THE VIPER, OR ADDER. 35 



hind part of the head, an obscure V, as though it 

 bore the initial of its name on its crown, and a 

 broad zigzag line down the whole length of its 

 body and tail, apparently formed by the confluence 

 of a series of dark lozenge-shaped spots, with ir- 

 regular triangular spots on each side, are the chief 

 features in the marking of this species. The scales, 

 less visible without a closer examination, are also 

 distinctive. Those on the top of the head are not 

 large plates as in the innocuous snakes, but a greater 

 number of smaller scales, three being larger than 

 the rest. The scales of the back and sides are 

 distinctly keeled, and disposed in eighteen series. 

 Those of the under parts vary in their number, but 

 are generally from one hundred and forty to one 

 hundred and fifty, with about thirty-five pairs to 

 the tail. It is seldom so large as the common snake, 

 and the female, as amongst rapacious birds, is the 

 largest. 



Winged Scarabgeus and Asps, from an Egyptian ornament, 



