SNAKES 



195 



fhoto by Henry Dixon &• Son] 



COBRA (BACK VIEW) 



Shelving the remarkabU pattern on the hack of the neck^ ivhieh ha% 

 gi'ven rtie to the name oj Spectacled Snake 



behind which is a somewhat broader black collar, 



which is produced forwards and sub-divides the 



yellow one in the centre of the upper-surface. 



In the variety of the ringed snake indigenous 



to the South of Europe the collar-like markings 



may be altogether absent, or reduced to a small 



bkick patch on each side of the nape of the 



neck. The maximum length of the ringed snake 



is some 6\ feet. It is a most expert swimmer, 



moving swiftly through the water with lateral 



undulations of its body, and carrjing its head 



and neck well above the surface. Frogs con- 

 stitute its fa\ourite diet, but it will also capture 



and devour fish, mice, and j'oung birds. 



The ViPERlNE and TessEL.\TED Sn.\KES, 



both European forms, as also the G.\RTER- and 



Mocassin-snakes of North America, are all 



closely allied in structure and habits to the familiar 



ringed species. The second British species, known 



as the Smooth Snake, belongs to the same 



group, but is more terrestrial in its habits ; while 



comparativelj' rare in England, and limited to 



the southern comities, it is plentiful on the 



Continent. The Indian R.\t-snake, which is 



almost as useful as the domestic cat in ridding 



dwellings of rats and mice, is another repre- 

 sentative of the solid-toothed group. This group also includes the so-called PlfiMY SNAKES, 



inhabiting the Malay region, whose habits are mainly arboreal. The\' are the most diminutive 



members of their order, some of the thirty known species not exceeding i foot in length. 



The typical Tree-SN.\KES of the Indian and Australian region, with large eyes, somewhat 



compressed bodies, and 

 colours of green or olive, 

 in harmonious accord with 

 their arboreal surround- 

 ings, also belong to the 

 Solid-toothed and harmless 

 section. An especially 

 interesting representative 

 of this group is the so- 

 called Egg-eating Snake 

 of South Africa. It does 

 not exceed 2 feet in 

 length, and is for the most 

 j)art arboreal in its habits, 

 and, as its name implies, 

 would appear to feed ex- 

 clusively on eggs. As a 

 structural adaptation for 

 this peculiar habit, the 

 spinous processes of a 

 number of the vertebrse 

 project into the throat 



rhtl> by (f . Sjv./; 



-A-<nt, f.Z.S ] 



QUEENSLAND SEA-SNAKE 



Sea-inakes have compressed tatls^ ivhtch they use for steer'tng 



[Milftrd-tn-Si^ 



