624 OPHIDIA CHAP. 



zigzag band along the back, or with a series of white, black-edged 

 spots. 



D. cyaneus, of Northern India, Assam, etc., is a beautiful Tree- 

 Snake, green above, with the skin between the scales black, 

 uniform greenish yellow below. Total length up to 4 or 5 feet. 



Dipsas, e.g. D. bucephala. Maxillaries with eleven or more 

 teeth. Pterygoids toothless. Body strongly compressed, with 

 thirteen rows of smooth scales ; the vertebral row enlarged ; 

 sub-caudals double ; tail very long. Tropical South America. 



Leptognathus with many species in Central and South 

 America, like Dipsas, but with teeth on the pterygoids. 



Coelopeltis. Terrestrial and diurnal, with a round pupil. The 

 row of small maxillary teeth is followed by one or two much 

 larger, grooved fangs situated at a level below the posterior 

 border of the eye. The first half-a-dozen inandibular teeth are 

 much larger than the rest. The scales of the adult are more or 

 less distinctly grooved longitudinally, hence the generic name, 

 and are arranged in seventeen or nineteen rows. The sub-caudals 

 form two rows ; the ventrals are rounded off laterally. Two 

 species in the Mediterranean countries and in South-Western 

 Asia. 



C. monspessulana s. lacertina is one of the largest snakes in 

 Europe, reaching a length of 6 feet, of which the tail takes 

 up 18 inches. Olive -brown or yellowish or reddish above, 

 frequently with small, dark, light-edged spots. The sides are 

 often blackish, with whitish specks. The under parts are 

 yellowish white, with or without brownish markings. Some 

 specimens are very green, with a dull blackish neck. One of the 

 specific names of this terrestrial snake is the latinised form of 

 Montpellier ; the other refers to the shape of the head, which is 

 not unlike that of a lizard, partly owing to the concave forehead. 

 This species inhabits rather dry localities studded with shrubs, 

 where it hunts for lizards, birds, and mice. It is sure to attract 

 notice by its loud hissing when it is disturbed. When driven 

 into a corner it strikes out furiously, but does not, as a rule, bite. 

 I have caught some which after a few days became quite gentle. 

 Small animals become torpid a few minutes after they have been 

 bitten. 



Macroprotodon cucullatus occurs in Andalucia, the Balearic 

 Islands, and in North Africa. The dentition is peculiar. The 



