of a Zoological Collection made in Sumatra. Part IT. 333 



SERPENTES. 



About twenty species are in the collection, some of which 

 are new. Among those already well known, may be enume- 

 rated the Coluber Naja, or Cobra di Capello, called by the na- 

 tives Ular mataharee and Ular Sindo, jx~> Jjt, ^J^ JJ, which 

 is frequently met with in the neighbourhood of Bencoolen. 

 Mr. Marsden appears to have fallen into an error in stating that 

 this species was not known here ; but it is remarkable, that not- 

 withstanding the existence of this and other poisonous snakes, 

 we scarcely ever hear of instances of any person being bitten, a 

 circumstance which the people ascribe to the power of a Kramat, 

 or burial-place of a saint ; but which perhaps may be accounted 

 for from the thinness of the population. The Cobra di Capello 

 of Sumatra is of a lighter colour than that of tndia, and the 

 spectacles of the hood are less distinct. The fangs also are 

 smaller. 



The Coluber Bucephalus is also found in Sumatra. 



Of the Coluber gramineus there are two varieties, not uncom- 

 mon in the islands. 



The Coluber mycterizans, Ular Daun ^b Jj\ of the Malays, 

 is one of the commonest snakes of Sumatra and the neighbour- 

 ing islands, where it is chiefly observed on trees. 



There is another species considerably resembling it, and called 

 Ular Lidi, ^sJ j 3 \, which has the power of elevating the scales 

 of the neck, which are of a darker colour on their under surface, 

 and thus producing a variegation of colours, which disappear 

 when the animal is at rest, much in the manner described by 

 Russel of the Botla Paseriki, PL 13. The scale immediately 

 above the anus has a black line along its middle, giving it the 

 appearance of being double. 



One of the most remarkable snakes in the collection is a green 

 vol. xiii. 2 x one, 



