276 Dr. Cantor on the Flcyra and Fauna of Chusan. 



China is infested with very few serpents. At Chusan, although 

 few in species, they are remarkably numerous. Naja, which 

 appears to be the only terrestrial venomous serpent, as well 

 as the species of Lycodon, Coluber and Tropidonotus, are, as 

 pointed out in the descriptions, closely allied to Indian spe- 

 cies. Python Schneideri has hitherto been found only in Java, 

 Banca, Amboyna, and once at Malacca. All these, however, 

 are forms which characterize tropical Asia. I am told that 

 several species of Pelagic serpents occur in the Chusan Archi- 

 pelago. Although none have come under my observation, 

 there seems to be no doubt about their existence in the latter 

 locality, as they have been found at Japan ; and it may be ob- 

 served, that certain species of fish which form their favourite 

 prey are as plentiful as in the Bay of Bengal. The serpents 

 of Chusan are different from those of Japan, where their spe- 

 cific strength is in the same proportion to their numerical as 

 in the former island. M. Schlegel observes, that the terrestrial 

 serpents of Japan seem chiefly to represent Europaean forms, 

 while a species of the genus Trigonocephalus is the only form 

 estabhshing analogy between the fauna (?) of Japan and that 

 of India or the tropical regions in general. (Fauna Japonica, 

 Ophidii, p. 82.) This is partly correct in as far as the genus 

 is concerned. But M. Schlegel has described another Japa- 

 nese serpent, Tropidonotus Vibakari, which, to judge from the 

 description and figure, is very closely allied to T, surgens and 

 to T, moestus, both found in Bengal (Proceed. Zool. Soc. 

 1839), and perhaps, by the peculiarity of its integuments, 

 also to T, rufodorsatus of Chusan. In the Batrachian Rep- 

 tiles there exists a striking resemblance between the fauna of 

 Chusan and Japan : in both the frogs are European forms, the 

 toads not ; Bufo gargarizans approaches to the Indian toad, 

 figured as B. dubia in General Hardwicke's ^ Illustrations.^ 



With the Pelagic fishes but little opportunity was afforded 

 to become acquainted, as unfortunately the fishermen had fol- 

 lowed the example of most of the other inhabitants, who had 

 fled on our first occupation of Chusan in 1840. No other 

 nation derives so much nourishment from the sea and the 

 rivers as the Chinese. On the passage in June 1840 through 

 the Formosa Channel, along the provinces of Fokeen and 

 Chekeang, we daily fell in with hundreds of boats, a certain 

 number of which accompanied each fishing-junk of 200 to 300 

 tons burden. These crafl: anchor and send out their small 

 but fine-sailing little boats, each manned with four to six men, 

 who act in concert so as to form one long line of nets, distin- 

 guished at intervals by little flags attached to floating pieces 

 of bamboo. The time which must elapse before the nets can 



