14 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 
of more than 3 feet. This was primarily stated by the African natives, who believe 
that if the venom gets into the eye the sight will be lost. This seems to be partly 
corroborated by subsequent observations of some European travelers and settlers. 
It seems quite conceivable that if the projected venom gets into the eye there will 
be severe conjunctivitis. Calmette states, however, that he never observed such 
faculty in Sepedon during its captivity in his laboratory. 
Boers call it Spy-slange or spitting snake, meaning that it spits out its saliva 
when excited. 
Genus BUNGARUS Daudin. 
Bungarus Daudin, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, 1803, 187. 
The two large, grooved poison fangs are followed by one or two smaller teeth. 
Eyes small, with round or vertical pupils. Head not distinct from neck. Dorsal 
ridge prominent and covered with a row of much-enlarged scales. Scales in 13 
to 17 rows. Body moderately thick, with comparatively short tail. Subcaudal 
in one or two series. Bungarus is closely allied to Naja, but has an undilatable 
neck. About half a dozen species inhabit southeastern Asia. 
Bungarus candidus!s. ceruleus. (Plate 3, D, E; plate 6, A.) 
Bungarus candidus var. ceruleus, or often B. ceruleus so called, is one of the 
most dreaded venomous snakes of the whole of India and adjacent regions. It is 
known as common krait; has a habit of invading houses in search of rats. It is 
comparatively small in size, reaching about 3 feet; lives on lizards, rats, and young 
snakes. It is known to penetrate to a veranda, bathroom, or even a pillow, but 
usually hides in old trees or walls. Scales smooth, dark brown or bluish-black 
with narrow crossbars or white specks, or alternately barred brown and yellow; 
under part uniform white. Krait is the next most dangerous snake to the cobra. 
Bungarus fasciatus. (Plate 6, B.) 
General color bright yellow, alternating with blackish bands. About 5 feet 
long. Fangs comparatively small. Known in northwestern India under the name 
Koclia-krait, it inhabits Bengal, Coromandel, and Burma. A bite of this species, 
also called the banded krait, is fatal to a dog within a few hours. 
Other species of Bungarus are multicinctus,’? which reaches 3 to 4 feet in length 
and inhabits South China, lower Burma and Formosa; ceylonicus, the Ceylon krait, 
and lividus, which has less-pronounced median dorsal scales and inhabits Assam. 
Genus HEMIBUNGARUS Peters. 
Hemibungarus Peters, Mon. Ber. Berliner Akad. Wiss., 1862, 637. 
In contradistinction to the genus Callophis, this one has several small solid teeth 
behind the poison fang. The pupil is round. Head and neck less distinct. Body 
rather slender and cylindrical. The poison extends sometimes down to the ab- 
dominal cavity. Scales in 15 rows. ‘Tail short. Subcaudals in two rows. 
Hemibungarus colligaster. 
Head purplish with black crossbars separated with narrow white bands; ab- 
dominal surface and tip of tail red; nose yellow, with black band around the upper 
lip near eyes. Grows to a length less than 2 feet. Philippine Islands. 
Hemibungarus collaris. 
Black on back; black and red bands on belly; yellowish collar on back part of 
head. Philippine Islands. 
iBoulenger divided Bungarus candidus into two varieties, ceruleus and multicinctus. Stejneger is 
inclined to consider Bungarus candidus s. ceruleus as not so closely allied as to be ranked as 
subspecies, but deserving full specific rank as Bungarus multicinctus — not as Bungarus ceruleus 
multicinctus. 
2 Boulenger’s subspecies of Bungarus candidus, and corresponds to Bungarus semifasciatus Giinther, 
not of Boie, 1827. 
