Part 1 — CHAPTER III. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES. THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

Poisonous snakes are especially common in the tropical zones of the Old and New Worlds. The species found in Europe are but of small size and not very formidable. In hot countries, on the other hand, they attain large dimensions, their venom is much more active, and, although they hardly ever attack man, and in most cases avoid him, they cause a considerable number of fatal accidents.

It is sometimes a rather difficult matter to recognise from the mere appearance of a snake whether it is poisonous or not. Naturalists themselves are occasionally deceived. It is therefore useful to learn to distinguish the most dangerous species by their external characters, and to know in what countries there is a risk of their being encountered.

A.—EUROPE.

Of the continents of the Old World, the poorest in poisonous snakes is Europe. The only species found there are a Cœlopeltis (belonging to the Sub-family Dipsadomorphinæ of the Opisthoglypha), and certain Viperinæ, which rarely exceed 75 centimetres in length.

Cœlopeltis, the cranial skeleton and head of which are represented in fig. 20, is characterised by a narrow, concave frontal shield, projecting supraciliaries, short snout, large eyes, with round pupils, two poison-fangs at the back of the upper maxillaries, and a cylindrical body. The scales of the back are finely grooved, and in the adult slightly concave.

Fig. 20.—Maxillary, Mandible, and Head of Cœlopeltis monspessulana.

The coloration, olivaceous-brown, or deep red on the back, becomes on the ventral surface pale yellow with brown streaks, and from five to seven longitudinal series of small spots, which are blackish and edged with yellow on the sides.

The mean total length is 1,800 millimetres. The tail is somewhat tapering, and about 350 millimetres long.

The only European species is Cœlopeltis monspessulana, which is met with pretty commonly in France, in the neighbourhood of Montpellier, and Nice, near Valencia in Spain, and in Dalmatia. It is likewise found throughout North Africa, and in Asia Minor.

A second species, Cœlopeltis moilensis, occurs in Southern Tunis, Egypt, and Arabia.

The European Viperinæ belong exclusively to the Genus Vipera, the principal zoological characters of which are as follows:—

Head distinct from the neck, covered with small scales, with or without frontal and parietal shields; eyes small, with vertically elongate pupils, separated from the labials by scales; nostrils lateral. Body cylindrical. Scales keel-shaped, with an apical pit, in from 19-31 rows; ventral scales rounded. Tail short; subcaudal scales in two rows.

The Genus Vipera is represented in Europe by several species, which are likewise found in Western Asia and North Africa.

These species are:—

V. ursinii, V. berus, V. aspis, V. latastii, and V. ammodytes. 1

Vipera ursinii.

Snout obtuse, soft on its upper surface, with the frontal and parietal shields distinct, the former about one and a half times as long as broad, and almost always longer than the parietals. A single series of scales between the eyes and the free margin of the lips.

Temporal shields smooth. Body scales in from 19 to 21 rows, strongly keeled on the back, less strongly on the sides.

Colour yellowish or pale brown above, grey or dark brown on the sides, sometimes uniform brown; spots more or less regular on the vertebral column, oval, elliptic or rhomboidal, dark brown or flecked with white, sometimes forming an undulous or zigzag band; two or three longitudinal series of dark brown or black spots on the sides; small dark dots running obliquely from the eye to the angle of the mouth; nose and lips white, and one or two dark angular streaks on the head; chin and throat yellowish; belly black, with transverse series of white or grey dots. No sexual differences in coloration.

Total length from 420-500 millimetres; tail 50-55.

Habitat: South-east France (Basses-Alpes); Italy (Abruzzi); Istria; Mountains of Bosnia; Plains of Lower Austria; Hungary (environs of Buda-Pesth).

Vipera berus (Common Viper, or Adder).

Snout rounded, short and truncate; pupil vertically elongate; vertical diameter of the eyes equal to or greater than the distance separating them from the mouth; frontal and parietal shields distinct, the former as long as broad, usually shorter than the space separating it from the rostral shield; 6-13 scales round the eyes; one or rarely two series of scales between the eyes and the lips; nasal shield single, separated from the rostral by a naso-rostral shield; temporal scales smooth. Body scales in 21 rows (exceptionally 19 or 23), strongly keeled; 132-150 ventral shields; 38-36 subcaudals.

Fig. 21.—(1) Vipera berus; (2) Vipera aspis; (3, 4) Vipera ammodytes. (Natural size.)

Colour very variable, grey, yellowish, olive, brown, or red above, generally with an undulating or zigzag band along the vertebral column, and a series of lateral spots. A black spot shaped like a V, an X, or a circumflex accent, on the head. The tip of the tail is yellow or reddish. Some specimens are entirely black.

Total length from 350 to 700 millimetres; tail 75 to 90.

Habitat: Northern Europe, and especially the mountains of Central Europe; irregularly distributed in Southern Europe; Northern Spain and Portugal, Northern Italy, Bosnia, Caucasus.

This viper, which is very common in France, ranges as far as the Scandinavian Peninsula to about the 65th parallel of North Latitude. It is sometimes met with among the mountains at an altitude of about 6,500 feet (2,000 metres). It is found on heaths, in grass-lands, vineyards, and forests. Certain parts of the sandy moors of North Germany are literally infested with it. It abounds in the Jura, Isère, Ardèche, Auvergne, Brittany, Vendée, and the Forest of Fontainebleau.

It seeks its prey by night, and feeds on voles, small birds, frogs, lizards, and small fish. During the summer it shows a preference for moist places, often even remaining in the water, in which it swims with ease.

Light and fire attract it. It does not climb trees, but is frequently found coiled up on boughs of dead wood scattered on the ground.

When on the defensive, and preparing to bite, it throws its head back, and makes a sudden dart of from a foot to sixteen inches. If irritated it makes a sort of hissing noise.

To pass the winter it retires into the crevices of rocks or into old tree-trunks, where it entwines itself closely with a number of its congeners. In this way ten or fifteen vipers are frequently found together in the same hole.

In April, the whole company awakes, and copulation then takes place. The eggs are laid in August and September, and the young immediately crawl out of the shell, already prepared to bite, and capable of finding their own food. Their length at birth amounts to 230 millimetres.

The two glands of an adult adder contain about 10 centigrammes of poison. This small quantity is sometimes sufficient to cause death; out of 610 persons bitten, Rollinger returns 59 deaths, or about 10 per cent.

In the departments of Vendée and Loire-Inférieure alone, Viaud Grand Marais has noted during a period of six years 321 cases of bites from adders, 62 of which were followed by death. In Auvergne, Dr. Fredet2 (of Royat) returns 14 cases, which caused 6 deaths.

Vipera aspis (Asp, or Red Viper).

(Fig. 21, 2, and fig. 22.)

Snout slightly turned up, soft and squarely truncate; vertical diameter of the eyes equal to the space separating them from the mouth; upper surface of the head usually covered with small, imbricate, smooth or feebly keeled scales, in 4-7 series, between the supraocular shields, which are prominent. The frontal and parietal shields are usually wanting; sometimes they are distinct, but small and irregular; the former are separated from the supraoculars by two series of scales; 8-13 scales round the eyes; two (rarely three) series of scales between the eyes and the labials; nasal shield single, separated from the rostral by a naso-rostral shield. Body scales in 21-23 rows, strongly keeled; 134-158 ventrals; 32-49 subcaudals.

Coloration very variable, grey, yellowish, brown, or red above, with a zigzag band as in V. berus. Usually a black U-shaped mark on the hinder part of the head, with a longitudinal black streak behind the eyes; upper lip white, or yellowish. Ventral surface yellow, white, grey, or black, with lighter or darker markings.

Total length, 620-675 millimetres; tail 75-95.

Habitat: France (especially Vendée, the Forest of Fontainebleau, and the South), Pyrenees, Alsace-Lorraine, the Black Forest, Switzerland, Italy and Sicily, and the Tyrol.

This viper especially frequents dry, rocky, and arid hillsides, which are exposed to the sun. Like the adder, it hibernates in tree-trunks and old walls. It lays from 6 to 15 eggs, from which the living young immediately issue, provided with poison. It feeds upon small rodents, worms, insects, and young birds. Raptorial birds, storks, and hedgehogs pursue it and devour it in large numbers.

Fig. 22.—Vipera aspis. (Natural size.) (From the Forest of Fontainebleau.)

Vipera latastii.

Intermediate between V. aspis and V. ammodytes. Snout less turned up into a corneous appendage than in the latter. Head covered with small, smooth, or feebly keeled, subimbricate scales, among which an enlarged frontal shield may sometimes be distinguished; 5-7 longitudinal series of scales between the supraocular shields; 9-13 scales round the eyes; 2 or 3 series between the eyes and the labials; nasal shield entire, separated from the rostral by a naso-rostral. Body scales in 21 rows, strongly keeled; 125-147 ventrals; 32-43 subcaudals.

Coloration grey or brown above, with a longitudinal zigzag band, usually spotted with white; head with or without spots on the vertex; black streak behind the eyes; ventral surface grey, spotted with black and white; tip of the tail usually yellow or with yellow spots.

Total length, 550-610 millimetres; tail 80-85.

Habitat: Spain and Portugal.

Vipera ammodytes.

(Fig. 21, 3 and 4).

Snout terminated in front by a horny appendage covered with 10-20 small scales; vertical diameter of the eyes less than the distance separating them from the mouth; upper surface of the head covered with small, smooth, or feebly keeled scales, among which an enlarged frontal and a pair of parietal shields are sometimes distinguishable; 5-7 longitudinal series of scales between the supraoculars; 10-13 scales round the eyes; two series between the eyes and the labials; nasal shield entire, separated from the rostral by a naso-rostral. Body scales in 21-23 rows, strongly keeled; 133-162 ventrals; 24-38 subcaudals.

Coloration grey, brown, or reddish above, with a zigzag dorsal band, usually spotted with white; black streak behind the eyes; belly grey or violaceous; end of the tail yellow, orange, or coral-red.

Total length, 550-640 millimetres; tail 70-80.

Habitat: Southern Tyrol, Carinthia, Styria, Hungary, Danubian principalities and kingdoms, Turkey. Does not pass beyond the 48th parallel of North Latitude.

This viper loves very sunny places, and hillsides planted with vines. It rarely hibernates.

In districts in which it is plentiful, it is only necessary to light a fire at night in order to attract this species in swarms; this is the best method of taking it.

Its food consists of small rodents, lizards, and birds.

B.—ASIA, DUTCH INDIES, AND PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

The species of snakes most dangerous to man are found in the warmer regions of Asia. India especially is infested by the famous Cobra-di-Capello (Naja tripudians), which possesses the highly remarkable faculty of dilating its neck in the form of a hood when irritated, and whose sculptured image appears on almost all the Hindu monuments.

We shall describe in a separate section (see below, F.) the Hydrophiinæ, or Sea-snakes, a large number of species of which frequent the shores of the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca, the China Sea, the Moluccas, Celebes, and North Australia. In the case of certain species the area of distribution includes the whole of the tropical and sub-tropical zones of the Pacific Ocean, as far as the West Coast of America. It is therefore preferable to group them together for the purpose of comprehensive study.

Besides the above, the continent of Asia harbours a multitude of poisonous snakes belonging to the two Families Colubridæ and Viperidæ.

The genera and species belonging to these are so diverse, that we must confine ourselves to mentioning the essential characters of those that present most interest.

I.—Family Colubridæ.

Subfamily Elapinæ: Genera

{ (a) Bungarus.

{ (b) Naja.

{ (c) Hemibungarus.

{ (d) Callophis.

{ (e) Doliophis.

(a) Bungarus.

Head hardly distinct from the neck; eyes small, with round or vertically elliptic pupils; nostril between two nasal shields. Two large poison-fangs followed by one or two small, slightly grooved teeth (fig. 23). Scales smooth, oblique, in 13-17 rows, enlarged and hexagonal in shape on the vertebral column; ventral scales round. Tail relatively short; subcaudal scales in one or two rows.

Two very dangerous snakes found in India and Indo-China belong to this genus, B. fasciatus and B. candidus (var. cæruleus). Both are fairly common. In Ceylon B. ceylonicus is met with, and in South China B. candidus (var. multicinctus). The length of these snakes is from 1,000-1,500 millimetres. The back is compressed in the shape of a keel. The neck is not dilatable.

Fig. 23.—Skull of Bungarus. (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

1. B. fasciatus (Banded Krait).

Colour bright yellow, ringed with black, with a black band commencing between the eyes, and broadening behind upon the nape and neck (fig. 24).

