SERPENTS. 



387 



known as the chittul, and is characterized by having the scales faintly keeled, the ven- 

 trals broad, and the terminal scale of moderate size. . Its color is greenish olive above, 

 shading into yellow below, and decorated with from fifty to seventy-five black cross- 

 bars, which in young specimens surround the body, though the adults generally have 

 the ventral portions obsolete. It is one of the most common sea-snakes, being found 

 south and east of Asia, and among the islands of the archipelago. It reaches a 



Fig. 223. — Hydropliis cyanocmcta, chittul, sea-snake. 



length of six feet. H. stokesii is also a large form, an old female having been known 

 to reach the length of sixty-one inches, and a height of four and a half. It is an 

 abundant snake on the northern shores of Australia, though its more extended distri- 

 bution is uncertain. The adults are of a uniform grayish color, shading into white 

 below. H. robusta is a form which has caused considerable confusion among natural- 

 ists. It is large, ornamented with as many as thirty-five black rings, and is found in 

 the waters at the south of India, as well as among the islands of the archipelago. 

 The eyed searsnake is a beautiful animal inhabiting the Austrahan seas ; it is known 



