SNAItE-BlTES AND POISONOUS FISHES, 113 



The Colubrine again into (1) Elapida3, or land snakes. 



(2) Hydrophidoa, or sea snakes. 

 The Elapidfe include — 



(1) Naja, or Cobras found in India, China and N. Africa. 



(2) Ophiophagus, or Hamadryads, found in India and East Indies. 



(3) Bungarus, or " Krait," of India. 



(4) Hoplocephalus, or Tiger snakes, etc., found in Australia. 



(5) Pseudechis, or Black snake, found in Australia. 



(6) Acanthophis, or " Death adder," found in S. Africa and Australia. 



(7) Elaps, or " Coral snake," found in West Indies and Brazil. 



The Hydrophidse include — (1) Hydrophis, (2) Enhydrina, (3) Pelamis, 

 (_4) Platurus, (5) A'tpysurus. 



The poisonous Viperine snakes are divided into — 



(1) Viperidae, or true vipers. 



(2) Crotalidse, or pit vipers. 



The most important of the former are — 



(1) Daboia, or " Tic-polonga,'' " Russel's viper," of India and Ceylon, 



(2) Echis, or " Fursa," of Northern India. 



(3) Cerastes, or "Horned viper," of Egypt. 



(4) Pelias, or " Common adder," of Europe. 

 Of the latter — 



(1) Crotalus, or " Rattlesnake," of America. 



(2) Bothrops, or " Fer de Lance," of W. Indies. 



(3) Halys, of India. 



Geographical Distribution. — Poisonous snakes are found in all tropical 

 areas, except certain oceanic islands, and in most temperate ones, New Zea- 

 land being a marked exception. 



Each region has, however, distinctive characters. 



In Asia and Africa the cobras, hamadryads, kraits, and true vipers are 

 most abundant. 



In America the Crotalidse. 



In Australia the pit vipers are not at all represented. Krafft states that 

 twenty-one innocuous and forty-two venomous snakes occur there, but of the 

 latter only five are dangerous to man ; these include Hoplocephalus, Pseudechis, 

 and Acanthophis. 



la South Africa, chiefly the Acanthophis, or Death adder. 



In the West Indies, Elaps and Bothrops. 



The Mortality from snake-bite in India is very high, being even now put 

 down as about 20,000 annually, equal to about 1 to 10,000 of the population. 



In Australia the death-rate proportionately is considerably less— probably, 

 as Martin states, due to the people having a much better knowledge of what 

 to do. 



The most deadly snakes in India, according to Fayrer, being in order of 

 severity of action — (1) Cobra, (2) Kraits, (3) Daboia, (4) Echis, 



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