Especially abundant on the Coromandel Coast, in Bengal, and in Burma. In the North-west Provinces of India it is known as the Koclia-Krait. Its bite is very serious, but does not cause nearly so many fatalities as that of the Cobra, since its fangs are smaller.

Dogs bitten by B. fasciatus die in from four to five hours.

Fig. 24.—Bungarus fasciatus (India). (After Sir Joseph Fayrer.)

2. B. candidus.

Blackish-brown or bluish, with narrow transverse white streaks, or small white spots, or alternate rings of yellow and dark brown; belly white. Smaller than the foregoing, scarcely exceeding 1,000 millimetres in length. It is known as the “Krait” in India, where, after the Cobra, the variety cæruleus causes most deaths among human beings. It is found in jungles and rice-fields, and commonly secretes itself in old trees and old walls. It frequently penetrates into houses, verandahs, bathrooms, and even beds. Sir Joseph Fayrer relates the story of a lady, who, when travelling in a palanquin, found on arriving at her destination a “Krait” coiled up in her luggage, the snake having thus made the journey with her throughout a whole night.

The Krait may easily be confused with Lycodon aulicus, a harmless snake which closely resembles it, though it can at once be distinguished by examining its mouth.

(b) Naja.

(Fig. 25.)

Head scarcely distinct from the neck; eyes with round pupils; nostril between two nasal shields and an internasal. A pair of solid grooved poison-fangs. Body elongate, cylindrical, terminated by a conical and pointed tail. Scales smooth, disposed obliquely, in 15-25 rows. Ventral scales round.

N. tripudians (Cobra-di-Capello). (Fig. 26.)

Head small, covered with large shields, a frontal as long as broad, a supraocular, a præocular, 3 postoculars, 2 + 3 or 3 + 3 temporals, 7 upper labials, 4 lower labials. Neck dilatable by the separation of the first cervical ribs; 21-35 scales round the neck, 17-25 round the middle of the body; 163-205 ventrals; 42-75 subcaudals.

Total length, 1,500-1,900 millimetres; tail 230.

Coloration very variable, usually cinereous grey or almost black with a bluish sheen; belly lighter, sometimes tinted with red. The head is frequently tinged with golden-yellow; it is spotted with yellowish-white above, and is pure white underneath.

This species is distributed throughout the whole of Southern Asia, from the south of the Caspian Sea to South China and the Malay Archipelago.

Fig. 25.—Skull of Naja tripudians. (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

Several varieties occur, and of these the principal are:—

(1) Var. Typica (fig. 27), with a black-and-white spectacle-shaped mark on the middle of the dorsal surface of the most dilatable portion of the neck, and one or more dark transverse bands on the ventral surface, behind the head.

Habitat: India, Ceylon.

(2) Var. Cæca.—Colour, pale brown or uniform dark grey, without mark on the neck, and with one or more dark transverse bands on the anterior part of the belly.

Habitat: Transcaspian region, India, Java.

Fig. 26.—Naja tripudians (Cobra-di-Capello) on the Defensive, preparing to Strike.

(3) Var. Fasciata.—Colour, brown, olive, or black, with more or less distinct light transverse bands. White spot edged with black in the shape of a ring or of a U on the neck, behind; a black spot on each side in front.

Habitat: India, Indo-China and South China, Hainan, Cambodia, Siam, Malay Peninsula.

(4) Var. Sputatrix.—Black or dark brown, with yellow or orange-coloured spots on the sides of the head and neck. The young have a pale spot in the shape of a U or an O on the middle of the dorsal surface of the neck, and the throat is whitish.

Habitat: Chusan Islands and South China, Burma, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java.

(5) Var. Leucodira.—Brown or black, without mark on the neck. Throat yellowish-white, followed by a black transverse band.

Habitat: Sumatra, Malay Peninsula.

(6) Var. Miolepis.—Brown or black; sides of the head and throat yellowish, no mark on the neck. Young with white rings completely encircling the body and tail.

Habitat: Sarawak, Labuan, Borneo.

Fig. 27.—Naja tripudians (Cobra-di-Capello). (After Sir Joseph Fayrer.)

Naja samarensis.

Internasal shields shorter than the præfrontals, and in contact with the præoculars; 1-3 large occipital shields behind the parietals; 1 præocular and 3 postoculars; 2 + 2 or 2 + 3 temporals; 7 supralabials, 4 infralabials; 21-23 scales across the neck, 17-19 across the middle of the body; 159-175 ventrals; 45-50 subcaudals.

Coloration black or sometimes yellowish above; pale brown or yellowish on the belly; neck black.

Total length, 1,000 millimetres; tail 160.

Habitat: Philippine Islands.

Naja bungarus (Ophiophagus or Hamadryas elaps).

(King Cobra or Hamadryad.)

A pair of large occipital shields; 1 præocular; 3 postoculars; 2 + 2 temporals; 7 supralabials, 4 infralabials; 19-21 scales across the neck, 15 across the middle of the body; 215-262 ventral scales, 80-117 subcaudals. Neck dilatable.

Coloration very variable, yellowish, brown, olive, or black, with or without dark transverse bands.

Total length, 3,900 millimetres; tail 630.

Habitat: India, Burma, Indo-China, Siam, Southern China, Malay Peninsula and Archipelago.

The species of Naja are oviparous, and usually lay some twenty eggs, elliptical in shape and as large as those of a pigeon, with a soft shell.

These snakes do not fear the proximity of man, and feed upon rats, mice, and birds; they seek their prey chiefly in the evening, after sunset.

They swim extremely well, and frequent the neighbourhood of water-courses.

Indian legends relate that Brahma, having descended on earth and fallen asleep one day at high noon, a Naja placed itself in front of him and, dilating its broad neck, procured for him kindly shade. In order to repay it for the service rendered, Brahma gave Naja the marks that it bears on its neck, intended to frighten the kites and other birds of prey, which are implacable enemies of this snake.

When a native of the Malabar Coast finds a Naja in his dwelling, he begs it in a friendly way to depart; if the request be without avail, he offers it food in order to attract it outside; if the snake still does not move, the Hindu goes in search of the pious servitors of one of his divinities, who, procuring an offering, address the most touching supplications to it (Brehm).

The mortality due to the bite of this snake, which is by far the most common in India, is considerable. In the course of a period of eight years, from 1880 to 1887, it amounted on the average to 19,880 human beings and 2,100 head of cattle every year.

In 1889, 22,480 persons and 3,793 head of cattle perished from snake-bite. Since then, the annual tale of fatalities always fluctuates between 16,000 and 22,000, in spite of the rewards for the destruction of snakes which the Indian Government has been obliged to institute, which represent an expenditure of about £10,000 per annum.

For every 100 persons bitten, it is estimated that on an average from 25 to 30 die, and in most cases death supervenes in from two to twelve hours after the bite.

Naja bungarus, or the Hamadryad, is the largest and most formidable of poisonous snakes. It is very vigorous and very aggressive, but is more rarely met with than Naja tripudians. It loves the vicinity of rivers and streams, lives in forests and jungles, and climbs trees with facility. It feeds upon other snakes (whence its name Ophiophagus), and also on birds, fish, and small mammals.

Hindu snake-charmers assert that it is very difficult to capture, and dangerous owing to its strength; they handle it only after having extracted its poison-fangs.

A very intelligent Hindu told Torrens how he had seen the way in which the Hamadryad procures the snakes that form its favourite food. The Hindu in question happened to be on the flat roof of his house, when a young Hamadryad appeared quite close to him. The snake raised its head, expanded its neck, and emitted a shrill hissing noise. Thereupon a dozen snakes came crawling up from all directions and assembled round the Hamadryad, when the latter made a dart at one of them and hastened to devour it (Fayrer).

The Hamadryad is dreaded with good reason, for not only is it aggressive, and hurls itself boldly upon its adversary, but it also pursues him, a trait exhibited by no other poisonous snake.

Cantor relates that in Assam an officer met with several young Hamadryads which were being watched over by their mother. The latter turned towards its enemy, who took to his heels with all speed, pursued by the terrible reptile. The course taken led to a river, which the fugitive did not hesitate to swim in order to gain the opposite bank, hoping thus to make good his escape; all, however, to no purpose. The snake still pursued him, and the officer saved himself only by a stratagem. He dashed his turban on the ground; the snake threw itself upon it and savagely bit it several times, thus giving the officer time to reach a place of safety.

Cantor’s experiments show that the venom of the Hamadryad is extremely rapid in its action. A dog usually dies a quarter of an hour after being bitten, and Nicholson states that he has seen an elephant bitten by a snake of this species die in three hours.

(c) Hemibungarus.

This genus includes several species of snakes of somewhat small size, rarely exceeding 700 millimetres in length, with an elongate, cylindrical body; the head is scarcely distinct from the neck, the pupil round, and the tail short, while the nostril is situate between two nasal shields. The temporal shields are arranged in a single row. The poison-glands sometimes extend into the abdominal cavity. Scales in 13 or 15 rows; 190-260 ventrals, 12-44 subcaudals in 2 rows.

Four species belonging to this genus are known:—

(1) H. calligaster.—2 + 3 temporal scales, 6 supralabials.

Colour purple, with black transverse bands separated by narrow white bars; belly and end of tail red; snout yellow, with a black band on the upper lip below the eyes.

Total length, 520 millimetres; tail 30.

Habitat: Philippine Islands.

(2) H. collaris.—No anterior temporal scales.

Colour black on the back, with black and red bands on the belly; a yellow collar on the occiput.

Total length, 430 millimetres; tail 15.

Habitat: Philippine Islands.

(3) H. nigrescens.—Scales in 13 rows. A single temporal scale; 218-251 ventrals; 33-44 subcaudals.

Belly uniformly red; upper lip yellow in front of and behind the eyes.

Total length, 1,100 millimetres; tail 115.

Habitat: Hills of Western India, from Bombay to Travancore.

(4) H. japonicus.—Scales in 13 rows; 190-216 ventrals; 28-29 subcaudals; temporals 1 + 1.

Colour red on the back, with 1-5 black bands crossed by other black bands edged with yellow. Snout and sides of head black. Belly yellow, with large black spots alternating with black transverse bands.

Total length, 520 millimetres; tail 40.

Habitat: Loo Choo Islands.

(d) Callophis.

This genus is characterised by the maxillary bones extending forwards beyond the palatines, with a pair of large poison-fangs, but without other teeth. Head and eyes small, pupils round; nostril between two nasal shields. Body cylindrical, greatly elongate. Scales smooth, in 13 rows; ventrals rounded; subcaudals in 2 rows.

Five species are known:—

(1) C. gracilis.—Red or pale brown, with three longitudinal black lines passing through brown, or black spots; the lateral spots alternating with the vertebræ. Black and yellow bands under the tail and on the belly.

Total length, 740 millimetres; tail 35.

Habitat: Malay Peninsula, Sumatra.

(2) C. trimaculatus.—Head and nape black, with a yellow spot on each side of the occiput; belly uniform red; tail with two black rings.

Total length, 335 millimetres; tail 21.

Habitat: India and Burma.

(3) C. maculiceps.—Head and nape black, with one or two yellow bands on each side. Belly red, two black rings on the tail. Diameter of the eyes equal to two-thirds of the space separating them from the mouth.

Total length, 485 millimetres; tail 30.

Habitat: Burma, Indo-China, Malay Peninsula.

(4) C. macclellandii.—Head and neck black, with a yellow transverse band behind the eyes. The space separating the eyes equal to that separating them from the mouth. Colour reddish-brown on the back, with regular and equi-distant black streaks; belly yellow, with black bands or quadrangular spots. The head exhibits two black transverse bands separated by a yellow band.

Total length, 620 millimetres; tail 55.

Habitat: Nepal, Sikkim, Assam, Burma, Southern China.

(5) C. bibronii.—Met with by Beddome in the forests of Malabar, at an altitude of 3,280 feet. Back purplish-brown, with a pearly lustre, and about forty irregular black transverse bands, extending to the tip of the tail. Head black in front, cherry-red on the occiput.

Total length, 640 millimetres; tail 50.

Habitat: Malabar.

All the snakes belonging to the genus Callophis are remarkable for their bright and varied colours, whence the generic name, which signifies “beautiful snakes.”

They feed exclusively on other snakes belonging to the Family Calamaridæ; consequently they are not found in regions where Calamaridæ do not occur, as, for instance, in Ceylon.

