THE SNAKES 229 



pythons to deposit from fifty to a hundred eggs. A 

 twenty-foot specimen of Python reticulatus deposited 

 sixty eggs. About these she coiled and fought off all 

 intruders. Her efforts proved of no avail, owing to 

 infertility of the eggs. 



The birth of the Anacondas in the New York Zoolog- 

 ical Park demonstrated another interesting fact, thus: 

 Though popular supposition regards an adult Anaconda 

 as a creature at least twenty-five feet long, we note a 

 captive specimen perfectly mature and bringing forth 

 a large litter (this signifying a well-matured adult), 

 when the parent is but seventeen feet long. The writer 

 believes the addition of a very few feet to this length 

 would represent the maximum length of the great Water 

 Boa. 



In the Guianas is found another and smaller species 

 known as the Yellow Anaconda, Eunectes notceus. 

 The ground color is yellowish-green, over which are 

 close-set, irregular and ragged blotches, imparting a 

 quite different pattern from the round black spots of 

 the commoner species. 



The genus Boa: Seven showily -marked species form 

 the genus. All are characterized by a series of large 

 yellow saddles or transverse bands on the back. The 

 distribution is curious. Boa constrictor, B. occidentalis, 

 B. diviniloqua, B. imperator and B. mexicana are found 

 in the New World ; B. dumerilii and B. madagascariensis 

 inhabit Madagascar only. One of the most beautiful 

 of serpents is a snake well known by its scientific name. 

 This is the Common Boa, both technically and popularly 

 recognized as the Boa constrictor, a native of tropical 

 South America. Being a reptile of generally docile 

 nature and taking readily to captivity, it is much sought 

 by snake "charmers." Right here it is appropriate to 



