400 SNAKES. 



living specimens of the same this last voyage in Pernambuco, 

 I began to have my doubts, for I could not reconcile 

 them with the description at all. One died, which fact 

 I did not, by ill luck, discover till it was worthless ; but 

 I observed, as I thought, a well-developed fang. A few 

 days later a good opportunity presented itself for picking 

 up one of the survivors and examining its mouth ; then 

 to my surprise I found that the supposed fang was really 

 a large curved tooth, situated quite out of the natural 

 position of a fang, but symmetric with one on the opposite 

 side. Then I looked at the other one, and finally let both 

 bite me, which settled the matter. I set it down as Xenodon 

 (a harmless snake), and was gratified to find on reaching 

 home that Dr. Giinther had pronounced my specimen at the 

 Gardens ' (the one brought the previous September) ' Xenodon 

 rhabdocephalns, the long-headed snake, on its death. But I 

 don't find any mention of this extraordinary isolated tooth 

 anywhere, though I have a vague idea that Dr. Wucherer, 

 who has perhaps been the most earnest student of the 

 Brazilian Thanatophidia, spoke of it in a communication 

 to the Society some years ago. The real "Jarraracca" is 

 still veiled in mystery.' I also was ' gratified ' to find 

 the Corresponding Member of the Zoological Society 

 so generously justifying my doubts about the supposed 

 Jararaca, both in his letter to me and in a paper to 

 Land and Water, 2d April 1881. 



This was the first time I had ever heard of a Xenodon, 

 a name which Dr. Giinther was then so good as to explain 

 meant ' strange tooth ; ' and he drew a little diagram of the 

 jaw with five simple teeth curving back, and then a long. 