They are essentially terrestrial, and live in old tree-trunks, or clefts in rocks. They are sluggish, slow-moving, and chiefly nocturnal.

As a rule they do not seek either to defend themselves or to bite; consequently fatal accidents caused by them are scarcely known in the case of human beings. Their venom, however, is very toxic to animals.

(e) Doliophis.

This genus exhibits the same characters as Callophis, except that the poison-glands, instead of being confined to the temporal region, extend a very long way on each side of the body, to about one-third of its length, gradually growing thicker and terminating at the base of the heart.

It includes four species:—

(1) D. bivirgatus.—Colour reddish-purple or black on the back, red on the head, tail, and belly.

Total length, 1,610 millimetres; tail 190.

Habitat: Burma, Indo-China, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.

(2) D. intestinalis.—Brown or black on the back, with darker or lighter longitudinal streaks; tail red beneath; belly red, crossed with black streaks.

Total length, 580 millimetres; tail 45.

Habitat: Burma, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes.

(3) D. bilineatus.—Black on the back, with two white streaks along the whole length of the body. Snout white; belly striped with black and white bands. Tail orange, with two or three black rings or spots.

Total length, 710 millimetres; tail 45.

Habitat: Philippine Islands.

(4) D. philippinus.—Back with dark brown cross-bands, merging into black transverse ventral streaks, which are separated by yellow or red interspaces. Head brown, with small yellow spots.

Total length, 430 millimetres; tail 35.

Habitat: Philippine Islands.

II.—Family Viperidæ.

The Family Viperidæ is represented in Asia by a considerable number of snakes belonging to the two Subfamilies Viperinæ and Crotalinæ.

The Asiatic Viperinæ belong to the genera:—

(a) Vipera. (b) Pseudocerastes. (c) Cerastes. (d) Echis.

The Crotalinæ consist of only two genera:—

(e) Ancistrodon. (f) Lachesis.

1.—VIPERINÆ.

(a) Vipera.

We shall not recapitulate here the characters of the Genus Vipera, which we described in dealing with the vipers of Europe. The genus is represented by several species, the geographical range of which is chiefly confined to Eastern and Central Asia.

(1) Vipera renardi.—Resembles V. berus, but the snout is pointed and soft, with a turned-up tip; a single series of scales between the eyes and the lips; nostril pierced in the lower half of a single nasal shield; 8-9 supralabial shields; 4 infralabials. Body scales in 21 rows; 130-150 ventrals; 24-37 subcaudals.

Coloration the same as in the European V. ursinii, but the snout and lips are spotted with black or brown.

Total length, 395-620 millimetres; tail 40-75.

Habitat: Central Asia, Turkestan.

(2) V. raddii.—Snout rounded; supraocular shields erectile; eyes surrounded by a complete circle of 14-17 scales; 9-10 supralabials; body scales in 23 rows; 150-180 ventrals; 23-32 subcaudals.

Coloration pale brown or grey on the back, with a dorsal series of small reddish spots arranged in alternating pairs. A black mark like a circumflex accent on the occiput, and a black band behind the eyes. Belly yellow, speckled with black and white.

Total length, 740 millimetres; tail 50.

Habitat: Armenia.

(3) V. lebetina.—Snout rounded and obtuse, with a well-marked prominence; 7-12 longitudinal series of scales between the eyes; supraocular shields well developed or narrow, or broken up into several small portions; 12-18 scales round the eyes; 9-12 supralabials; 4-5 infralabials; body scales in 23-27 rows; 147-180 ventrals; 29-51 subcaudals.

Coloration variable, grey or pale brown on the back, with a series of large dark spots. Large brown mark like a circumflex accent on the crown of the head and another on the occiput. Belly whitish, speckled with grey-brown; end of tail yellow.

Total length, 960 millimetres; tail 120. The female may attain the length of 1,350 millimetres.

Habitat: Cyprus, Galilee, Syria, Asia Minor, Transcaspia, Persia, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Cashmir.

(4) V. russellii (Daboia, or Russell’s Viper). (fig. 28.)—This viper, which may attain a length of as much as 2,000 millimetres, is magnificently coloured. Its dorsal surface is brownish-yellow, marked with large oval spots of blackish-brown, edged with yellow or white. The belly is covered with transverse bands, with beautiful triangular black spots, bordered with white. The head, which is long, ends in front in a thick, rounded snout; it is covered above with small keeled scales. The nostril, which is large and laterally placed, is surrounded by three shields and soft smooth skin.

Fig. 28.—Vipera russellii (Syn. Vipera elegans. Daboia, or Russell’s Viper). India. (After Sir Joseph Fayrer.)

The species is found throughout India, from Bombay to Bengal, in Ceylon, Burma, and Siam. It is particularly common in Burma, around Rangoon. For walking in the jungle and rice-fields, the natives of this region encase their feet and legs in a special kind of jack-boots made of coarse jute-cloth, in order to protect themselves from the bites of this snake, which cause a large number of fatal accidents.

The Daboia ascends the Himalayas to an altitude of 5,250 feet. It lives in thickets, under stones, and in the clefts of rocks. When disturbed it makes a terrible hissing, but bites only when attacked or irritated.

It feeds upon small vertebrates, such as mice, rats, birds, and frogs, and often enters houses in pursuit of rats.

“Schrott had the opportunity of observing a Daboia on the defensive. A lady carrying a child on her arm was returning home towards evening; she had almost reached her house when a bulldog accompanying her began to bark furiously. Although the lady saw nothing, she was, nevertheless, frightened and called for help. Schrott, who was not far away, ran to the spot, and saw a Daboia lying across the path by which the lady had to proceed. The reptile had its neck thrown back and its head in a horizontal position; its bright eyes followed all the movements of the dog, to whose barks it replied by shrill hisses. It was only waiting for an opportunity to strike. Schrott called off the dog, and the snake at once disappeared among the high grass close by. Next day it was killed at the same spot” (Brehm).

The venom of this viper is terribly potent. According to Russell, a large dog exhibited symptoms of poisoning five minutes after being bitten. At the end of a quarter of an hour it lay down, uttering heartrending cries, began to breathe with difficulty and noisily, was seized with spasms of the jaws and cramps, and died in frightful agony less than half an hour after the wound was inflicted. Fowls in most cases die in less than two minutes. A horse succumbed in half an hour, and another in eleven hours.

It appears that in India many cattle are killed by Daboias while grazing (Fayrer).

(b) Pseudocerastes.

(Fig. 29.)

This genus is represented by a single species (Pseudocerastes persicus), which appears to be exclusively confined to Persia.

The head is very distinct from the neck, and covered with small imbricate scales; the eyes, which are small, have vertical pupils; they are separated from the lips by small scales. The nostrils are directed upwards and outwards. The snout is very short and rounded. The cylindrical body has 23-25 rows of scales; 151-156 ventrals; 43-49 subcaudals.

Fig. 29.—Pseudocerastes persicus. (After Duméril and Bibron.)

The coloration is gray or brown, with four series of large black spots, and the head exhibits two longitudinal black streaks behind the eyes. The belly is whitish, dotted with black.

Total length, 890 millimetres; tail 110.

(c) Cerastes.

The vipers belonging to this genus are much more common in North Africa, and we shall therefore study them in conjunction with the African snakes. Cerastes cornutus alone, the special habitat of which is Egypt, is sometimes met with in Arabia and on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal.

(d) Echis.

Echis carinatus (the Phoorsa). (Fig. 30).—This viper is characterised by the subcaudal shields being arranged in a single row. It is savage and very aggressive, being always ready to attack. Its length does not exceed 600 millimetres at the most. The colour of the body is grey, more or less dark and adorned with streaks, spots, and dots of blackish-brown. The back displays yellowish-white wavy lines, forming X-shaped markings. The upper side of the head exhibits a yellow spot surrounded by brown, and other small black spots, the whole arrangement forming a fairly good representation of a cross.

Fig. 30.—Echis carinatus. India. (After Sir Joseph Fayrer.)

This species is found in India, Persia, Baluchistan, Arabia, and Palestine; while, as we shall see, it also occurs in Africa. It is fairly common in the environs of Aden.

In moving over the ground a peculiar sound is produced by the friction of its scales. It is capable of springing with great agility a fairly long distance on to its prey. When it believes itself in danger it coils up, doubling its body twice in the shape of a crescent, in the middle of which it places its head, ready to strike. Its venom is very rapid in taking effect.

2.—CROTALINÆ.

(e) Ancistrodon.

The snakes belonging to this genus of Crotalinæ are found in Central and Eastern Asia, but three important species occur in the New World, in the United States and Central America. The head is covered with nine large symmetrical shields, but the internasals and præfrontals are sometimes broken up into scales. The body is cylindrical; the tail rather short; the subcaudal scales are arranged in one or two rows.

A. acutus.—The snout of this snake is prolonged into an appendage directed forwards. The head-shields are finely granulate. Body scales arranged in 21 rows; 162-166 ventrals; 58-60 subcaudals.

Coloration brown on the back, with blackish-brown X-shaped spots; head dark brown, yellow on the cheeks, with a black band running from the eye to the angle of the jaw; belly yellowish, spotted with brown, with a series of large black transverse blotches.

Total length, 1,500 millimetres; tail 200.

Habitat: Upper Yang-tse, China.

A. halys.—Snout prolonged into an upturned appendage, blunt at the tip; 7-8 supralabial scales, the third of which forms part of the margin of the eye; body scales in 23 rows; 149-174 ventrals; 31-44 subcaudals.

Coloration yellowish, grey, red, or pale brown above, with darker spots or cross-bars. A black spot on the snout; two black spots on the vertex; a dark, light-edged band on the temple; belly whitish, more or less speckled with grey or brown.

Total length, 490 millimetres; tail 65.

Habitat: From the borders of the Caspian Sea and the Ural River to the Upper Yenisei; Turkestan.

A. intermedius.—Resembles the foregoing very closely, but the snout is not turned up at the end.

Total length, 750 millimetres; tail 85.

Habitat: Central Asia, Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and Japan.

A. blomhoffii.—Similar to A. halys, but the snout is not turned up at the end, and the body scales are in 21 rows; 137-166 ventral scales; 29-55 subcaudals.

Coloration very variable; grey, brown, or red above, with large black-edged spots arranged in pairs; black, light-edged band on the temple; upper lip uniformly yellow or red; belly yellow or reddish, more or less spotted with black, or almost entirely black.

Total length, 720 millimetres; tail 100.

Habitat: Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, China, Japan, Siam.

A. himalayanus.—Snout scarcely turned up, with a hard tip; 5-7 supralabial shields. Body scales in 21 (rarely 23) rows; 144-166 ventrals; subcaudals in 35-51 pairs.

Fig. 31.—Ancistrodon hypnale.

(The Carawalla of Ceylon.) (After Sir Joseph Fayrer.)

Coloration brown, with black spots or transverse bands; black, light-edged band from the eye to the angle of the mouth; belly dark brown, or more or less whitish.

Total length, 590 millimetres; tail 90.

Habitat: Himalayas (5,000 to 10,000 feet), especially in the North-west; Khasi Hills.

This snake feeds chiefly on mice.

A. rhodostoma.—Snout pointed, somewhat turned up at the tip: 7-9 supralabial shields; body scales in 21 rows; 138-157 ventrals; 34-54 subcaudal pairs.

Coloration reddish, grey, or pale brown above, with large angular, dark brown, black-edged spots arranged in pairs or alternating. Vertebral line almost black; lips yellow, speckled with brown; brown, black-edged band, running from the eye to the angle of the mouth. Belly yellowish, spotted with greyish-brown.

Total length, 810 millimetres; tail 90.

Habitat: Java.

A. hypnale (fig. 31).—Snout more or less turned up, with a hard, pointed end; 7-8 supralabial shields; body scales in 17 rows; 125-155 ventrals; 28-45 subcaudal pairs.

Coloration very variable; brown, yellowish, or greyish above, sometimes with dark brown spots or transverse bands. Cheeks brown, with a longitudinal, white, black-edged streak on each side of the neck. Belly more or less speckled with dark brown.

Total length, 480 millimetres; tail 65.

Habitat: Ceylon, and Western Ghats of India as far north as Bombay.

In Ceylon this snake is known as the Carawalla. It is much dreaded, but its bite is not rapidly fatal.

(f) Lachesis.

This genus has many representatives in Asia and the New World. The American species are for the most part of larger size and more formidable.

They are characterised by a triangular head, covered with small scales or small shields, and by a cylindrical or compressed body. The Asiatic species have the subcaudal scales in two rows and the tail short, and often prehensile, which enables them to climb trees or bushes, where they lie in wait for their prey.

