206 MAJOR F. WALL, I.M.S., C.M.Z.S. 



in certain specimens of fasciata in the British Museum. In all other respects this 

 specimen agrees with typical fasciata, and should, I feel certain now, be considered 

 as such. 



Description. — Fasciata like the three preceding, has an extremely slender neck 

 in relation to its body, and is almost as regular in the arrangement of its headshields 

 The neck is from one-third to one-fourth the extreme body depth. 



The posterior maxillary teeth are grooved. 



Rostra 1, — The portion visible above is from half to three-fifths the length of 

 the internasal suture. Prefrontal s, — touch the second supralabial (except in five 

 examples where they fail to, and in four of these on both sides). Postoculars, — one 

 (in one example two) Temporal s, — one large anterior succeeded by a posterior 

 of equal or greater size. The anterior in five examples descends to the labial margin. 

 (In two specimens only the posterior are broken up, and in both on one side only.) 

 Supralabial s, — six or seven; not subject to division. I n f r a 1 a b i a 1 s, — 

 four ; the last in contact with three or four scales behind ; the suture between the 

 first as long or longer than that between the anterior sublinguals. Marginals, — 

 present, usually one only after the third infralabial, sometimes two after the second 

 or third. Sublingual s, — two well developed pairs, the fellows of each in contact 

 (in three examples at least the posterior are quite separated by a scale). Costals, — 

 anterior 25 to 55 (usually 29 to 31), midbody $7 to 51 (usually 41 to 47) ; posterior 

 37 to 51 (usually 41 to 47) ; the anterior imbricate, the posterior usually juxtaposed 

 (rarely imbricate). V e n t r a 1 s , — 376 to 531, entire, twice or nearly twice the 

 breadth of the last costal row. Colour, — exactly like the last two in young 

 specimens. The annuli vary from 48 to 71, are well defined and about as broad at 

 midcosta as the interspaces. They are often expanded vertebrally and tend to lose 

 their definition in old specimens, sometimes indeed they are entirely lost ventrally, 

 and the dorsum is then marked with black or blackish diamond marks. 



Habitat. — All the specimens have been obtained along the shores between Mala- 

 bar and China, one from Borneo, and two others from the Malay Archipelago, the 

 exact locality not specified (Bleeker's specimens in the British Museum). It appears 

 to be common on the Coromandel Coast of India specially. One solitary specimen 

 has been recorded from the Malabar Coast, the exact spot not specified. 



DlSTIRA NEGLECTA (Wall). 



Hydrophis obscurus, Sclater , List Snakes Ind. Mas., 1891, p. 63, No. 8598. 

 ,, neglectus, Wall in Mem. As. Soc. Bengal, 1906, p. 288. 



Fig. 17. — Distira neglecta. 



