232 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



The Bahama Boa, E. striatus, inhabits the southern 

 Bahama Islands and San Domingo. Little seems to 

 be known about it. Eight specimens in the Zoological 

 Park have been uniformly gentle and hardy. The larg- 

 est is six feet long. The coloration is not gaudy, yet 

 rather pretty, consisting of narrow, zigzag black and 

 gray transverse bands producing a marbled effect. 

 Compared with the two preceding species, this boa is 

 more slender and has a longer tail. 



The Tree Boas form the genus Corallus, four species 

 in all. For members of the Boince, the body is much 

 elongated with a long, prehensile, gradually-tapering 

 tail. Considered from various points of view they are 

 unique among members of their family. The neck is 

 extremely long and slender, the head so large and broad 

 it seems an incumbrance to the snake. Moreover, the 

 head tapers to quite a point at the snout; the swollen 

 outlines at the temples make it look wicked and venom- 

 ous. With its compressed body wrapped tightly about 

 a limb, the prehensile tail likewise employed and the long 

 neck looped fantastically in support of the villainous 

 head, an enraged Tree Boa appears far removed from 

 its ponderous allies. The forward teeth on both jaws are 

 enormously developed — quite as long as the fangs of a 

 viperine snake. It is here, certainly, we have a good 

 demonstration of how wrong it is to brand a snake as 

 poisonous by the outlines of the head. Several photo- 

 graphs show the formidable appearance. Among ex- 

 amples of the various Tree Boas there is an unvarying 

 amount of viciousness. The writer does not hesitate in 

 branding them among the most mean-tempered of 

 the non-venomous serpents. 



The Yellow-Tree Boa, C. cookii, coils itself in a 

 tight ball, well out on branches of trees along streams. 