Their classification is based upon the following characters:—

A. First infralabial scale in contact with its fellow.

I. Scales in 21-25 (rarely 27) rows; 129-158 ventrals; 21-57 subcaudals; 5-9 series of scales between the supraocular shields; tail non-prehensile.

Fig. 32.—Lachesis okinavensis. (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

(1) L. monticola.—Supraocular shields large, separated by 5-8 scales; snout obtuse.

Colour brown or yellowish above, brown or pale yellow on the sides, with a brown temporal streak. Belly white, spotted with brown.

Total length, 740 millimetres; tail 115.

Habitat: Tibet, Himalayas (2,000 to 8,000 feet), Hills of Assam, Burma, Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Sumatra.

(2) L. okinavensis (fig. 32).—Supraocular shields large, separated by a transverse series of 6-9 scales; end of snout pointed and turned up.

Colour brown above, with dark transverse bands and a light temporal streak. Belly brown, spotted with black, especially on the sides.

Total length, 350 millimetres; tail 60.

Habitat: Okinawa, Loo Choo Islands.

(3) L. strigatus.—Supraocular shields small, sometimes broken up, separated by 8-11 convex scales in juxtaposition.

Colour brown above, with black spots often forming a median zigzag band; temporal band black; belly whitish, spotted with grey or black; end of tail yellow or reddish.

Total length, 480 millimetres; tail 55.

Habitat: Hills near Bombay, Deccan, Anamallays and Nilgherries.

II. Scales in 27-37 rows; 174-231 ventrals; 54-90 subcaudals; tail non-prehensile.

(4) L. flavoviridis.—Scales in 33-37 rows; 222-231 ventrals; 75-90 subcaudals; 8-9 supralabials.

Coloration pale brown or greenish-yellow above, marbled with black; longitudinal black streaks symmetrically disposed on the head; belly yellow or greenish, with darker spots.

Total length, 1,215 millimetres; tail 220.

Habitat: Loo Choo Islands.

This snake is not infrequently termed by naturalists Trimeresurus riukianus.

(5) L. cantoris.—Scales in 27-31 rows; 174-184 ventrals; 55-76 subcaudals; 13 supralabials.

Coloration pale brown or dull green, with small black spots; a whitish streak along the sides of the body; belly white or greenish.

Total length, 1,020 millimetres; tail 140.

Habitat: Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

III. Scales in 21-27 rows; 160-218 ventrals; 54-92 subcaudals; tail not or scarcely prehensile.

(6) L. jerdonii.—7-9 scales in a line between the supraocular shields; scales in 21 or 23 rows; 164-188 ventrals; 54-67 subcaudals.

Coloration greenish-yellow or olive above, mixed with black, a dorsal series of reddish-brown transverse rhomboidal spots; upper lip yellow, with one or two black spots; belly yellow, more or less marbled with black.

Total length, 930 millimetres; tail 145.

Habitat: Assam, Tibet, Upper Yang-tse.

(7) L. mucrosquamatus.—10-15 scales in a line between the supraocular shields; scales in 25-27 rows; 183-218 ventrals; 72-92 subcaudals. Colour brownish-grey above, with a series of large black median spots and smaller ones on the sides; a black streak from the eye to the angle of the mouth; belly brownish, spotted with white.

Total length, 1,050 millimetres; tail 210.

Habitat: Formosa, Assam.

(8) L. luteus.—12 or 13 scales in a line between the supraocular shields; scales in 23-25 rows; 182-186 ventrals; 72-74 subcaudals; supraocular shields large.

Colour yellow above, with a series of dark rhomboidal spots, and a dorsal, black-spotted zigzag band; a black streak on each side of the head behind the eyes; belly yellowish, spotted with grey.

Total length, 945 millimetres; tail 164.

Habitat: Loo Choo Islands.

(9) L. purpureomaculatus.—12-15 scales in a line between the supraocular shields; scales in 25-27 rows; ventrals 160-182; subcaudals 55-76; supraocular shield very narrow, sometimes broken up.

Coloration purplish-black above, sometimes variegated with pale green; flanks pale green; belly olive or greenish-white, uniform or spotted with black. Some specimens are entirely green.

Total length, 980 millimetres; tail 150.

Habitat: Himalayas, Bengal, Assam, Burma, Malay Peninsula, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Pulo-Pinang, Sumatra.

IV. Scales in 21 rows (rarely 19 or 23); 7-13 series of scales between the supraoculars; tail more or less prehensile.

(10) L. gramineus (Syn. Trimeresurus gramineus. The Green Pit Viper).—145-175 ventral scales; 53-75 subcaudals; snout slightly projecting; supraocular shield narrow.

Colour bright green, rarely olive or yellowish, with or without darker transverse bands; end of tail yellow or red; belly green, yellow, or white.

Total length, 870 millimetres; tail 150.

Habitat: South-eastern Asia, Darjeeling, Himalayas, Ganges Delta, Siam, Southern China, Hong Kong, Formosa, Java, Sumatra, Timor.

Fig. 33.—Lachesis flavomaculatus. (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

(11) L. flavomaculatus (fig. 33).—170-187 ventral scales; 53-73 subcaudals; snout projecting, obliquely truncate; supraocular shield narrow.

Colour bright green or olive, sometimes barred with reddish-brown; belly green, olive, or greenish-yellow; end of tail sometimes red.

Total length, 1,060 millimetres; tail 160.

Habitat: Philippine Islands.

(12) L. sumatranus.—180-191 ventral scales; 58-82 subcaudals; supraocular shield large.

Coloration bright green, with or without black transverse bands; yellowish band on each side; belly yellow or green, with or without black speckles; end of tail red.

Total length, 1,100 millimetres; tail 180.

Habitat: Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo, Palawan.

(13) L. anamallensis.—138-158 ventral scales; 44-58 subcaudals.

Colour green, olive, yellowish, or reddish-brown; a black temporal band; belly pale green, olive, or yellow; tail usually black and yellow.

Total length, 730 millimetres; tail 110.

Habitat: Anamallay and Nilgherry Hills, South India.

(14) L. trigonocephalus.—Scales in 17-19 rows, 145-170 ventrals; 53-67 subcaudals.

Coloration green, with or without black transverse bands or spots; a black temporal streak; belly green or yellow; end of tail usually black.

Total length, 790 millimetres; tail 130.

Habitat: Ceylon.

(15) L. macrolepis.—Scales in 13-15 rows; 134-143 ventrals; 48-56 subcaudals.

Colour bright green or olive; belly pale green.

Total length, 680 millimetres; tail 120.

Habitat: Southern India.

B. First lower labial shield divided; the portion separated off forms a pair of small supplementary dental shields; 144-176 ventral scales; 38-57 subcaudals; tail prehensile.

(16) L. puniceus.—Scales in 21-23 rows; 12-14 series of scales between the supraocular shields.

Colour grey, brown, or red; belly spotted with brown; end of tail red.

Total length, 640 millimetres; tail 90.

Habitat: Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Natuna Islands.

(17) L. borneensis.—Scales in 19-21 rows; 10-11 series of scales between the supraocular shields; 152-168 ventrals; 43-65 subcaudals.

Total length, 770 millimetres; tail 105.

Habitat: Borneo, Sumatra.

C. (18) L. wagleri.—Scales in 19-27 rows, 127-154 ventrals; 45-55 subcaudals; tail prehensile.

Colour green, with darker or lighter markings, black and yellow, or nearly entirely black.

Total length, 980 millimetres; tail 150.

Habitat: Malay Peninsula and Archipelago.

C.—AFRICA.

In Africa, poisonous snakes abound throughout the whole of the tropical and sub-tropical zones. The fatal accidents to human beings caused by them in this continent are fewer than in India, since the population of Africa is less dense, but several species occur, the venom of which is especially dangerous to life.

These species belong in nearly equal numbers to the Families Colubridæ and Viperidæ.

I.—Colubridæ.

The poisonous Colubridæ of Africa are all included in the Subfamily Elapinæ, of which the following are the eight principal genera:—

(a) Boulengerina. (b) Elapechis. (c) Naja. (d) Sepedon. (e) Aspidelaps. (f) Walterinnesia. (g) Homorelaps. (h) Dendraspis.

(a) Boulengerina.

A small snake 240 millimetres in length, the principal characters of which are as follows:—

Maxillary bones equal to the palatines in length, with a pair of relatively large poison-fangs, followed by three or four small teeth.

Head hardly distinct from the neck. Eye small, with round pupil; nostril between two nasal shields. Body cylindrical; scales smooth, in 21 rows; ventrals rounded. Tail moderate; subcaudal scales in 2 rows.

The only known species, B. stormsi, is brown, with black transverse bars on the neck; tail black; belly white in front, brown behind, with a black border to the scales.

It is found in the region of Lake Tanganyika.

(b) Elapechis.

This genus is characterised by the size of the maxillary bones, which is equal to that of the palatines; a pair of large poison-fangs followed by two to four small teeth; head not distinct from the neck; eye small with round pupil; nostril between two nasal shields. Body cylindrical; scales oblique, smooth, in 13 or 15 rows; ventrals rounded. Tail very short, subcaudal shields in 2 rows.

Six species are known:—

(1) E. guentheri.—Scales in 13 rows. Snout short, rounded; first lower labial shield in contact with its neighbour behind the symphysis. Internasal shorter than the præfrontals; length of frontal three-fourths of that of the parietals.

Coloration whitish or grey above, with black, white-edged cross-bands. Belly dirty white, brownish, or grey.

Total length, 520 millimetres; tail 50.

Habitat: Gaboon, Congo, Angola, Central Africa.

(2) E. niger.—Snout and arrangement of scales as before. Internasal shields three-fourths of the length of the præfrontals; frontal two-thirds of the length of the parietals.

Colour, black all over.

Total length, 420 millimetres; tail 30.

Habitat: Zanzibar.

(3) E. hessii.—Snout as in foregoing. Symphysial shield of the lower lip in contact with the anterior chin-shields.

Colour grey, with black cross-bars; a series of black spots on the sides, between the bars; large black blotch on nape; belly white.

Total length, 160 millimetres; tail 12.

Habitat: Congo.

(4) E. decosteri.—Snout obtusely pointed.

Colour, dark grey, each scale edged with black; belly white.

Total length, 380 millimetres; tail 38.

Habitat: Delagoa Bay.

(5) E. sundevallii.—Snout obtusely pointed.

Colour reddish-brown, with yellow transverse bands, the scales in which are edged with reddish-brown; upper lip and belly yellow.

Total length, 510 millimetres; tail 43.

Habitat: Caffraria.

(6) E. boulengeri.—Scales in 15 rows.

Colour black on the back, with narrow white transverse bands; head white, with a black streak along the parietal suture; belly blackish-grey.

Total length, 170 millimetres; tail 14.

Habitat: Zambesi.

(c) Naja.

(For the characters of this genus, see Asia, p. 33.)

Six species of Naja are found in Africa:—

(1) N. haje or haie.—Scales in 21-23 rows on the neck, which is dilatable, although slightly less so than that of N. tripudians, the Cobra-di-Capello of India.

Six or seven large supralabial shields, sixth or seventh in contact with the lower postocular. Eyes separated from the labial shields by the suboculars. 191-214 ventral scales; 53-64 subcaudals.

Colour yellowish, olive, or uniform black; belly yellowish; black or brown band on the neck; head sometimes blackish.

Total length, 1,180 millimetres; tail 290.

Habitat: Borders of the Sahara, Egypt, Southern Palestine, East Africa as far south as Mozambique.

Naja haje (the Egyptian Cobra) is common throughout the Nile Basin, the Sudan and Central Africa. Livingstone mentions it several times. In Egypt it is met with in the vicinity of ruined monuments, under the large blocks of stone or among brushwood.

The Egyptians are greatly in dread of it, and hunt it down as often as possible. When pursued, N. haje turns bravely and faces its adversary, raising itself upon its tail, puffing out its neck and hissing fiercely. If too hard pressed it strikes at its enemy.

“A friend of mine,” writes Anderson, “had great difficulty in escaping from one of these snakes. While botanising one day a Naja passed quite close to him. My friend darted backwards with all speed, but the Naja pursued and was about to attack him, when he stumbled against an ant-hill and fell flat on his back. This, no doubt, frightened the snake, which disappeared in a twinkling.”

