170 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



its poison to a distance of several feet. Freshly imported 

 specimens at the Zoological Gardens, for the first few 

 weeks of their captivity, covered the glass panes of their 

 cage with venom in their attempts to " spit " at the 

 visitors. Unlike the " spitting " cobras, which only 

 occasionally " spit," the Ringhals invariably do so when 

 angry, and at the Gardens, when the door of the cage in 

 which these snakes are kept has to be opened for the purpose 

 of introducing food, etc., motor goggles are always worn 

 for the protection of the eyes. 



In the snakes of the semi-arboreal genus Dendraspis, of 

 Tropical and South Africa, which are popularly known as 

 Mambas, the fangs are very large. The body and tail are 

 slender and elongate, and the scales are long, narrow, and 

 smooth. 



D. angusticeps, of Western, Central, and South Africa, 

 which grows to a length of eight feet, is the commonest 

 species. The colour is uniform green, olive, or black. 

 This Mamba, which inhabits hollow trees and is often 

 found coiled up among the branches, is a remarkably 

 active, bold, and aggressive snake, especially the black form, 

 and, like the Hamadryad, is said to pursue when disturbed, 

 many being the stories told of hairbreadth escapes from 

 this, probably the deadliest of all snakes. Mambas feed 

 principally upon birds ; specimens of D. viridis, a species 

 restricted to West Africa, kept by the writer, would 

 occasionally accept mice as well. 



The Ophidian fauna of Australia consists principally of 

 snakes of this family, all of which are very dangerous. 



The Death Adder, Acanthophis antarcticus, one of the 

 most dreaded snakes of the Australian continent, is the 



