138 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



represented in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North and 

 Central America, comprises about forty species. The head 

 is elongate and distinct from the neck ; the eye is large, 

 with a round pupil ; the body and tail, the scales of which 

 are smooth or very feebly keeled, are long and cylindrical. 



As their Greek name implies, these snakes are usually 

 of fierce disposition ; they feed principally on birds, 

 mammals, and lizards, these never being constricted, but 

 eaten straight away. 



The Indian Rat Snake, Zamenis mucostis, the largest 

 species of the genus, attaining nine feet in length, is 

 abundant in India and Ceylon, where it is often met with 

 in outhouses or even bungalows. In coloration it is lightish 

 brown above, each scale being edged with black, the dark 

 edges of the scales becoming broader on the posterior part 

 of the body. The scales, which are disposed in nineteen 

 rows on the back, are feebly keeled, the keels in some speci- 

 mens being so faint as to appear entirely absent. The 

 Rat Snake, which is remarkable for its agility, seeming, 

 when pursued, almost to fly over the ground, is perhaps 

 the most ill-tempered of all snakes, large specimens scarcely 

 ever becoming tame, and frequently, in the case of captive 

 specimens, injuring themselves by incessantly striking at 

 the glass of their cage. When angry they have been said 

 to flatten out their necks in a cobra-like fashion ; but, 

 although I have often seen them sit up in a vertical attitude, 

 superficially resembling, when in such a position, the justly 

 dreaded Hamadryad, I have never observed any dilation of 

 the neck. When excited, at feeding times, for instance, 

 a specimen now living in our gardens will produce the 

 most peculiar musical sounds, such as has been observed 