Another case of the same kind is narrated by Waller, who writes: “A young girl met with her death in a truly dramatic fashion. She was walking behind some porters on a narrow path, when suddenly an Aspic came out of a thick bush, attacked and bit her in the thigh; in spite of all efforts to save her the unfortunate girl died in less than ten minutes.” This instance, which is absolutely authentic, proves the truth of the statements made by various travellers. Natives assert that a full-grown Naja invariably pursues either a man or an animal, however large, when either passes within its range (Brehm).

Snake-charmers, of whom there are many in Egypt, always employ Naja haje for their performances. They know how to capture it, and tear out its fangs by making it bite a bundle of rags.

This species rarely lives more than six or eight months in captivity, and is quite untamable. It is fond of bathing, and remains in the water for hours together.

“The Ancient Egyptians,” write Duméril and Bibron,3 “are known to have worshipped the Naja, which they regarded as the protector of their crops. They allowed it to live and multiply among the cultivated lands, which they apparently entrusted to the care of their tutelary guardian, recognising that this snake freed them from the ravages of the rats, the immense number of which otherwise caused terrible destruction and even actual famine. It was, therefore, from motives of gratitude that the Egyptian Cobra was venerated in this way; that its image was hung up in the temples; that its skin was embalmed; and that its effigy, so easy to recognise and to reproduce roughly, was graven or sculptured on the stones of their monuments. This is the explanation of the fact that paintings representing N. haje are frequently reproduced in hieroglyphics and on Egyptian sarcophagi.”

The Naja was the tutelary deity of the temples, whose duty was to prevent the profane from entering. Thus, in one of the crypts of Denderah we find represented Serpent-genie, figures with a head like that of a Naja supported by the body of a man, with the hands armed with enormous cutlasses (Mariette, Dendérah, p. 91, 1875).

(2) N. flava.—Same arrangement of scales. Neck dilatable. 200-227 ventrals; 50-67 subcaudals.

Colour very variable, yellowish, reddish, brown, or black, uniform or with light spots; sometimes a black transverse band on the neck.

Total length, 1,470 millimetres; tail 230.

Habitat: South Africa.

(3) N. melanoleuca.—Coloration very variable. Sides of the head yellow or whitish; labial shields tinged with black on the posterior edge.

Total length, 2,400 millimetres; tail 400.

Habitat: Tropical Africa.

(4) N. nigricollis.—Third supralabial shield the deepest, sixth and seventh not in contact with the postoculars; 183-228 ventral scales; 55-68 subcaudals.

Coloration very variable; lower surface of the neck with a black transverse bar.

Total length, 2,000 millimetres; tail 300.

Habitat: From Senegambia and Upper Egypt to Angola and the Transvaal.

(5) N. anchietæ.—Scales in 17 rows on the neck and on the body; 181-192 ventrals; 52-62 subcaudals.

Colour blackish or brown above; end of snout and cheeks yellow; belly yellow or pale brown, with or without black cross-bar under the neck.

Total length, 1,800 millimetres; tail 340.

Habitat: Angola and Ovamboland.

(6) N. goldii.—Eyes large, two-thirds the length of the snout in adults. Scales in 15 rows on the neck and on the body; 194—195 ventrals; 88 subcaudals.

Colour black, uniform, or with transverse series of small whitish spots; cheeks and end of snout white, with a black border at the margin of the shields; belly white in front, black behind; subcaudal scales black.

Total length, 1,750 millimetres.

Habitat: Lower Niger.

(d) Sepedon.

Maxillary bones projecting considerably beyond the palatines, with a pair of large poison-fangs; no other maxillary teeth. Head not distinct from neck; eyes of moderate size, with round pupils; nostril between two nasal shields and an internasal. Body cylindrical; scales oblique, keeled, in 19 rows; ventrals rounded. Tail moderate; subcaudal scales in 2 rows.

S. hæmachates (The Spitting Snake, or Ring Hals Slang).—This snake, which is about 700 millimetres in length, is of a bluish-brown colour, with numerous narrow, undulating and denticulate cross-bands of yellow or yellowish-white. The throat is black or dark red; the belly grey.

It is met with throughout West, East, and South Africa, as far as the Cape of Good Hope, where it is very common. It lives among bushes in sandy places, where the ground is full of the holes of rats, moles, and small rodents, upon which it feeds. It is very active and exhibits great ferocity.

Natives at the Cape declare that this snake is able to project its venom to a distance of more than a yard, especially if the wind is blowing in the same direction, and that, if the poison happens to enter the eye, the inflammation that results therefrom often leads to loss of sight (Smith).

As to this, a very definite statement is given by Bavay,4 on the authority of Le Naour:—

“While hunting in Dahomey,” wrote Le Naour to Bavay, “I thrice met with the snake called the Spitter. On two occasions my dog was struck in both eyes by the liquid projected by the reptile. Immediately (less than two minutes afterwards), symptoms of conjunctivitis manifested themselves, with considerable swelling of the pupils; the conjunctivitis seemed as though it were going to be very serious, and yielded only after twelve days’ treatment with boracic lotion, aided by a few cauterisations with sulphate of copper.

“During my sojourn at Porto-Novo, a store-keeper at the Dogba trading station was a victim of the Spitter. While working at his store he received in his eye a jet of liquid, which produced violent conjunctivitis.”

(e) Aspidelaps.

Maxillary bones extending forwards beyond the palatines, as in Sepedon, with a pair of large poison-fangs; no other maxillary teeth. Head slightly distinct from the neck. Eyes of moderate size, with round or vertically elliptic pupils. Rostral shield very large, detached on the sides. Body cylindrical; scales oblique, smooth or keeled, in 19-23 rows; ventrals rounded. Tail short, obtuse; subcaudal scales in 2 rows.

(1) A. lubricus.—146-167 ventral scales; 20-28 subcaudals.

Colour orange or red, with black rings; a black bar below the eyes; upper surface of head sometimes entirely black.

Total length, 590 millimetres; tail 55.

Habitat: Cape Colony and Namaqualand.

(2) A. scutatus (Fula-fula of Mozambique).—115-135 ventrals; 24-38 subcaudals.

Colour pale grey, with black spots or cross-bars, and a black mark shaped like a circumflex accent on the head. A black collar encircling the neck, and a black vertical streak below the eye. Belly whitish.

The total length may be as much as 520 millimetres.

Habitat: Natal, Delagoa Bay, Mozambique.

(f) Walterinnesia.

Maxillary bones prolonged forwards beyond the palatines, with a pair of large poison-fangs; no other maxillary teeth. Head distinct from the neck; eyes rather small, with round pupils; nostril between two or three nasal shields and the internasal. Body cylindrical; scales smooth or feebly keeled, in 23 rows; ventrals rounded. Tail rather short; subcaudal scales for the most part in 2 rows.

W. ægyptia.—Colour blackish-brown on the back, paler on the belly.

Total length, 1,170 millimetres; tail 170.

Habitat: Egypt.

Fig. 34.—Skull of Dendraspis viridis (Poisonous West African Colubrine). (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

(g) Dendraspis.

(Fig. 34.)

Maxillary bone curved upwards, bearing a pair of powerful poison-fangs, not fissured, and not followed by other teeth; a long tooth at the end of each ramus of the mandible. Head narrow, elongate; eye moderate, with round pupil; nostril between two shields. Body slightly compressed; scales smooth, narrow, very oblique, in 13-23 rows; ventrals rounded. Tail long; subcaudals in 2 rows.

(1) D. viridis.—211-225 ventral scales; 107-119 subcaudals.

Colour uniform olive-green. Shields on the head edged with black; lips yellow; belly and tail yellow, with scales and shields bordered with black.

Total length, 1,830 millimetres; tail 460.

Habitat: West Africa, from the Senegal to the Niger; St. Thome Island.

(2) D. jamesonii.—Coloration as before. Scales in 15-19 rows (19-21 on the neck); 210-235 ventrals; 99-121 subcaudals. Tail sometimes black.

Total length, 2,100 millimetres; tail 560.

Habitat: West Africa, from the Niger to Angola; Central Africa.

(3) D. angusticeps (The Mamba).—202-270 ventral scales; 99-121 subcaudals.

Colour green, olive, or blackish, uniform; belly yellowish or pale green; caudal scales and shields not bordered with black.

Total length, 2,000 millimetres; tail 430.

Habitat: West Africa, south of the Congo; Central Africa, East Africa, Transvaal, Natal.

(4) D. antinorii.—Scales in 21-23 rows; 248 ventrals; 117 subcaudals. Colour olive on the back, yellowish on the belly.

Total length, 2,690 millimetres; tail 545.

Habitat: Abyssinia.

II.—Viperidæ.

The African Viperidæ all belong to the Subfamily Viperinæ, of which the following are the seven principal genera:—

(a) Causus. (b) Vipera. (c) Bitis. (d) Cerastes. (e) Echis. (f) Atheris. (g) Atractaspis.

(a) Causus.

(Fig. 35.)

Head distinct from the neck, covered with symmetrical shields; nostril between two nasal shields, and the internasal; eyes moderate, with round pupils, separated from the lips by subocular shields. Body cylindrical; scales smooth or keeled, oblique on the sides, in 15-22 rows; ventral scales rounded. Tail short; subcaudals in 2 rows or single.

Four species:—

(1) C. rhombeatus.—Snout obtuse, moderately prominent. Scales in 17-21 rows; 120-155 ventrals; 15-29 subcaudals.

Colour olive or pale brown, usually with a series of V-shaped brown spots bordered with white, and a large spot in the form of a circumflex accent at the back of the head; lips bordered with black; belly yellowish or grey.

Total length, 700 millimetres; tail 75.

Habitat: Tropical and South Africa, from the Gambia to the Cape.

(2) C. resimus.—Snout prominent, more or less turned up; scales in 19-22 rows; 134-152 ventrals; 17-25 subcaudals.

Colour greyish-olive on the back; uniform white on the belly.

Total length, 470 millimetres; tail 40.

Habitat: Central and East Africa, Angola.

(3) C. defilipii.—Snout prominent, more or less turned up. Scales in 17 rows; 113-125 ventrals; 10-18 subcaudals.

Colour grey or pale brown above, with a series of large rhomboidal or V-shaped blackish-brown spots; a large A-shaped dark brown mark on the occiput; an oblique dark streak behind the eye; supralabial shields edged with black; belly yellowish.

Total length, 400 millimetres; tail 22.

Habitat: Central and East Africa, Transvaal.

Fig. 35.—Skull of Causus rhombeatus. (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

(4) C. lichtensteinii.—Snout obtuse; scales in 15 rows; 142-144 ventrals; subcaudals 15-21, single.

Colour greyish, with rather indistinct darker chevron-shaped cross-bands.

Total length, 413 millimetres; tail 35.

Habitat: West Africa (Gold Coast), Congo.

(b) Vipera.

(For the characters of this genus, see p. 23,—Europe.)

In North Africa are found Vipera latastii, V. ammodytes, and especially V. lebetina, the range of which extends from Morocco to Northern India. Vipera superciliaris, which occurs on the coast of Mozambique, has the snout rounded, and the head covered with small, imbricate, keeled scales, with a large supraocular shield; nostril very large, between two nasal shields; scales on the body strongly keeled, in 27 rows; 142 ventrals; 40 subcaudals.

The colour is pale reddish-brown or orange, with blackish transverse bars broken by a longitudinal yellow band on each side; the belly is white, spotted with black.

Total length, 570 millimetres; tail 77.

(c) Bitis.

(Fig. 36.)

The Viperidæ belonging to this genus have the head very distinct from the neck, covered with small imbricate scales; the eyes rather small, with vertical pupils, separated from the lips by small scales; the nostrils directed upwards and outwards, usually pierced in a single nasal shield, with a rather deep pit above, closed by a valvular supranasal. The postfrontal bones are very large, in contact with the ectopterygoids. Scales keeled, with apical pits, in 22-41 rows; ventrals rounded. Tail very short; subcaudal scales in 2 rows.

(1) B. arietans (the Puff Adder; fig. 37).—This viper has the nostrils on the upper surface of the snout, and two series of scales between the supranasal shields; 12-16 supralabials; 3-5 lower labials. The scales on the body are in 29-41 rows, and strongly keeled; ventrals 131-145; subcaudals 16-34.

The body is thick, the head large and triangular, and the tail very short. The colour is dirty yellow or orange, with large, transverse or oblique, chevron-shaped black bands; an oblique black band extends behind the eye. The belly is dirty yellow, uniform, or marked with small black spots.

