368 MEMOIR on AMPHIBIA. 



reptile is found in tliofe dry and arid lands which produce 

 pines only. The third, a non-defcript, and known by 

 the name of the water rattleihake, is larger than the for- 

 mer, is commonly confined to low grounds, and as it lives 

 near the waters, might be prefumed to make its food of 

 frogs. Neverthelefs 1 have aflifted at the opening of many, 

 (which had been killed for the fake of diminilhing their 

 number, and extracling the greaie, of which an oil is pre- 

 pared pretended to be of fuperior efficacy in rheumatic and 

 other pains, but which in fa£l has no advantage over other 

 undluous fubftances) but 1 never found in their ftomachs 

 any thing beildes birds, fquirrels or rabbits. This new 

 fpecies, which is I'poken of neither by Catefby nor Lin- 

 nncus, nor by any author with whom 1 am acquainted, 

 appears to have been confounded with the crotalus hor- 

 ridus. It differs from it notwithftanding, effentially, both 

 by its habits and external form. The boiquira is marked 

 acrofs the back by dark brown tranfverfal lines, a little dia- 

 gonal, terminated, on each fide, by a fpot almofl round, 

 of the fame colour. The back of the other ferpent is co- 

 vered with parallelograms or lozenges of a browner colour 

 than the refl of the body, and terminated by a yellow 

 border. Thefe differences may be readily obferved in the 

 annexed figures, Nos. i and 2. 



After the difcovery of this new fpecies of ferpent, I 

 incline to think that the term honidiis, which is equally 

 applicable to both, ought no longer to fubfifl. I propofe 

 then to call No. i. crotalus boiquira, a name by which it 

 is generally known : and No. 2. crotalus adamanteus, after 

 the form of the marks upon its back. 



Some authors have further advanced that the boiquira 

 was very adive in the water and among rocks, but very 

 flow and inadive in the dry land. This is an error, which 

 no doubt owes its origin to the fearfulnefs of thole v^^ho 

 have fallen into it. Both thefe fpecies are more tardy than 



other 



