410 SNAKES OF CEYLON. 



Lapemis curtus (Shaw). 



(Latin " curtus " short.) 



Shaw's Seasnake. 



Tamil : " potai pambu " (female snake) in Madras. 



Synonymy. — Hydrus curtus, Lapemis curtus, Hydrophis 

 propinquus, H. curta. 



History. — Described by Shaw in 1802 from a young specimen 

 labelled " India." The type is in the British Museum. 



General Characters, — It is a small stout snake growing to 

 about 2 J feet. Head massive, with strong jaws, moderately 

 depressed. Snout moderate in length, broadly rounded ter- 

 minally, declivous. Eye of moderate size, with dull greenish 

 iris. Neck hardly evident. Body short, stout, cylindrical 

 anteriorly ; strongly compressed posteriorly ; the depth 

 anteriorly two -thirds to less than half the greatest depth 

 posteriorly. 



Identification. — The only Indian hydrophid with disintegrate 

 parietal shields. The Ventrals are hardly enlarged, except 

 anteriorly, and number 130 to 219. 



Colouration. — The dorsum is olivaceous green, merging 

 about midcosta to pale-yellow. The back is beset with a 

 series of dark, greenish-brown, or greenish-black, rather ill- 

 defined, cross-bars, about 45 to 55 in number, and rather 

 broader than the interspaces. The first of these passes across 

 the back of the head. In the young these bars extend further 

 ventrally, and often form complete bands. 



Habits. — It frequents our Indian Coasts in large numbers. 

 In rough weather, in common with other seasnakes, it appears 

 to keep well out to sea, judging from the dearth of numbers 

 brought in from the fishing nets at this time. I have known 

 a specimen taken on land close to a backwater one and a half 

 miles from the sea. 