Total length, 1,350 millimetres, sometimes more; tail 160.

Fig. 36.—Skull of Bitis arietans (the Puff Adder). (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

Habitat: This snake is met with throughout Africa, from Southern Morocco, Kordofan, and Somaliland, to the Cape of Good Hope, and also in Southern Arabia. It is especially common near the Niger and on the Congo.

When irritated, it puffs itself out to such an extent that its body becomes twice the ordinary size. It then doubles back its head and neck in the shape of an S, and emits a loud and prolonged hiss. Before biting, it first strikes a blow with its head as with a battering-ram, thus justifying its French name, vipère heurtante (Striking Viper).

Fig. 37.—Bitis arietans (the Puff Adder). (After Duméril and Bibron.)

The natives of South Africa assert that this Viper is able to spring high enough to strike a rider on horseback. It feeds upon rats and mice, in search of which it often approaches habitations.

The Hottentots hunt it in order to obtain its venom; they pound its head between stones, and mix the pulp with the juice of certain plants for the purpose of poisoning their arrows.

It lives for a fairly long time in captivity. At the Pasteur Institute at Lille I have succeeded in keeping one of these snakes for two years, feeding it by forcing milk and eggs down its throat.

(2) B. peringueyi.—Nostrils opening upwards and outwards. Head covered with small, strongly keeled scales, which are smallest on the vertex; 11 scales round the eye; 3 series of scales between the eye and the lip; 11-14 supralabials. Scales on the body in 25-27 rows, strongly keeled; 130-132 ventrals; 19-28 subcaudals.

Colour greyish-olive, with 3 longitudinal series of grey or blackish spots; head sometimes with a trident-shaped dark mark, followed by a cross; under surface whitish, with small dark spots.

Total length, 325 millimetres; tail 26.

Habitat: Angola and Damaraland.

(3) B. atropos.—Nostrils opening upwards and outwards, 13-16 scales round the eye; 2-5 series of scales between the supranasals; 10-12 supralabials; 3-4 infralabials. Scales on the body in 29-31 rows, all strongly keeled; 124-145 ventrals; 18-29 subcaudals.

Colour brown or grey-brown, with 4 longitudinal series of dark spots, edged with black and white; two large black marks on the head; belly grey or brown, with darker spots.

Total length, 350 millimetres; tail 25.

Habitat: Cape of Good Hope.

(4) B. inornata.—Eyes smaller than in B. atropos, and separated from the lips by 4 series of scales; supraorbital region raised, but without erect horn-like scales; 15-17 scales across the head; 13-14 supralabials; 3 lower labials. Scales on the body in 27-29 rows, all keeled; 126-140 ventrals; 19-26 subcaudals.

Total length, 350 millimetres; tail 30.

Habitat: Cape of Good Hope.

(5) B. cornuta (fig. 38).—Nostrils opening upwards and outwards. Head covered with small, imbricate, strongly keeled scales; 2-5 raised scales, like horns, above each eye; 12-14 scales round the eye; 12-15 supralabials; 2-3 infralabials. Scales on the body keeled, in 25-29 rows; 120-152 ventrals; 18-36 subcaudals.

Colour grey or reddish-brown, with black spots, edged with white and arranged in 3 or 4 longitudinal series; a dark, oblique streak from the eye to the mouth; belly yellow or brown, uniform or spotted.

Total length, 510 millimetres; tail 35.

Fig. 38.—Bitis cornuta. (After Duméril and Bibron.)

Habitat: Cape Colony, Namaqualand, Damaraland.

(6) B. caudalis.—Nostrils opening upwards and outwards. 12-16 scales from one eye to the other across the head; above each eye a single, erect, horn-like scale; 10-16 scales round the eye; 10-13 supralabials; 2-3 infralabials. Scales on the body in 22-29 rows, strongly keeled; 112-153 ventrals; 18-33 subcaudals.

Colour reddish or sandy-grey, with 2 series of brown spots with light centres, and frequently a vertebral series of narrow spots; belly dull yellow, uniform, or with small black spots on the sides.

Total length, 360 millimetres; tail 25.

Habitat: South-west Africa, from Angola to Namaqualand.

(7) B. gabonica (Gaboon Viper, or River Jack Viper).—Nostrils directed upwards and outwards. Head covered with small, moderately keeled scales, smallest on the vertex, 13-16 from eye to eye; 15-19 scales round the eye; a pair of erectile, triangular, nasal “horns,” consisting of sometimes tricuspid shields, between the supranasals; 13-16 supralabials; 4-5 infralabials. Scales on the body in 33-41 rows, strongly keeled; lateral scales slightly oblique; 125-140 ventrals; 17-33 subcaudals.

This viper, which often attains a length of 1,200 millimetres, is brown, with a vertebral series of quadrangular, yellowish, or light brown spots connected by black markings; the belly is dull yellow, with small brown or blackish spots.

Habitat: Tropical Africa (West Africa, from Liberia to Damaraland; Zanzibar, Mozambique).

This species, which is nocturnal, is often met with on the Gaboon, and in the forests near the banks of the Ogowai. Its head is enormous, triangular in shape, and wider above; it has a bulky body, and a very short tail, terminating abruptly in a point.

The Gaboon Viper is a savage snake, with very active venom, and its poison-glands are of the size of large almonds. It lives in virgin forests, among dead wood and rocks. I have several times met with it in manioc plantations on the edge of the woods. In broad daylight it is sluggish, moves somewhat slowly, and never attacks man. It bites only when surprised.

Fig. 39.—Bitis nasicornis. (After Duméril and Bibron.)

(8) B. nasicornis (fig. 39).—Nostrils opening upwards and outwards. Head covered with small strongly keeled scales, smaller on the vertex, 14-16 from one eye to the other; 2 or 3 pairs of compressed, erectile, horn-like shields between the supranasals, usually separated in the middle by 1 or 2 series of small scales; 15-18 supralabials; 4-6 infralabials. Scales on the body in 35-41 rows, strongly keeled; 124-140 ventrals; 16-32 subcaudals.

Colour purple or reddish-brown above, with pale olive or dark brown spots; a vertebral series of brown, black-edged spots, which assume a rhomboidal form; sides of head dark brown, with a triangular light mark in front of the eye, and an oblique light streak from behind the eye to the mouth; belly pale olive, spotted with black or yellow.

Total length, 1,250 millimetres; tail 125.

Habitat: West Africa, from Liberia to the Gaboon.

(d) Cerastes.

Head very distinct from the neck, covered with small juxtaposed or slightly imbricate scales; eyes small, with vertical pupils, separated from the lips by small scales; nostrils opening upwards and outwards. Body cylindrical; scales keeled, with apical pits, in 23-35 rows. Tail short; subcaudals in 2 rows.

(1) C. cornutus (fig. 40).—Snout very short and broad; two erectile horns above the eyes, which are separated by 15-21 scales and surrounded by 14-18; 4-5 series of scales between the eyes and the lips; 12-15 supralabials; 3 infralabials; scales on the body in 27-35 rows; 130-165 ventrals; 25-42 subcaudals.

Fig. 40.—Cerastes cornutus. (After Duméril and Bibron.)

Colour yellowish-brown or grey, with or without brown spots, forming 4-6 regular series, the two middle ones sometimes forming cross-bars; an oblique dark streak behind the eye; belly white; end of tail sometimes black.

Total length, 720 millimetres; tail 90.

Habitat: Northern border of the Sahara, Egypt, Nubia, Arabia, and Southern Palestine.

(2) C. vipera.—Snout very short and broad; head covered with small, tubercularly keeled scales, to the number of 9-13 from eye to eye; no “horns”; 9-14 scales round the eye; nostril between two small shields, separated from their neighbours by 5-6 series of scales; 10-12 supralabials; 3 infralabials. Scales on the body in 23-27 rows; 102-122 ventrals, rather strongly keeled at the sides; 18-26 subcaudals. Colour dull yellow, pale brown or reddish, with or without black spots; end of tail often black above; ventral surface white.

Total length, 340 millimetres; tail 30.

Habitat: Northern border of the Sahara, from Algeria to Egypt.

The snakes belonging to this genus live constantly hidden in the sand, lying in wait for small birds, which alight beside them without suspicion, mistaking their horns for insects or larvæ; they also feed upon mice. Their poison-fangs are of relatively large size.

These small and exceedingly active vipers, whose colour harmonises marvellously with their surroundings, are very dangerous to the Arabs and blacks, who walk barefooted; they frequently cause fatal accidents.

They are able to exist for a very long time without drinking. They are attracted by the fires which are lighted at night round caravan encampments.

(e) Echis.

(See Asia, p. 48.)

(1) E. carinatus (Efa, Viper of the Pyramids).—The same as met with in Persia, Arabia, and India. Very common in the environs of Cairo, and throughout Egypt and Abyssinia. It often makes its way into towns and villages. Brehm records that he more than once found an Efa in his house at Khartoum, and that on one occasion he discovered one of these vipers coiled up beneath the covering of his bed. At another time, getting up in the night, he put his foot on one of these animals and was not bitten, the reptile being very fortunately just at that moment in the act of devouring a tame bird which it had seized.

It hardly ever happens that a native of Egypt can bring himself to destroy an Efa, of which he has the greatest dread. If, as often occurs, he finds one of these reptiles in his house, he addresses himself to the Hani or juggler, in order that, by his magic art, he may expel the dangerous visitor. From this custom the juggler evidently derives no small advantage, for, as is only right, he does not ply his craft for nothing. In many cases, indeed, the juggler releases a snake in a house, and then goes and informs the owner that he knows that a reptile is concealed in his dwelling, and that, in consideration of a stipulated reward, he will rid him of it (Brehm).

Fig. 41.—Echis coloratus. (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

(2) E. coloratus (fig. 41).—Scales on the snout and vertex convex, smooth or bluntly keeled, 13-15 from eye to eye; no supraocular shield; 17-22 scales round the eye; 12-15 supralabials; scales on the body in 31-35 rows; 174-205 ventrals; 42-52 subcaudals. No cruciform mark on the head.

Total length, 750 millimetres; tail 80.

Habitat: Palestine, Arabia, Socotra.

(f) Atheris.

Head very distinct from neck, covered with imbricate scales; eyes large, with vertical pupils, usually separated from the labial shields by small scales; nostrils lateral. Body slightly compressed; scales keeled, with apical pits. Tail moderate, prehensile; subcaudal scales in a single row.

(1) A. chlorechis.—No supraciliary horn-like scales; 9-11 scales from eye to eye; 25-36 rows of scales in the middle of the body, strongly keeled; 154-165 ventrals; 53-62 subcaudals.

Colour green, uniform or with small yellow spots; end of tail yellowish or blackish.

Total length, 520 millimetres; tail 85.

Habitat: West Africa, from Liberia to the Ogowai.

(2) A. squamiger.—No supraciliary horn-like scales; 7-8 scales from eye to eye; 15-25 rows of scales in the middle of the body, strongly keeled; 153-173 ventrals; 51-95 subcaudals.

Colour olive, uniform or with more or less regular, narrow yellow cross-bands, or yellow with green spots; belly pale olive, marbled with black or yellow, or uniform yellow.

Total length, 550 millimetres; tail 100.

Habitat: West Africa, from the Cameroons to Angola.

(3) A. ceratophorus.—Several erect, supraciliary horn-like scales; 9-10 scales from eye to eye; 25 rows of scales in the middle of the body, strongly keeled; 142 ventrals; 55 subcaudals.

Colour dark olive, with black spots forming cross-bands; belly pale olive, speckled with black.

Total length, 210 millimetres; tail 65.

Habitat: East Africa.

(g) Atractaspis.

(Fig. 42.)

This genus is characterised by enormous poison-fangs, a few teeth on the palatines, and none on the pterygoids. The mandible, which is edentulous in front, has only two or three small teeth in the middle of the dentary bone. Head small, not distinct from the neck, covered with large symmetrical shields; nostril between two nasal shields; eyes minute, with round pupils; postfrontal bone absent. Body cylindrical; scales smooth, in 17-37 rows; ventrals rounded. Tail short; subcaudals in 1 or 2 rows.

(1) A. hildebrandtii.—Six supralabials; no præocular shields; frontal shorter than the parietals; scales on the body in 17 rows; ventrals 167-174.

Colour uniform dark brown.

Total length, 450 millimetres; tail 53.

Habitat: East Africa.

(2) A. congica.—Five supralabials, of which the fourth is the larger; postocular in contact with a large temporal; one præocular; frontal as long as or slightly shorter than the parietals. Scales on the body in 19-21 rows; 209-230 ventrals; 19-23 subcaudals.

