42 VENOMS 
Total length, 640 millimetres ; tail 50. 
Habitat : Malabar. 
All the snakes belonging to the genus Callophis are remarkable 
for their bright and varied colours, whence the generic name, which 
signifies ‘‘ beautiful snakes.” 
They feed exclusively on other snakes belonging to the Family 
Calamaridæ ; consequently they are not found in regions where 
Calamaride do not occur, as, for instance, in Ceylon. 
They are essentially terrestrial, and live in old tree-trunks, or 
clefts in rocks. They are sluggish, slow-moving, and chiefly 
nocturnal. 
As a rule they do not seek either to defend themselves or to bite; 
consequently fatal accidents caused by them are scarcely known in 
the case of human beings. Their venom, however, is very toxic 
to animals. 
(e) Doliophis. 
This genus exhibits the same characters as Callophis, except 
that the poison-glands, instead of being confined to the temporal 
region, extend a very long way on each side of the body, to about 
one-third of its length, gradually growing thicker and terminating 
at the base of the heart. 
It includes four species :— 
(1) D. bivirgatus.—Colour reddish-purple or black on the back, 
red on the head, tail, and belly. 
Total length, 1,610 millimetres ; tail 190. 
Habitat : Burma, Indo-China, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, 
and Borneo. 
(2) D. intestinalis —Brown or black on the back, with darker 
or lighter longitudinal streaks ; tail red beneath; belly red, crossed 
with black streaks. 
Total length, 580 millimetres ; tail 45. 
