270 THE VIVARIUM. 
pitted scales are arranged in nineteen rows; the ventrals number 
from 143 to 179, the sub-caudals are in from forty to sixty-three 
pairs, and the anal scute is divided. It is brownish, greenish, 
or reddish above, spotted or reticulated with black. Sometimes 
there are black cross-bands. The lower parts are yellowish or 
reddish, frequently spotted with black. This Snake grows to 
a length of a little over 2ft., of which the tail measures a little 
more than one-fifth. It may sometimes be bought for about 15s. 
The Royal Snake (ZLiophis regine) isa pretty Snake, and fairly 
hardy while in captivity. It is a native of tropical South. 
America, and therefore should be kept under the influence of 
artificial heat. It may be fed upon frogs. The following is a 
short description of the Snake. The eye is large, and the snout 
short; the loreal is deeper than it is long; there are one 
pree-ocular and two post-oculars; there are eight upper labials 
and five lower ones; the smooth, pitted scales are arranged in 
seventeen rows; the ventrals number from 136 to 150; the sub- 
caudals are in from fifty-eight to eighty-one pairs, and the anal 
scute is divided. The colour of the upper parts of the body is 
greenish or olive, the scales being frequently edged with black. 
There is a black stripe on each side. of the tail; the upper lip is 
yellow; the under parts are yellowish, and often spotted with 
black. The Royal Snake does not often exceed a length of 2ft., 
of which the tail measures about one quarter. The last two 
teeth in each maxillary Jaw of ZL. reginw and the other members 
of the same genus are very large, and are separated from the rest 
by a considerable interspace. The genus Liophis numbers about 
twenty-one species, all of which are natives of America and the 
West Indies. 
The Colubrine Xenodon (_Xenodon colubrinus) belongs to a genus 
the members of which are remarkable for the curious formation 
of their teeth. They are, therefore, well-called ‘‘ Xenodons ”’ 
the ‘‘strange-toothed.’”? They are natives of Tropical America. 
These Snakes, though perfectly harmless and inoffensive in every 
way, have often been regarded, and are now too, I believe, by 
the natives of the countries in which they are found, as being ex- 
ceedingly poisonous. They do certainly possess two large fang- 
like and movable teeth in each maxillary jaw, but they are 