Fig. 42.—Skull of Atractaspis aterrima (African Viperine). (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

Colour uniform dark brown or black.

Total length, 450 millimetres; tail 35.

Habitat: Congo, Angola.

(3) A. irregularis.—Characters as before, but scales on the body in 25-27 rows; 220-257 ventrals, subcaudals 22-28 pairs.

Colour uniform black or dark brown.

Total length, 560 millimetres; tail 35.

Habitat: West Africa, from the Gold Coast to the Congo; Central Africa.

(4) A. corpulenta.—Postocular shield in contact with a large temporal; second lower labial very large, fused with the chin-shields. Scales on the body in 23-27 rows; 178-193 ventrals; 23-27 subcaudals.

Colour uniform blackish-brown; tail sometimes white.

Total length, 345 millimetres; tail 33.

Habitat: West Africa, from Liberia to the Gaboon.

(5) A. rostrata.—Snout very prominent, cuneiform. Third lower labial very large; first lower labial in contact with its fellow, behind the symphysial. Scales on the body in 19-23 rows; ventrals 227-248.

Colour uniform dark brown, or blackish.

Total length, 600 millimetres; tail 37.

Habitat: East and Central Africa.

(6) A. bibronii.—Characters as before. Snout prominent, subcuneiform. Ventral scales, 221-260.

Colour dark purplish-brown above, dull yellow or pale brown on the belly.

Total length, 600 millimetres; tail 25.

Habitat: Eastern districts of Cape Colony, Natal, Namaqualand, Angola.

(7) A. aterrima.—Characters as before. Snout rounded; 251-300 ventral scales.

Colour uniform dark brown or black.

Total length, 650 millimetres; tail 30.

Habitat: West and Central Africa.

(8) A. dahomeyensis.—Characters as before. Symphysial shield in contact with the chin-shields. Scales on the body in 31 rows; 240 ventrals; 24 subcaudals.

Colour black above, brown on the belly.

Total length, 490 millimetres; tail 32.

Habitat: Dahomey.

(9) A. micropholis.—Temporal shields small, 2 + 3 or 4; fourth or fifth infralabial larger; scales on the body in 25 rows; 210-215 ventrals; 29-30 subcaudals. Frontal shield slightly longer than broad, much longer than the parietals.

Colour uniform dark brown.

Total length, 330 millimetres; tail 28.

Habitat: Cape Verd.

(10) A. leucomelas.—Characters as before. Frontal one and two-fifths as long as broad, as long as the parietals.

Colour black, with a vertebral white line, occupying one row and two half rows of scales; ventrals and subcaudals white; neck black, head white, with a black spot covering the nasals and upper head-shields.

Total length, 575 millimetres; tail 40.

Habitat: Somaliland.

(11) A. microlepidota.—Characters as before. Scales on the body in 29-37 rows; 212-245 ventrals; 26-37 subcaudals.

Colour uniform dark brown.

Total length, 540 millimetres; tail 45.

Habitat: Central and East Africa.

D.—AUSTRALIA AND THE LARGE ADJACENT ISLANDS.

The Sunda Islands and the whole of Malaysia are rich in poisonous snakes. Those that are found there belong for the most part to species that we have already met with in India or the Malay Peninsula. We shall therefore not describe them again here.

All those that inhabit Australia are included in the great Family Colubridæ and the Subfamily Elapinæ. There are no Viperidæ; but certain genera of poisonous Colubridæ are peculiar to this continent.

These reptiles have been particularly well studied by Gérard Krefft, formerly Director of the Australian Museum at Sydney, from whose work5 we shall borrow a considerable portion of the following notes, and the figures accompanying them.

The genera represented in Australia are:—

(a) Ogmodon.

(b) Glyphodon.

(c) Pseudelaps.

(d) Diemenia.

(e) Pseudechis.

(f) Denisonia.

(g) Micropechis.

(h) Hoplocephalus.

(i) Tropidechis.

(j) Notechis.

(k) Rhinhoplocephalus.

(l) Brachyaspis.

(m) Acanthophis.

(n) Elapognathus.

(o) Rhynchelaps.

(p) Furina.

(a) Ogmodon.

This genus is characterised by the maxillary bones extending forwards as far as the palatines, and bearing, in addition to the poison-fangs, 6-7 grooved teeth. The head is not distinct from the neck; the eyes are very small. The body is cylindrical, and covered with smooth scales in 17 rows. Tail short; subcaudal scales in 2 rows.

O. vitianus.—Snout elongate, pointed; 139-152 ventral scales; 27-38 subcaudals.

Colour dark brown, lighter on the sides; belly brown or white, more or less spotted with black; tail black.

Total length, 360 millimetres; tail 45.

Habitat: Fiji Islands.

Fig. 43.—Skull of Glyphodon tristis (Australian Colubrine). (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

(b) Glyphodon.

General characters the same; snout rounded; poison-fangs followed, after a wide interspace, by 6 small grooved teeth; anterior mandibular teeth strongly developed (fig. 43). Head and eyes small; pupils round or vertically subelliptic; nostrils pierced between 2 nasal shields. Body cylindrical; scales smooth, in 17 rows; tail short; subcaudals in 2 rows.

G. tristis.—Ventral scales 165-179; subcaudals 38-52.

Colour dark brown; occiput often yellowish, or pale reddish-brown; belly yellow.

Total length, 900 millimetres; tail 125.

Habitat: North-eastern Australia and South-eastern New Guinea.

(c) Pseudelaps.

Maxillaries extending forwards as far as the palatines, with a pair of large grooved poison-fangs, and, after a wide interval, 8-12 small grooved teeth. The anterior mandibular teeth are of large size, almost like fangs. Head hardly distinct from the neck; eyes small, with vertically elliptic pupils. Body cylindrical; scales smooth, in 15-17 rows. Tail moderate or short; subcaudal scales in 2 rows.

(1) P. muelleri.—Scales in 15 rows. Nasal shield divided, in contact with the præocular; 2 + 2 temporals; 139-176 ventral scales; 21-35 subcaudals.

Colour brown, with a light vertebral line; a more or less distinct dark, light-edged streak on each side of the head, passing through the eye; belly yellowish or coral-red; uniform or spotted with black.

Total length, 500 millimetres; tail 70.

Habitat: Moluccas, New Guinea, New Britain.

(2) P. squamulosus.—Scales in 15 rows. Nasal shield divided, in contact with the præocular; 1 + 2 temporals; 170-183 ventrals; 34-52 subcaudals.

Colour brown, with a yellowish streak round the snout and through the eyes to the nape; belly whitish, with confluent black spots forming lines on each side.

Total length, 375 millimetres; tail 55.

Habitat: New South Wales.

(3) P. krefftii (fig. 44).—Nasal shield entire, in contact with the præocular; 1 + 2 temporals; 146-156 ventrals; 26-38 subcaudals.

Colour dark brown, with a light longitudinal line on each scale; a yellowish cross-band on the occiput, connected with another yellow band which encircles the snout.

Belly yellowish in front, black behind; subcaudals white, with a longitudinal black band running between them.

Fig. 44.—Pseudelaps krefftii.

Fig. 45.—Pseudelaps harriettæ.

Fig. 46.—Pseudelaps diadema.

Total length, 255 millimetres; tail 33.

Habitat: Queensland.

(4) P. harriettæ (fig. 45).—Nasal shield entire, in contact with or narrowly separated from the præocular; 1 + 2 temporals; 176-193 ventrals; 29-35 subcaudals.

Colour dark brown, with a light longitudinal line on each scale; a long yellow blotch on the nape, and, connected with this, a yellow ring round the snout; ventrals and subcaudals brown or black, edged with white.

Total length, 415 millimetres; tail 45.

Habitat: Queensland.

(5) P. diadema (fig. 46).—Nasal shield entire, widely separated from the præocular; 2 + 2 temporals; third and fourth upper labials entering the eye; 164-203 ventrals; 40-62 subcaudals. Colour pale brown or reddish, with a brown edging to each scale forming a reticulate pattern; a yellow cross-band on the occiput; belly uniformly white.

Total length, 600 millimetres; tail 80.

Habitat: Eastern, Northern, and Western Australia.

(6) P. warro.—Characters the same as in the previous species; 143 ventrals. Colour brown; a broad lunate black collar on the nape; head black above, but paler than the collar.

Habitat: Port Curtis, Queensland.

(7) P. sutherlandi.—Characters as before. Scales on the body in 17 rows; 160 ventrals; 40 subcaudals. Colour red-brown on the back, yellow on the belly; a broad lunate black collar on the nape, with a lighter edging; light bars across the head, body, and tail.

Habitat: Norman River, Queensland.

(d) Diemenia.

Fig. 47.—Diemenia psammophis.

Fig. 48.—Diemenia olivacea. (Northern Australia and New Guinea). (After Krefft.)

Fig. 49.—Diemenia textilis.

Maxillary bones extending forwards as far as the palatines, with a pair of large grooved poison-fangs, followed, after an interspace, by 7-15 small grooved teeth; anterior mandibular teeth much elongated, resembling poison-fangs. Head scarcely distinct from the neck; eyes rather large, with round pupils; nasal shield entire or divided; frontal elongate.

Body cylindrical; scales smooth, in 15-19 rows (more on the neck). Tail moderate or long; subcaudals all or for the most part in 2 rows.

Coloration very variable, orange-yellow, olive, red-brown, or pale brown.

Average length, 1,000-1,700 millimetres.

Habitat: South-eastern New Guinea, and Australia.

Seven species of this genus are known, divided into two groups as follows:—

(1) Scales on the body in 15 rows.

D. psammophis. (fig. 47).—Internasal shields at least half as long as the præfrontals.

D. torquata.—Internasals more than half as long as the præfrontals.

D. olivacea. (fig. 48).—Internasals not more than half as long as the præfrontals; snout broad.

Fig. 50.—Diemenia nuchalis.

(2) Scales in 17 or 19 rows.

D. modesta.—154-165 ventrals.

D. textilis (Brown Snake, fig. 49).—190-232 ventrals.

D. nuchalis (fig. 50).—184-224 ventrals.

(e) Pseudechis.

Maxillary bones extending forwards as far as the palatines, with a pair of large grooved poison-fangs followed by 2-5 small solid teeth; anterior mandibular teeth long. Head distinct from the neck; eyes rather small, with round pupils; nostril between two nasal shields. Body cylindrical. Scales smooth, in 17-23 rows (more on the neck). Tail moderate; subcaudals in 2 rows, or partly single, partly in 2 rows.

Fig. 51.—Pseudechis porphyriacus.

Total length, 1,500-2,000 millimetres, sometimes more.

Habitat: Australia and New Guinea.

This genus includes eight species.

(1) P. porphyriacus (Black Snake; fig. 51).—Frontal shield longer than broad; 180-200 ventrals; 50-60 subcaudals.

Colour black on the back; outer row of scales red at the base; ventrals red, edged with black.

(2) P. cupreus.—199-210 ventrals; 57-72 subcaudals.

Colour coppery above, brown or orange below, all the scales and shields edged with brown.

(3) P. australis.—199-220 ventrals; 57-70 subcaudals; frontal shield once and two-thirds to twice as long as broad.

Colour pale brown on the back, yellowish on the belly.

(4) P. darwiniensis.—Frontal as broad as long; 212 ventrals; 54-64 subcaudals.

Colour reddish-brown; head pale brown; belly yellowish-white.

(5) P. papuanus.—Scales in 19-21 rows (26 or 27 on the neck); 221-224 ventrals; 49-55 subcaudals.

Colour uniform black; chin white.

(6) P. scutellatus.—Subcaudal shields in 2 rows; scales on the body in 23 rows (25-30 on the neck); 230-233 ventrals; 61-78 subcaudals.

Colour pale brown or dark brown; snout and cheeks pale brown or yellowish; belly yellow.

(7) P. microlepidotus.—30-36 scales across the neck, 23 across the middle of the body; 232-237 ventrals; 61-66 pairs of subcaudals.

Colour dark brown on the back, yellowish-grey on the belly; head sometimes blackish.

(8) P. ferox.—Snout very broadly rounded. Scales on the body in 23 rows; 235 ventrals; 60 pairs of subcaudals.

Colour black above, yellowish beneath.

(f) Denisonia.

