36o SNAKES. 



other side undisturbed. Even the principal fang.(<^) is too 

 fine to represent faithfully in printer's ink ; the others are 

 to the naked eye and to the touch almost impalpable. 

 When we reflect on the exquisite sharpness and finish of 

 these minute weapons, and the fatal injury they are 

 capable of inflicting, we are filled with awe and amazement 

 at the virulence of the subtle fluid which oozes , through 

 that almost invisible aperture. The brother of this tiny 

 African viper (/), when only a few hours old, struck a mouse, 

 which was dead in less than one minute. The whole forty- 

 six of them (p. 321) were born with the 'murderous teeth' in 

 their vicious little jaws. The fang here represented was loose 

 in its mouth. A pair of perfect functional fangs remained. 



c d 



Li 



Fangs and some simple teeth from my specimens. 



a. Functional fang and four supplementary fangs from Lachesls muttts (Brazil). 

 h. Rattlesnake fang. 



c. Fang of young rattlesnake (Brazil). 



d. Fang of young ^az-ara^ra (Brazil). 



e. Pseudo ' fang ' of Xenodon (Brazil). 



f. Loose fang from the mouth of Vipera nasicornis, aged one week. 



g. Portion of palate bone bearing four teeth, from Lachesis mutus (Brazil), 

 h. Two lower teeth from the same. 



Picture to yourselves the intensity of that invisible molecule 

 of venom, which could ooze through an equally invisible 

 aperture in this last diminutive weapon, and be fatal to 



