A MONOGRAPH OF THE SEA-SNAKES (HYBTiOPTJIFNMi 



227- 



bright yellow ventrally. From 42 to 62 dark, well-denned greenish-black bands 

 surround the body, which are from half to two-thirds the breadth of the interspaces 

 at midcosta, and preserve their width throughout, excepting vertebrally where they 

 are expanded. They are not joined ventrally in the anterior part of the body. Head 

 distinctively marked with a curved black moustache on the upper lip, an occipito- 

 nuchal narrow streak to behind the gape, and some black mottling on the crown. 

 A short lateral black band in the neck just behind the occipito-nuchal band. 

 Habitat.— From the Gangetic Delta to the Malay Archipelago. 



Distira lapemoides (Gray). 



Aturia lapemoides, Gray , Cat., 1840, p. 46. 



Hydrophis lapemoides, Gilnther, Rept. Brit. Ind., 1864, p. 375. 



,, holdsworthii, Gilnther in Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 1872, p. 33. 



„ stewartii A hderson in Proc. Zool. Soc.Lond., 1872, p. 399. 



,, ,, Fayrer , Thanatoph. Ind., 1874, p. xxiv. 



„ ,, Ewart, Pois. Snakes Ind., 1878, p. 49, pi. 18, 1. 



Distira lapemidoides, Boulgr. in Blanford , Fauna Ind. Rept. and Batrach., 1890, 



p. 412. 



,, ,. Boulgr. Cat., 1896, iii, p. 297. 



? Hydrophis hybridus, Schlegel, Abbild., 1844, p. 115, and pi. xxxvii. 

 ? „ ,, Jan, Icon. Gen., 41, pi. v, fig 1. 



,, ,, Boulgr. Cat., 1896, iii, p. 274. 



\ I 



Fig. 42 — Distira hybrida. After Jan, Icon. Gen. 



41, pi. v. fig 1. 



hybridus (Schlegel). This form is only known from the single example described, 

 and figured by Schlegel in 1844, and subsequently by Jan in 1872. Not having 

 seen this I am unable to pronounce upon the posterior maxillary teeth, but after an 

 examination of the figures referred to above, and a consideration of the detailed 

 description, the specimen appears to me to agree with lapemoides (Gray) as Mr. 

 Boulenger records the costals as juxtaposed, otherwise it would completely agree 

 with cyanocincta (Daudin). 



This form is separated from cyanocincta in Mr. Boulenger's key on one point 

 only, viz., the juxtaposition of the posterior costals. In all other characters it appears 

 by his own showing they agree, and I can find no other difference between the two 

 after a careful comparison. It is very dubious whether this single peculiarity justifies 



