Page:The poisonous snakes of India. For the use of the officials and others residing in the Indian Empire (IA poisonoussnakeso01ewar).pdf/71

 SEA SNAKES.

Pelamis bicolor,

Günther's description is as follows: "IIcad flat, with very long, spatulate snout; neck rather stout; body of moderate length. Nasal shields contiguous, longer than broad, pierced by thic nostril posteriorly; only one pair of frontals. Scales not imbricate, not polished, tubercular or concave. Ventral shields none, or very narrow. Lower jaw without notch in front ** Two or three post-orbitals. Neck surrounded by from forty-five to fifty-one longitudinal series of scales. From 378 to 440 scales in a lateral longitudinal series between the angle of the mouth and the vent. Coloration variable."

Varieties :-"a. Colour, black above; sides and belly uniform brownish olive; tail with black spots.

"B. Back black ; belly and sides brown; separated by a black and yellow band. Large spots posteriorly.

y. Black of back narrow, becomes sinuous behind middle of the body; posteriorly a dorsal series of rhombic confluent spots. Sides and belly with an irregular series of rounded black or brown spots.

"&. Yellow, with about fifty brown, black-edged cross-bands, extending nearly to the belly, which is crossed by narrow vertical brownish-black streaks, alternating with the dorsal bands. Some of the dorsal bands are confluent, forming a zigzag band. Head yellow, variegated with black."

This is the only species of the genus Pelamis. It has a wido distribution-wider indeed than that of any other known salt-water snake. It abounds in the Bay of Bengal, and in "all the Eastern seas." A specimen sent by Mr. Stewart, of Pooree, to Sir Joseph Fayrer, is *twelve and a half inches long, and is uniform black above, the sides and the belly being of a bright gainboge yellow, tail with black spots, separated by a well-defined line. It is described as being very poisonous, and killed a fowl rapidly."