60 ON THE SNAKES OF SYDNEY. 



PELAMIS. Daud. 

 Pelamis bicolor. Daud. 

 The Black and Yellow Sea Snake. 



" Head long, with very long spatulate snout ; neck, rather 

 stout ; body of moderate length ; nasal shields contiguous, 

 longer than broad, pierced by the nostrils posteriorly ; only one 

 pair of frontals ; scales not imbricate, not polished, tubercular or 

 concave ; ventral shields none or very narrow ; lower jaw without 

 notch in front ; 2 or 3 postorbitals ; neck surrounded by from 

 45 to 51 longitudinate series of scales : from 378 to 440 scales 

 in a lateral longitudinal series between the angle of the mouth 

 and the vent." (Gunther.) The coloration of this snake varies 

 considerably ; the most prevailing colour is, the upper part of the 

 head and the back uniform black, the sides and belly uniform 

 brownish olive or yellow, the latter colour predominating just 

 after the snake has shed its skin. Both the black and yellow 

 colours are sharply denned. Tail with a series of black spots. 

 This snake, which occasionally occurs on our shores, has a wide 

 range, and appears to be as common on the Indian Ocean as it is 

 here. The coast of New Zealand may be taken as its most 

 southern limit. Dr. Gray, speaking about the Hydrides in the 

 Brit. Mus. Cat. of Snakes, remarks " that they are true Sea- 

 Snakes ; that they coil themselves up on the shore, living on 

 sea- weeds, and lay their eggs on the shore." This observation 

 is not correct if applied to the present species, as I have more than 

 once taken gravid females with from four to six well-developed 

 young of such a size as are sometimes met with swimming about, 

 and apparently a few days old only. That they live on sea-weed 

 is doubtful also, for though I have dissected almost every specimen 

 which has come into my hands, I have found nothing but fishes 

 or the remnants of such in the stomach. 



These are all the specimens of Snakes observed near Sydney ; 

 and as the country has been well searched for more than five 

 years, it will be difficult to discover new species. 



