142 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



regretted, inasmuch as it is the only member of the 

 genus which is of a gentle disposition. In America 

 the snakes of the genus Zamenis are known as Racers 

 or Whip Snakes, on account of the rapidity of their 

 motions and the defensive use they make of their tails 

 when cornered. The Black Racer, Zamenis constrictor, 

 which is uniform black above, and the yellowish-brown 

 Coach Whip, Zamenis Jiagelliformis, both of North and 

 Central America, are the largest of the New World species, 

 attaining a length of over seven feet. The former snake 

 is particularly savage in its disposition, descending from 

 the trees to attack persons passing at some distance away 

 from it. The Coach Whip is more gentle. 



Coluber, which embraces nearly fifty species of constrict- 

 ing snakes, is represented in Europe, Asia, and North and 

 Tropical America. In these snakes the teeth in the upper 

 jaw are equal in length. The head, which is somewhat 

 elongate, is distinct from the neck ; the eye is moderate 

 or rather large, and provided with a round pupil. The 

 body and tail are very elongate ; the scales are smooth or 

 feebly keeled. 



The Four-lined Snake, Coluber guatuorlineatus, which 

 inhabits South Italy, Dalmatia, Greece, Hungary, and 

 Southern Russia, is the largest of all European snakes, 

 attaining a length of over eight feet. The colour of the 

 adult is dark or light brown, with four black longitudinal 

 bands ; in the young the ground colour, which is always 

 of a pale fawn, is spotted with black, the spots disappearing 

 gradually with age, being replaced by the black streaks. 

 The scales on the back, except the outer row, are feebly 

 but distinctly keeled. This snake, which frequents both 



