136 VENOMS 



Total length, 1,100 millimetres ; tail 90. 



Habitat : Bay of Bengal. 



H. fasciatus. — Head and neck black, the latter with yellowish 

 cross-bands; body pale, with black annuli, which are broader on 

 the back. 



Total length, 1,000 miUimetres ; tail 85. 



Habitat : From the coasts of India to China and New Guinea. 



H. obscurus (syn. H. stricticollis). — Olive or dark green above, 

 with yellowish cross-bars, which form complete rings round the 

 slender anterior part of the body ; a yellow spot on the snout, and 

 a yellow streak on each side of the upper surface of the head. 



Total length, 970 millimetres ; tail 105. 



Habitat : Bay of Bengal, Malay Archipelago. 



H. leptodira. — Black, with yellow cross-bars on the neck, and 

 complete annuli on the body, the bars and annuli numbering 77. 



Total length, 525 millimetres ; tail 40. 



Habitat : Mouths of the Ganges. 



(6) Distira. 



(Fig. 81.) 



Poison-fangs large, followed by 4 — 10 grooved teeth. Head 

 larger than in Hydeophis ; body more or less elongate ; scales on 

 the anterior part of the body imbricate ; veutrals more or less 

 distinct, and always very small. 



The species of this genus, 18 in number according to the British 

 Museum Catalogue, are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, 

 from the Persian Gulf to Japan and New Caledonia. 



The most important are : — 



D. ornata. — Uniform blackish-olive on the back, whitish on the 

 belly. 



Total length, 1,200 millimetres ; tail 130. 



Habitat : From the Mouth of Persian Gulf, and the coasts of 

 India and Ceylon to New Guinea, and North Australia. 



