282 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



dozen fantastic loops, when disturbed, glaring steadily 

 at the intruder with its big, cat-like eyes, but never offer- 

 ing to bite. Frogs were regularly eaten, a small one, 

 at intervals of about ten days apart. Freshly-hatched 

 sparrows elicited the greatest interest, two of them con- 

 stituting a meal. Regularly each year, in August, this 

 snake deposited from ten to twelve elongated eggs, 

 placed in a carefully scooped-out hollow of the gravel 

 under the strip of bark. While infertile, the eggs were 

 white with a perfectly-formed firm shell and retained 

 their shape for several weeks, when they solidified from 

 a constant absorption of moisture. 



Thicker of body, but appealing to Himantodes in 

 form, particularly by the distinct head and elliptical 

 pupils, are several genera, forming a fairly well-defined 

 group, the Dipsades. Sibon is one of the genera. 

 Nine species are known, all with a sharply-defined, poi- 

 sonous-looking head, but plated in typical Colubrine 

 fashion. The distribution includes tropical and South 

 Africa and the New World from southern Texas in the 

 United States into tropical South America. The An- 

 nulated Snake, S. septentrionalis, is the only species 

 found in the United States. The habitat is southwest 

 Texas and northern Mexico. It is rusty brown above 

 with transverse black blotches extending down the sides 

 almost to the borders of the abdominal plates ; examined 

 from above, the snake seems to be boldly ringed — hence 

 the popular name. The combination of flattened, dis- 

 tinct head with large shields, the elliptical pupils and 

 strong pattern should distinguish the reptile among 

 others in the country it inhabits. Lizards are the favor- 

 ite food. Judging from the way they become quickly 

 benumbed by the poison, snakes of this kind should be 

 handled with caution. 



