384 LOWKn VEnTEBllATES. 



Tlu' ('a!hp/ii(7cs avo charui'tcrizt'il liy the small iiumlicr of scale rows, there beiii"' 

 only thirteen, and by the grooved maxillary fang standing alone. The several species 

 are very similar to one another. The head is of nu)derate length, and not separate 

 from the body ; the eleft of the month is but little e.\tensible, r.nd the scales of the 

 body are smooth and jiolished. The geims is restricted to British India, and the 

 members are more abundant on the continent than in the Archijjelago. They repre- 

 sent tlie American Elaps, tlie African Jfoniorehips, and the Australian Vermkella. 

 They are thus terrestrial forms, preferring the hilly countries to plains, and are of 

 slow and sluggish movement. In their general form they closely resemble tlie abun- 

 dant Calamarida\ on the nunilxTs of which genus they chiefly feed ; the venomous 

 rei>tile being able to o\(r|io«er the non-venomous. It i.s a strange fact that the dis- 

 tribution of these two genera is over the same gcograpliieal area, and, though both are 

 abundant in India, a specimen of neither genus has ever been found in Ceylon. The 

 sight and hearing of Ctdlophis is e.vtremely defective, making it an easy matter for 

 the collector to secure them. Though they can only be induced to bite after consider- 

 able agitation, they are nevertheless very poisonous, and the greatest caution is neces- 

 sary in collecting or handling them. Animals inoculated with the venom have died 

 in from one to two hours, tliounh the small fangs an<l scanty snpjily of poison renders 

 it quite easy, in case of accidi'nt, to ]ircvi.'nt any fatal rt'sulls, providi'd only that the 

 proper remedies are at lianib 



One of the most beautiful of Anslvalian ophidians is the srarlet-spottcd snake Jira- 

 chi/soma diadema. Its general color is brown, cacli scale having a yellow sjiot in its cen- 

 tre, and the neck, which is distinctly constricted, is surrounded by a bright scarlet collar. 

 While the scales of this species are disposed in fifteen rows, those of S. triste are in 

 seventeen. Tlie genus \'er)n.iceU<i has the head like JShips, and a pair of minute 

 grooved fangs, without any other teeih in tlie upper jaw. These cliaracteristics con- 

 nect it, as well as allied Anslrnliaii forms, more intimately with the Klapideg of the 

 western than of the eastern lieniis|ilirre. V.annalata is called by the native collectors 

 tlie black-and-white ringed-snake, ami inhabits nearly every jiart of the insular conti- 

 nent. It is at once rccogni/.i'd by llie alternate black and white rings, which encircle 

 the body, and by its peculiar dentition. 



The arrow-headed Dendraspis, Dcndraspis aiiffiisticeps, is an inhabitant of South 

 Africa, and is quite abuiubuit at Xatal. It is long, sometimes reaching si.x feet, slen- 

 der, very active, and a good climber. Its color is olive brown, with green above and 

 a paler shade below. Much different in fonn is the death-adder of Australia, known 

 to science as Acanthophls antarctica. Its popular name is most characteristic, as it 

 is a very dangerous reptile, being provided with long immovable fangs, and possessing 

 venom of a most dangerous character, though not so virulent as that of the cobras or 

 rattle-snakes. A frog severely bitten by a large death-adder lias been known to live 

 more than twelve hours. The ]>eculiar tail, the terminal jiortion of which is com- 

 pressed, and covered with enlarged scales, the last being formed like a thorn, though 

 it only becomes hard in old individuals, is neither an instrument of ofTence or defence, 

 though the natives suppose it to be a most effective instrument of death. It is from 

 this peculiar appendage that the generic name has been given. 



The genus Z>t'«i's()H/(i is ]H'culiar in having — though it is a ^wisonous snake — a 

 loreal shield, an ornament which is usually characteristic of innocuous ophidians. It 

 is a rare snake, of onlv ordinary size, inlLiliiting Queensland. 



The family IIviii;oi>iiiii.i;, or sea-snakes, includes a group of highly specialized 



