SNAKES OF CEYLON. 427 



Cranial Osteological Characters.— Nasals : Not sutured to 

 prefrontals or frontal ; longer than frontal. Prefrontals : 

 Not meeting parietal or postfrontals. Frontal : Broader 

 than long, meeting postfrontals at rim of orbit. Parietal : 

 Not keeled inferiorly. Quadrate : Oblique from above back- 

 wards ; extreme length superiorly two -thirds its depth. 

 Maxilla : Extends beyond the palatine anteriorly ; not 

 extending beyond palatine posteriorly. 



Dentition. — From skulls of three species in my collection. 

 Maxillary: Postnodal, 1. Palatine: 5 to 6 ; anodonont, 

 isodont ; with a short space posteriorly that would accom- 

 modate one tooth. Pterygoid : 13 to 17 ; anododont, 

 scaphiodont ; posterior two-fifths edentulous. Mandibular : 

 9 to 12 ; anododont, scaphiodont. 



There are two species within Indian limits, viz., laticaudata 

 and colubrina, and one further east, viz., schistorhyncka, 

 Boulenger's muelleri I cannot separate from the first named. 



Laticauda laticaudata (Linne). 



(Latin " latus " flat, " cauda " tail.) 

 Linne 's Sea Krait. 

 Synonymy. — Coluber laticaudatus, C. platycaudatus, Lati- 

 cauda scutata, Platurus fasciatus, P. laurenti, P. laticaudatus .. 

 P. fischeri, P. affinis. 



History. — First introduced to science by Linne in 1758. 

 The type is in the Stockholm Museum. 



General Characters. — A moderately-sized snake, growing to 

 about 3 feet. The facies reminds one forcibly of the land 

 kraits of the genus Bungarus. 



Identification. — Among Indian hydrophids it is easily recog- 

 nized by the broad ventrals and lateral nostrils. 



Colouration. — The body and tail are broadly banded with 

 blackish-brown and bluish-gray. The former bands are the 

 broader, involve about four scale rows dorsally, and number 

 about 33 to 47 on the body and 5 on the tail. The lighter 

 bands are yellowish ventrally. The head has a blackish - 



60 6(6)20 



