SNAKES OF CEYLON, 349 



Gunther's brookii from Borneo; Bleeker's two specimens 

 labelled "Malay Archipelago," with no exact locality specified; 

 and the type of Gray's lindsayi from China. Its favoured 

 haimt is, therefore, between Madras and Calcutta. I have 

 examined over forty specimens. 



Genus LIOSELASMA. 

 (Greek " leios " smooth, " selas " bright.) 



General Characters. — Length moderate to long. Body 

 moderately attenuated anteriorly, the diameter about two- 

 fifths to one-third the extreme depth posteriorly. 



Cranial Osteological Characters. — Nasals : Sutured to prse- 

 frontals and frontal ; longer than frontal. Prsefrontals : 

 Meeting parietal and postfrontals. Frontal : As broad as 

 long ; not meeting postfrontal at rim of orbit. Parietal : 

 Not or but feebly keeled interiorly. Quadrate : Oblique 

 from above backwards ; extreme length superiorly three- 

 fourths to four-fifths its depth. Maxilla : Not extending 

 beyond palatine anteriorly; extending beyond palatine 

 posteriorly. 



Dentition. — Fi'om three species. Maxillary : Postnodal, 

 6 to 10 ; isodont. Palatine : 5 to 9 ; anododont, isodont ; no 

 edentulous space posteriorly. Pterygoid : 12 to 21 ; anodo- 

 dont, isodont, or feebly scaphiodont ; posterior two-fifths 

 edentulous. Mandibular : 13 to 20 ; anododont, feebly 

 scaphiodont. 



There are four species, viz., spiralis, cyanocincta, bituber- 

 culata, and mamillaris. 



LiosBLASMA MAMILLARIS (Daudin). 



(Latin " mamilla " a breast. The small central tubercle on 

 each scale reminds one of the nipple on a breast.) 



The Broad Banded Seasnake. 



Telugu: "tatta pam " (Russell), should be " thatta pam " 

 (flat snake). 



Synonymy.— ^w^Mis mamillaris, Hydrophis fasciata.. 



