THE VENOMOUS SNAKES OF NORTH KANARA. 

 The list now comprises 9 species, as under : — 



65 



No. 



Name of Species. 



By whom recorded and where deposited. 



ITaja tiipudians, the Cobra 



Ophiophagus elaps, the llama 

 dryad. 



Bungarus cceruleus, the Krait , 



Callophis nigrescens 



Trimiresurus strigatus 



Trimiresurus trigonocephalies , 

 Hypnalenepa, the Carawala... 



Daboia Russellii, the Chain Viper 

 Ecltis carinata 



Specimens deposited in the Karwar Museum. 



(1) Live specimen sent to the Society's 

 Rooms by Mr. H. T. Ommanney, C.S. ; (2) 

 skins contributed by Col. Peyton deposited 

 in Society's Museum. 



(1) Preserved specimen deposited in the 

 Karwar Museum ; (2) specimen con- 

 tributed to the Society's Collection by 

 Mr. H. S. Wise. 



Preserved specimen deposited in Society's 

 Museum by Mr. G. Vidal, C.S. 



One specimen contributed to the Society's 

 Collection by Mr. H. S. Wise. 



One specimen contributed to the Society's 

 Collection by Mr E. H. Aitken. 



(1) Specimen contributed to the Society's 

 Collection by Mr. G. Vidal, C.S. ; (2) 

 specimen contributed to the Society's 

 Collection by Mr. H. S. Wise. 



Specimens deposited in the Karwar Mu- 

 seum. 



Specimens deposited in the Karwar Mu- 

 seum. 



As regards the number of species found, Kanara is decidedly 

 ahead of any other Bombay district. It is a sort of border land 

 where the fauna of the densely-wooded and humid Malabar Coast is 

 found side by side with the fauna of the dry and bare Deccan 

 plains. The above list, moreover, is probably by no means exhaustive. 

 Sooner or later other tree vipers, specially T. anamallensis, which 

 has strayed from the Anamallay Hills to the Mahim Woods near 

 Bombay, may be found in Kanara, together with other representatives 

 of the genus Callophis. 



But although Kanara shows a large variety of venomous snakes 

 the mortality from snake-bite in that district is comparatively low. 

 As will be seen from the statistics given further on, the deaths from 

 snake-bite only average 0*037 per mille per annum. The reason for 

 this comparative immunity is that dangerous snakes, and, in parti- 

 cular, the echis, which — as I shall endeavour to show later on — is the 

 chief instrument of destruction in Western India generally, are not 

 found in inconveniently large numbers, while the Hamadryad and 

 the Krait are decidedly rare. 



As our collections increase it is useful to take stock from time 

 9 



