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THE TRANSITION TO LAND 



Another member of the cobra family is the asp, which is well known 

 because Cleopatra pressed an asp to her bosom to commit suicide. 



In Central and South America the most dangerous poisonous snakes 

 are the bushmaster and the fer de lance, both pit vipers with very bad 

 reputations, which are well deserved. 



While we are on the subject of foreign snakes we might mention those 

 of the boa family, which are well known because of the great size of some 

 of them. Fortunately, they are not venomous. They are constricting 

 snakes, which have a habit of wrapping themselves around their prey 



Photo by Winchester 



Fig. 26.19. Regal python. This giant from the Malay Peninsula is about 22 feet 

 long and weighs over 200 pounds. This species has the reputation of being the largest 



of the snakes. 



and squeezing it to death before swallowing it. A snake swallowing its 

 prey is a very interesting sight. They can swallow animals with a body 

 diameter at least three times their own body diameter. A python can 

 swallow a large sized pig or antelope. After squeezing it to death, it 

 grasps one end of the animal with its jaws. The teeth point backward, 

 so as the jaws are worked backward and forward the animal is gradually 

 forced into the throat. Once through the throat the powerful peristaltic 

 movements of the esophagus help pull the animal down. After finish- 

 ing its meal, there will be a huge lump in the python's body, which will 

 gradually diminish as the animal is digested. 



Huge pythons have been known to eat naked native children, but 

 show a distinct aversion to clothed persons and the tales of explorers 