Maxillary bones prolonged as far as the palatines, with a pair of large grooved poison-fangs, followed by 3-5 small solid teeth; anterior mandibular teeth greatly developed. Head fairly distinct from the body; eyes small, with round or vertically elliptic pupils; nasal shield entire or divided. Body cylindrical; scales smooth, in 15-19 rows; tail moderate or short; subcaudals in a single row, except in one species.

According to the British Museum Catalogue, the genus Denisonia includes twenty-one species, the principal characters of which are as follows:—

Fig. 52.—Denisonia superba (The Copperhead).

(1) D. superba (The Copperhead. Fig. 52).—Scales in 15-17 rows; nasal shield entire, in contact with the præocular; ventral scales 145-160; subcaudals 41-50.

Colour brownish to dark olive on the back, often yellow or salmon-red on the sides; belly yellowish or greyish-olive.

Total length, 1,010 millimetres; tail 160.

Habitat: New South Wales, Southern Australia, Tasmania.

(2) D. coronata.—Scales in 15 rows; 138-151 ventrals; 38-51 subcaudals.

Fig. 53.—Denisonia coronoides.

Colour olive, with a black streak on each side of the head; belly yellowish or pale olive.

Total length, 480 millimetres; tail 95.

Habitat: Western Australia and New South Wales.

(3) D. coronoides (fig. 53).—Scales in 15 rows; 136-151 ventrals; 39-57 subcaudals.

Colour brown, lips yellow; belly salmon-red to dark olive-grey; end of tail salmon-red.

Total length, 440 millimetres; tail 80.

Habitat: Southern Australia and Tasmania.

(4) D. muelleri.—Scales in 17 rows; 118 ventrals; 38 subcaudals.

Colour grey-brown; lips and chin with yellow spots; belly grey.

Total length, 292 millimetres; tail 52.

Habitat: Queensland.

(5) D. frenata.—Scales in 19 rows; 167 ventrals; 35 subcaudals.

Colour olive-brown; upper lip yellow; belly white.

Total length, 390 millimetres; tail 54.

Habitat: Lake Elphinstone, Queensland.

(6) D. ramsayi (fig. 54).—Scales in 15 rows; 164 ventrals; 51 subcaudals.

Fig. 54.—Denisonia ramsayi.

Colour dark olive-green above, yellow beneath; subcaudals nearly black.

Total length, 265 millimetres; tail 50.

Habitat: New South Wales.

(7) D. signata (fig. 55).—Scales in 17 rows; 153-170 ventrals; 41-56 subcaudals.

Fig. 55.—Denisonia signata.

Colour dark olive or black, head brown; belly dark grey or black.

Total length, 640 millimetres; tail 120.

Habitat: Queensland, New South Wales.

(8) D. daemelii.—Scales in 17 rows; 147-168 ventrals; 33-45 subcaudals.

Colour olive, head darker; belly yellowish-white.

Total length, 380 millimetres; tail 60.

Habitat: Queensland.

(9) D. suta.—Scales in 19 rows; 157-164 ventrals; 25-30 subcaudals.

Colour pale olive-brown, head dark brown, nape black; upper lip and belly yellow.

Total length, 200 millimetres; tail 23.

Habitat: Southern Australia.

(10) D. frontalis.—Scales in 19 rows; 154 ventrals; 30 subcaudals.

Colour light brown, with a vertebral black line; belly pearly-white, with a median bronze-coloured band.

Total length, 400 millimetres; tail 50.

Habitat: New South Wales.

(11) D. flagellum.—Scales in 17 rows; 132-138 ventrals; 25-27 subcaudals.

Colour pale brown; vertex, occiput, and nape black; upper lip and belly white.

Total length, 380 millimetres; tail 40.

Habitat: Victoria.

(12) D. maculata. (fig. 56).—Scales in 17 rows; 121-136 ventrals; 20-30 subcaudals.

Fig. 56.—Denisonia maculata.

Colour dark grey-brown, or brown; a large dark olive-green or brown blotch on the head, with two or three unequal light grey spots; belly white.

Total length, 400 millimetres; tail 55.

Habitat: Queensland.

(13) D. punctata.—Scales in 15 rows; 160 ventrals; 25 subcaudals.

Colour pale brown; head and nape orange; upper lip and belly yellow.

Total length, 350 millimetres; tail 36.

Habitat: North-Western Australia.

(14) D. gouldii (fig. 57).—Scales in 15 rows; 140-170 ventrals; 22-23 subcaudals.

Fig. 57.—Denisonia gouldii.

Colour brownish-yellow; nape black; head covered with a broad greenish-blue blotch, extending from the nose to the neck; upper lip and belly yellow.

Total length, 435 millimetres; tail 50.

Habitat: Western and Southern Australia.

(15) D. nigrescens.—Scales in 15 rows; 170-200 ventrals; 30-46 subcaudals.

Colour dark olive; head black; belly yellow.

Total length, 545 millimetres; tail 75.

Habitat: New South Wales and Queensland.

(16) D. nigrostriata.—Scales in 15 rows; 180-184 ventrals; 50-64 subcaudals.

Colour yellow, streaked with black; head dark brown; upper lip and belly yellowish-white.

Total length, 380 millimetres; tail 52.

Habitat: Queensland.

(17) D. carpentariæ.—Scales in 15 rows; 166-183 ventrals; 31-43 subcaudals.

Colour brown; upper lip and belly yellowish-white.

Total length, 285 millimetres; tail 47.

Habitat: Northern Queensland.

(18) D. pallidiceps.—Scales in 15 rows; 170-178 ventrals; 37-38 subcaudals.

Colour dark olive-brown; head somewhat paler; belly yellowish. Total length, 590 millimetres; tail 80.

Habitat: Northern Australia.

(19) D. melanura.—Scales in 15 or 17 rows; 165-171 ventrals; 38-48 subcaudals.

Colour dark brown; head and sides usually reddish; belly yellow; tail black.

Total length, 1,000 millimetres; tail 140.

Habitat: Solomon Islands.

(20) D. par.—Scales in 16 rows; 164-166 ventrals; 40-49 subcaudals.

Colour reddish-brown, in broad bands with white intervals; head blackish-brown; belly white; tail with red rings.

Total length, 750 millimetres; tail 110.

Habitat: Faro and Howla Islands, Bougainville Straits, Solomon Islands.

(21) D. woodfordii.—Scales in 17 rows; 166-172 ventrals; 41-45 subcaudal pairs.

Colour brownish-white, with a reticulate pattern; head dark brown; belly white.

Total length, 670 millimetres; tail 100.

Habitat: New Georgia, Solomon Islands.

(g) Micropechis.

Maxillary bones extending forward as far as the palatines, with a pair of large grooved poison-fangs, followed by three small solid teeth; mandibular teeth longer in front. Head distinct from the neck; eyes very small, with round pupils; nostril between two nasal shields. Body cylindrical; scales smooth, in 15 or 17 rows. Tail short; subcaudals in 2 rows.

(1) M. ikaheka.—Scales in 15 rows; 180-223 ventrals; 39-55 subcaudals.

Colour yellow and black, in irregular cross-bars; head and tail black above; belly yellow.

Total length, 1,550 millimetres; tail 180.

Habitat: New Guinea.

(2) M. elapoides.—Scales in 17 rows; 208 ventrals; 35 subcaudals.

Colour cream, with 22 black bands, broader than the interspaces between them; snout and ocular region black.

Total length, 750 millimetres; tail 75.

Habitat: Florida Island, Solomon Group.

(h) Hoplocephalus.

Characters the same as in Micropechis. Scales in 21 rows; ventrals angulate and notched laterally. Tail moderate; subcaudals in a single row.

(1) H. bungaroides (Syn. H. variegatus. The Broad-headed Snake).—204-221 ventrals; 40-56 subcaudals.

Colour black on the back, with yellow spots forming more or less regular cross-bands on the body; upper lip yellow, margined with black; belly blackish, yellow on the sides.

Total length, 1,620 millimetres; tail 210.

Habitat: New South Wales.

(2) H. bitorquatus (fig. 58).—Ventral scales strongly angulate laterally, 191-227; subcaudals 44-59.

Fig. 58.—Hoplocephalus bitorquatus.

Colour olive-green; head pale olive, with a bright yellow occipital blotch, and a large black blotch on each side of the nape; a pair of small spots in front of and between the eyes; three black transverse blotches on the vertex; belly greyish-olive or brown.

Total length, 510 millimetres; tail 95.

Habitat: Queensland, New South Wales.

(3) H. stephensii.—239 ventrals; 60 subcaudals.

Body barred alternately with black and white; the black bars are twice as broad as the white ones; head dark, spotted with yellow; a W-shaped yellow mark on the back of the head.

Total length, 760 millimetres.

Habitat: Port Macquarie, New South Wales.

(i) Tropidechis.

Same general characters; nasal shield entire; scales on the body strongly keeled, in 23 rows. Tail moderate; subcaudals in a single row.

T. carinatus.—Colour dark olive, with darker cross-bands; belly yellow, more or less tinged with olive-green.

Total length, 730 millimetres; tail 120.

Habitat: New South Wales, Queensland.

(j) Notechis.

Same general characters; pupil round; nasal shield entire. Body cylindrical; scales smooth, disposed obliquely, in 15-19 rows, the lateral scales shorter than the dorsals. Tail moderate; subcaudals in a single row.

N. scutatus (Syn. Hoplocephalus curtus. The Tiger Snake. Fig. 59).—Colour dark olive; belly yellow or olive; the shields often dark-edged.

Fig. 59.—Notechis scutatus (The Tiger Snake.)

Total length, 1,280 millimetres; tail 170.

Habitat: Australia and Tasmania.

(k) Rhinhoplocephalus.

Dentition as in Hoplocephalus. Head but little distinct from the neck; eyes small, with round pupils; no internasal shields. Body cylindrical, rigid. Scales smooth, in 15 rows. Tail short; subcaudals in a single row.

R. bicolor.—Colour greyish-olive on the back, yellowish-white on the belly; tongue white.

Total length, 395 millimetres; tail 55.

Habitat: Australia.

(l) Brachyaspis.

Characters the same, but head distinct from the neck; eyes small, with vertically elliptic pupils; nostril between two nasal shields. Body stout, cylindrical; scales smooth, slightly oblique, in 19 rows. Tail short; subcaudals in a single row.

B. curta.—Colour uniform olive-brown; belly yellowish.

Total length, 490 millimetres; tail 70.

Habitat: Western Australia.

(m) Acanthophis (Death Adder).

(Figs. 60, 61.)

Maxillary bones extending forwards as far as the palatines, with a pair of large grooved poison-fangs, followed by two or three small teeth; anterior mandibular teeth elongate, fang-like. Head distinct from the neck; eyes small, with vertically elliptic pupils; nostril in the upper part of a single nasal shield. Body stout, cylindrical. Scales more or less distinctly keeled, in 21-23 rows. Tail short, compressed at the end and terminating in a sort of long spine, turned upwards; anterior subcaudals in a single row, posterior in 2 rows.

Fig. 60.—Skull of Acanthophis antarcticus. (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)

A. antarcticus (The Death Adder; fig. 61).—Supraocular shields often raised and angular, assuming the shape of little horns; scales on the crown of the head rugose and striated; 113-130 ventrals; 41-51 subcaudals (the last 5-27 are divided).

Colour yellow-brown or reddish, with more or less distinct dark cross-bands; black spots or small dark bars on the lips; belly yellowish-white; end of tail yellow or black, covered with spiny scales.

Fig. 61.—Acanthophis antarcticus (The Death Adder).

Total length, 850 millimetres; tail 150.

Habitat: Moluccas, New Guinea, Australia.

(n) Elapognathus.

Maxillary bones extending forwards as far as the palatines, with a pair of moderately large grooved poison-fangs; no other maxillary teeth; mandibular teeth subequal. Eyes moderate, with round pupils; nasal shield entire. Body cylindrical; scales smooth, in 15 rows; ventrals rounded; tail moderate; subcaudals in a single row.

E. minor.—Colour dark olive, with a black occipital blotch in the young; belly yellow or greenish-grey.

Total length, 460 millimetres; tail 95.

Habitat: South-west Australia.

(o) Rhynchelaps.

Maxillary bones extending forwards as far as the palatines, with a pair of moderately large grooved poison-fangs, and two small teeth near the posterior extremity of the bone; anterior mandibular teeth the longest. Head small, not distinct from the neck; eyes small, with vertically elliptic pupils; nostril in a single nasal shield. Body short, cylindrical; scales smooth, in 15-17 rows. Tail very short; subcaudals in 2 rows.