Dr. A. Giinther on Reptiles from St. Croix y West Indies. 211 



This snake appears to have been known to Andre-Pierre Ledru, 

 who published a "Voyage aux lies de Teneriffe, la Trinite, 

 St. Thomas, Ste. Croix, et Porto-Ricco/^ Paris, 1810, 8vo, in 

 two volumes. In a list of reptiles, which is less valuable for our 

 purpose than that of West, because it contains promiscue all the 

 reptiles observed in the different islands, Ledru mentions "le 

 cobel" (ii. p. 213). He says, " Le fond de sa couleur est tant6t 

 gris, tantot brun, mais communement d^un noir assez fonce, 

 avec une multitude de petites lignes blanches transver sales'' The 

 latter character is far more applicable to the variety from St. 

 Croix than to Dromicus ater, which may also be intended. 

 Ledru observed his snake at the river Toa (Porto-Eico), and 

 thinks it identical with Coluber colubella, Gm. (Col. cobella, L.). 



" We regret that we have little information to give respect- 

 ing this snake. It certainly is not very numerous in the island ; 

 for we never saw a living specimen, though we usually went 

 about with our eyes well open. It would seem generally to 

 frequent the waste in preference to the cultivated districts, or at 

 least where there are most shrubs and bushes; but we have 

 heard of one or more being found in a hole in the brickwork 

 beneath the bed of a steam-engine-boiler. One of the speci- 

 mens was captured in the town of Prederiksted.'^ 



The species and varieties of Dromicus, and their geographical 

 distribution, are far from being known. There are several snakes 

 in the Collection of the British Museum, which show consider- 

 able differences from the species to which they are referred for 

 the present; of these, however, I have not the advantage of 

 knowing the habitat, and each of them is represented by a single 

 specimen only. I direct the attention of herpetologists especially 

 to one of them, the anterior portion of the body of which is 

 marked as in D. rufodorsatus, the posterior and the tail being 

 black. The rostral shield is flat and obliquely ascending for- 

 wards ; one anterior, two middle, and three posterior temporal 

 shields ; nineteen series of scales. Length 52 inches. 



2. Thecadactylus rapicauda, Houtt. 



" The Thecadactylus is not very common in St. Croix, chiefly 

 frequenting old trees in the uncultivated portions of the island, 

 though sometimes found in wood-cellars near houses. The 

 statement of Dr. West, that it is regarded by the negroes with 

 the greatest aversion, is perfectly true : they believe that, in case 

 of one placing its foot upon them, it can only be got rid of by 

 cutting off the piece of flesh upon which it has fastened. It is 

 certainly difiicult to kill, as one will bear the infliction of several 

 sharp blows without much apparent harm being done to it. In 

 St. Croix it is everywhere known as the ' Wood-Slave,' — an 



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