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Fauna : Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish 



the poison gland, so that, like the Causus viper, this serpent 

 also bears the nickname ot " spitting snake." I have never, 

 myself, actually observed this ejection of the venom, nor, I 

 believe, has the fact been certified by any scientific observer ; 

 but it is asserted to be the case all over Africa wherever 

 cobras are found. The natives say that the snake aims at 

 the eyes, and that if the venom enters the eye it causes a 

 very severe inflammation, but nothing worse. One fact is 

 certain (from my own observation) : that these African cobras 

 are very slow to strike with their tangs. I have once or 

 twice nearly trodden on one, and the snake has rapidly with- 

 drawn to a safe distance, and then adopted an attitude of 

 menace. 



A different story may be told of the far more dangerous 

 Tree cobras of the genus Dendraspis. These snakes all over 

 Africa are noted for their fierce ciisposition. They will 

 frequently attack human beings unprovoked, this fury being 

 probably connected with the breeding season. Males and 

 females of the Dendraspis are extremely attached when they 

 have paired, and either ot them will attack a human being if 

 it thinks that the lite ot the other is in danger. No doubt 

 the stories ot their flying at natives from the grass may be 

 connected with the male or temale defending the eggs, near 

 which these snakes are said to keep watch whilst the hatching 

 is going on. The West African 'Dnidraspls jamesonii^ is a bluish 

 black in general colour, and about four teet long when tull 

 grown. As its name implies, it is usually an arboreal snake. 

 The eggs, no doubt, are deposited in the hollows of trees. 



There is a tree snake, Dipsadomorphus, greyish green above 

 and yellowish white below, about five feet long. This snake 

 belongs to a group (opisthoglyphous) which is somewhat 



1 The Ljberian form is a green snake, D. vlridis, 

 8u 



