328 . SNAKES. 



are not connected with the ventral scales in the same way 

 as those on which the snake progresses, but can be elevated 

 or expanded in the manner familiar to the reader ; they then 

 support the extended skin exactly in the way that the ribs 

 of a lined parasol support the fabric ; only while the ribs of 

 the parasol spring from a common centre, the ribs of the 

 cobra are attached to its vertebrae, requiring no other agency 

 than the will of the owner. The action of the ribs as 

 expressive of emotion, in several species of snakes, was 

 mentioned page 150. In the ' hooded ' snakes {najd), it is 

 seen in an extreme degree. Facing you, the angry cobra 

 displays these umbra-like expanded ribs, while the form of 

 the ' neck ' or vertebral column in the centre is prominently 

 perceptible. When at rest, they all lie flat one over the other, 

 like the ribs of a closed parasol. 



In the way of external peculiarities the 'gular fissure' may 

 be mentioned. It is merely a slight groove or crease extend- 

 ing from the chin longitudinally under the throat for a few 

 inches or more, according to the size of the snake ; a sort of 

 wrinkle {fosse) to admit of expansion during the swallowing 

 of prey. 



Externally snakes have no indication of ears ; therefore, in 

 the way of integument, there is nothing to describe in their 

 organ of hearing. But the eye covering is a beautiful and 

 wonderful arrangement. 



Snakes have no eyelids, and can therefore never close 

 their eyes, a fact which has given rise to a vulgar belief that 

 they never sleep. Their eyes are, however, well developed, 

 particularly in those snakes which live above ground, and 

 are covered with a transparent layer of the epidermis, 



