286 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



Wild tree snakes of this or any other species are dif- 

 ficult to catch. They exhibit a wonderful similarity to 

 the colors of the vegetation in which they live, their 

 slender bodies being easily mistaken for the stems and 

 tendrils of vines. If surprised, they dart away with 

 speed and grace, scarcely rustling the leaves over which 

 they pass. 



The Proteroglypha : In this division of the Colu- 

 bridce we have two subfamilies — the Hydrophiince, 

 marine serpents, and the ElapincBj containing the cobras 

 and their numerous allies, besides the New World coral 

 snakes. In this division we find many of the most 

 deadly known species of snakes. As compared with the 

 Opisthoglypha, the fangs are scarcely larger. They are 

 caniculated, however, and have an orifice at their tip for 

 the discharge of poison; moreover, they are connected 

 with venom glands secreting a far more virulent poison 

 and in greater quantities. The situation of the fangs 

 differs as well from the preceding division. They are on 

 the forward portion of the upper jaw, where they are 

 rigidly attached — not folding against the roof of the 

 mouth when the jaws are closed, as is the case with the 

 Viperine snakes. Few examples of the Proteroglypha 

 are found in the New World. 



It is with the Proteroglypha that we arrive at the 

 actually deadly snakes. The vast array of serpent life 

 treated in the preceding pages shows the wholly innocu- 

 ous snakes to be in the great majority. A study of the 

 pages to come, however, will convince the student of the 

 imposing series of terrible-fanged creatures existing 

 upon this earth, some of them strangely beautiful in col- 

 oration, others eccentric of form. They cause greater 

 loss of human life — where the population is ignorantly 

 incautious — than do the fierce beasts of prey. As an 



