158 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



The Cat Snake, T. fallax, which inhabits South- 

 Eastern Europe and Northern Syria, is so called on account 

 of the cat-like manner in which it stalks the lizards upon 

 which it feeds. It is greyish above, with numerous black 

 or dark brown blotches, or bars, on the body. According 

 to Eiife the poison of the Cat-Snake is fairly active ; the 

 writer, however, on one occasion received the full bite 

 of this snake without feeling the slightest inconvenience. 

 This snake does not do well in captivity, seldom surviving 

 the winter, but is, nevertheless, imported to this country 

 every spring in very large numbers. 



The majority of the slender snakes of the genus Psammo- 

 phis inhabit the arid, sandy districts of Africa and Southern 

 Asia ; a few are more or less arboreal, being found on 

 shrubs. The very large fang-like teeth of the middle of 

 the upper jaw are followed, after an interspace, by the 

 grooved fangs. 



The North African Sand Snake, P. sililans, known to 

 the Arabs as " the father of stripes," in allusion to the 

 narrow yellow streaks which adorn the back and sides, 

 which are of an olive or brown colour, is the commonest 

 species, and is found in large numbers under stones in 

 sandy, desert areas, where it feeds on lizards and very small 

 rodents. Although its fangs are of a considerable size, its 

 bite merely serves to partly paralyse the small animals 

 upon which it lives. 



Kirtland's Tree Snake, Thelotornis kirtlandii, the only 

 member of its genus, a very arboreal snake, harmonizes 

 in a most perfect manner with the twigs of the bushes 

 upon which it lives. The very elongate body and tail, 

 pinkish-brown in colour, are excessively slender, while the 



