118 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS. 



are very many specimens of the Black -backed Pelamis, 

 and, in order to attain some kind of arrangement, they 

 are divided into six different groups, each of which is 

 so distinct from the others that it is not easy to decide 

 whether they may not be totally distinct species, 

 instead of simple varieties of a single species. 



They have very long, slender necks, and sometimes 

 attain the length of four feet. 



The species which is represented in the illustration 

 is the Banded Chersydrus (Ghersydrus granulatus) , so 

 called because its body is marked with bands of white 

 on a black ground. There are also white spots upon 

 the sides, the tail, and the head. 



It inhabits the shores of India and Java, and by 

 the natives of the latter country is called Oular-limpe. 

 It is not such a sea-going reptile as those which have 

 just been mentioned, preferring inland bays and the 

 estuaries of large rivers, where the water is brackish 

 rather than wholly salt. When the water is clear these 

 snakes may be seen lying on the bottom. 



From this attachment to the land as well as the 

 water, it has received the name of Chersydrus. This 

 title, as Greek scholars will know, is composed of two 

 words, the former signifying dry land, and the latter 

 signifying water. All these water snakes, indeed, have 

 received names expressive of their habit, structure, or 

 colour. For example, taking the Nalla Whallagee Pam. 

 Its generic name, Pelamis, is formed from a Greek 

 word signifying the sea ; and its specific name, bicolor, 

 or two-coloured, refers to the black and yellow of its 

 hues. The name Hydrophis, again, is formed from 

 two Greek words, signifying water serpent. 



