauna Malay Pen., p. 195 (1912) ; Wall, Mem. 

 Asiat. Soc. Bengal, ii, (8), p. 245 (1909) ; N. de Rooij, Kept. Ind. Aust. 

 Archipel., II, p. 223 (1917). 



Cap St. Jacques, Cochin China, 7 exs. ; Singgora, 1 ex. 



In cranial and in external characters this species differs 

 so much from the genotype, T. anomalus, that the mere 

 presence of a pair of internasals seems insufficient reason 

 for placing them together. As a matter of fact, in one of 

 my specimens these shields are almost entire, as is usual 

 with Hydrophis, while in the others they are variously 

 divided, and it would seem more correct to consider them 

 as subject to irregular fragmentation, as has already been 

 done with the other head shields. 



