148 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



time of writing, having, in the course of the past year, 

 consumed between them no less than 220 mice, 40 rats, 

 and one guinea-pig. 



The genus Coronella, very similar to Coluber, but with 

 the maxillary teeth increasing in size posteriorly, embraces 

 twenty species, represented in different parts of the 

 northern hemisphere. The head is not very distinct from 

 the neck ; the eye, which is small, has a round pupil. 

 Their prey, as in the case of the snakes of the preceding 

 genus, are seized constrictor-like and crushed by the coils 

 of the body. 



The Smooth Snake, C. austriaca, which derives its 

 name from the absence of keels on the scales of the back, 

 such as we see in the Grass Snake and the Common Viper, 

 occurs in three of our southern counties, namely, Surrey, 

 Hampshire, and Dorsetshire, in localities likewise inhabited 

 by the Sand Lizard, upon which it preys, and over the 

 greater part of Europe, as far north as Scandinavia. It 

 bears a certain superficial resemblance to the Viper, its 

 colour being grey or reddish-brown above, with usually 

 four series of spots along the body, one pair on the back, 

 and one on each side ; a large very dark blotch on the back 

 of the head frequently sends off two branches, which may 

 be confluent with the series of dorsal spots, and a dark 

 streak is constant, on each side of the head, passing through 

 the eye. The lower parts are brown, red, or orange, 

 speckled with black and white. Although its resemblance 

 to the Viper is in reality not very marked, those who have 

 difficulty in distinguishing it need only observe the pupil 

 of the eye, which is round, and not a vertical slit, as in the 

 case of the Adder. The Smooth Snake, which seldom 



