516 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXII. 



Eyes fairly distinct, beneath the prseocular, and ocular shields. Nostril 

 latero-inferior. Snout rounded. Tail ending in an obtuse cone. Length 

 7i inches. Breadth about one fifty-sixth to one sixty-fourth the total 

 length. 



Cohiur. — Dark purplish-brown dorsally, lighter beneath. A white spot 

 on the anal region, and at the tip of the tail. 



Distira cyanosoma, spec. nov. — Among a small collection of snakes 

 sent to me last year from the Philippine Islands, by Dr. Griffin was 

 a marine specimen which I have made the type of a new species, 

 incorporating it provisionally with the genus Distira. I have presented 

 it to our National Museum at S. Kensington. 



Deseri]}tio7i. — Rostral — Broader than high; in contact with 4 shields. 

 Nasals — in contact with the fellow of the opposite side ; suture from the 

 nostril passes to the 2nd supralabial. Prcsfrontals- — a pair ; in contact 

 with the 2nd supralabial. Frontal — Touches 6 shields, the fronto-parietal 

 sutures rather the longest. Parietals — Entire. Prcsocular — One. Postoculars 

 — Two. Temporals. — Two on the right side, three on the left; longer 

 than high. Stipralabials — -Eight ; the third and fourth touching the eye, 

 sixth and seventh small, the eighth elongate. Sublinguals — Two pairs, 

 subequal ; the posterior quite separated by small scales. Infralabials — 

 Four, the fourth largest ; a cuneate scale wedged in between the third 

 and fourth. Costals — Two heads lengths behind the head 33, midbody 37, 

 two heads lengths before the anus 35, subimbricate, faintly tuberculate. 

 Ventrah — 213 ?, enlarged, entire, not quite twice the breadth of the 

 last row. 



Colour. — Uniformly bluish, deeper dorsally, paler costally, and ventrally. 



It bears a pronounced superficial resemblance to Enhydrina valakadyn. 

 (Boie). 



