320 REPTILIA 



species of Elaps found in the United States resemble harmless 

 forms including the Western milk snake and the scarlet king snake. 



The poisonous snake (Figure 176) has single black rings bordered 

 with a pair of yellow rings while in the harmless species the yellow 

 rings are single bordered with a pair of black rings. The harlequin 

 snake or coral snake {Elaps fulvius) is found in our Southern States 

 and ranges into Mexico. It is cannibalistic but very fond of lizards, 

 which seem quite susceptible to its poison. Coral snakes seem quite 

 gentle and do not " strike " but certainly do bite and chew vigor- 

 ously. They are oviparous and according to Ditmars the eggs re- 

 quire as much as thirteen weeks for development. 



Family Viperidae. — The viperine snakes are long fanged with 

 small vertical movable maxillaries each bearing an extremely long 

 hollow fang. Each maxillary has a lever bone aiding in the eleva- 

 tion of the fang. When the jaws are closed, the fangs of the vipers 

 fold against the roof of the mouth. The majority of the viperine 

 snakes have thick bodies and flattened heads, the pupils resembling 

 those of a cat eye. 



Certain of the true vipers {Sub-family Viperinae) are horrific 

 in appearance while others found in South Africa are according to 

 Ditmars " Moderately slender with an ordinary head while the eye 

 has a round pupil and there is a loreal plate (between the eye and 

 the nostril) as seen in the typical harmless snakes." 



The Cape viper {Causus rhombeatus) has relatively small fangs 

 which are lifted at will. Cape vipers are found in Southern Africa, 

 reaching a length of about 3 feet. Unlike vipers in general, this 

 form is oviparous. It feeds on frogs, apparently without using its 

 poison fangs. The common viper ( Vipera berus) is found all over 

 Europe and is the only poisonous snake found in the British Isles. 

 It feeds on rodents and young birds. The sand natter ( Vipera 

 ammodytes) is found in Southeastern Europe. A soft horn about 

 one-eighth of an inch in length protrudes from its snout. It 

 reaches a length of two feet and is extremely dangerous. It feeds 

 on small rodents. 



The Daboia or Russell's viper ( Vipera russellii) is one of the 

 most deadly snakes of India. The Puff adder {Bitis arietans), 

 found in Africa, hisses loudly at each breath. The gaboon viper 

 {Bitis gabonicd) of tropical Africa will stand its ground when sur- 

 prised, hissing viciously. Ditmars calls it " the most sinister of all 

 the venomous snakes, in its aspect." The horned viper or asp 



