,46 FAUNA AND FLORA OF PALESTINE. 



FAMILY, ERYCID.-E. 



27. Eryx jaculns. (Linn. Syst. Nat. i., pp. 390, 391.) 



This Snake was first noticed by Hasselquist in the Holy Land. It 

 is common, but so rapid in its movements that it is not easily captured. 

 It feeds on myriopodes and beetles. 



Eryx jaculns is an inhabitant of Greece, Turkey, and the islands of 

 Asia Minor and the Caspian region, Syria and Egypt. Persia appears 

 to be its Eastern limit. 



FAMILY, ELAPIDyE. 



28. Naja hajc. (Linn. Syst. Nat. i., p. 387.) The Cobra. 



Happily the Hooded Cobra is rare in Palestine. I am not aware of 

 its occurrence in the cultivated districts, but in the plains and downs 

 beyond Beersheba it is well known. I met with it near Gaza, on the 

 sandy plain. 



The Hooded Cobra is a native of Egypt and of the deserts of the 

 Sahara. In India it is represented by an allied species, Naja tripudians. 

 The Cobras are the most deadly of venomous serpents. 



FAMILY, VIPERID^. 



29. Vipera eupliratica. Martin. P. Z. S., 1S38, p. 82. 



This large Viper, one of the most poisonous of its family, was first 

 described from the Euphrates. I found it in Galilee. Dr. Lortet also 

 procured it near Jericho, so that it is probably generally distributed 

 through the country. 



It inhabits also Transcaucasia and Persia. It basks in the sand, and 

 conceals itself in little tufts of herbage, preying on small quadrupeds. 



30. Vipera anwiodytes. (Linn. Syst. Nat. i., p. 376.) 



This Viper appears to inhabit the higher ground. I obtained it on 

 the lower slopes of Lebanon. 



