SNAKES OF CEYLON. 325 



Genus MICROCEPHALOPHIS. 



(Greek " micros " small, " cephale " the head, 

 and " ophis " snake.) 



General Characters. — Length small to moderate. Neck and 

 forebody very slender, the diameter anteriorly one-third to 

 one-fourth that of the extreme depth posteriorly. Com- 

 missure of the mouth shaped like an italic /. 



Cranial Osteological Characters. — Nasals : Sutured to 

 frontal and prefrontal ; longer than the frontal. Prefrontals : 

 Meet the parietal, but not the postfrontals. Frontal : As 

 broad as long ; meeting postfrontals at the rim of the orbit. 

 Parietals : With no keel inferiorly. Quadrate : Vertical ; the 

 extreme length superiorly equal to its depth. This bone 

 reminds one of the iliac portion of the human os innominatum 

 (haunch bone), and is the same in all the five most slender- 

 necked species (gracilis, cantoris, obscurus, diadema, and 

 fasciata). Maxilla: Extends beyond the palatine anteriorly 

 and posteriorly. 



Dentition. — Maxilla : Postnodal, 5 to 6 ; isodont. Pala- 

 tine : 7 to 8 ; anododont, isodont ; no edentulous space 

 posteriorly. Pterygoid : 9 to 13 ; anododont, isodont ; 

 posterior half edentulous. Mandibular : 11 to 13 ; ano- 

 dodont, feebly scaphiodont. 



There are only two species, viz., gracilis and cantoris, 



MICROCEPHALOPHIS GRACILIS (Shaw). 



(Latin " gracilis " graceful.) 



John's Seasnake. 



Tamil : " milagu kadiyan " * (pepper biter) (Henderson). 



Synonymy. — Hydrus gracilis, Anguis mamillaris, Liopala 

 gracilis, Hydrophis guentheri. 



* Dr. Henderson tells me this and other small-headed seasnakes 

 are so called in Madras, on account of the small head, which is fancifully 

 likened to a peppercorn (milagu). 



