LATICAUDA 231 



outside the Philippines, being Icnown from the Indian Ocean, the 

 coasts of the islands of the East Indian Archipelago, and western 

 and southern Pacific Ocean. 



LATICAUDA COLUBRINA (Schneider) 

 Plate 29 



Colubey latioaudatus, part., LiNN^us, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 1 (1776) 222; 



ed. 12 1 (1776) 383. 

 Hydrus colubrinus Schneider, Hist. Amph. 1 (1799) 238. 

 Platunus fasciatus, part, Daudin, Hist. Nat. Rept. 7 (1803) 226, 



pi. 85, fig. 1; DUMERIL and Bibron, Erp. Gen. 7 (1854) 1321. 

 Hydrophis cohibrmus Schlegel, Phys. Serp. 2 (1837) 514, pi. 18, 



figs. 21 and 22; CuviER, Reg. Anim., Rept. Atlas, pi. 36. 

 Laticaitda seutata (Laurenti) Cantor, Cat. Mai. Rept. (1847) 125. 

 Platurus colubrinus Gieard, U. S. Expl. Exp. Herp. (1858) 178; 



Peters, Mon. Berl. Ak. (1877) 418; Fischer, .Jahrb. wiss. Anst. 



Hamburg (1888) 18; Boulenger, Fauna Brit. India, Rept. (1890) 



395; Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus. 3 (1896) 308; Wall., Mem. As. Soc. 



Bengal 2 (1907-10) 186. 

 Platurus scutatiis Gunther, Rept. Brit. India (1864) 356. 

 Platurus laticaudatus, var. B., Guntheb Cat. Col. Snakes (1858) 



272. 

 Platurus fasciatus var. coliibrhui Fischer, Abh. Nat. Ver. Hamburg 



3 (1856) 30. 

 Platurus laticaudatus var. colubrina Boettger, Ber. Senck. Nat. Ges. 



(1886) 118; Offenb. Ver. Naturk. 25 (1885) 155. 

 Laticauda colubrina Stejneger, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 58 (1907) 406. 



Description of species. — (From No. 908, Bureau of Science 

 collection ; collected on Dipolod Island, Sulu Archipelago, Sep- 

 tember, 1917, by E. H. Taylor.) Head large, somewhat distinct 

 from neck, rather flattened above; rostral higher than wide, 

 forming its broadest sutures with labials, its shortest with inter- 

 nasals, latter longer than wide, lying diagonally, in contact for 

 about half their length, pointed anteriorly; prefrontals some- 

 what larger than internasals, separated from each other, touch- 

 ing nasal and preocular laterally; an azygous shield, lying 

 between prefrontals and partially between internasals, forms a 

 suture with frontal ; latter almost twice as long as wide, produced 

 to a long point behind; supraoculars about as wide as long; 

 parietals wider than long, disposed diagonally, touching supe- 

 rior preocular ; nasal single, elongate, nostril triangular, pierced 

 in posterior part ; 1 preocular touching second labial, widely sep- 

 arated from frontal; 2 postoculars, lower largest; 1 anterior 

 temporal ; temporal formula 1 -)- 2 -|- 3 ; 7 upper labials, third 

 and fourth entering orbit ; mental very small, first pair of lower 

 labials barely in contact behind it, and followed by an azygous 



