——_—wTaees ”- « ~~ 
=F. ~~ 
THE SNAKES OF BANGKOK. 15 
This collar entirely disappears as the snake grows up. The change to 
brown takes place later in life, and is confined to adult age. Whether 
it occurs in all specimens f cannot say. My own experience in Bang- 
kok is that it does so. , 
Family CoLUBRIDAE 
Subfamily ACROCHORDINAE 
ny 
7. Acrochordus javanicus. The Hlephant’s Trunk Snake. 
ta 
Siamese. V JON DN (ngu nguang chang). Fairly common 
in Bangkok, mhabiting the river and klongs. Often caught in the 
mud left by the receding tide. Occasionally to be found crossing a 
road, but on land it is quite out of its element and its movements are 
slow and clumsy, progressing as much like a gigantic worm as like a 
snake. As with many of the fresh water snakes, it has an extremely 
sluggish disposition, at any rate during the day time. In captivity it 
hardly ever moves except under cover of darkness. If handled quietly 
it makes no attempt to bite, but if roughly seized will turn swiftly 
upon one, and with its large teeth can inflict severe wounds. 
food. This consists chiefly of fish, but it is possible that this 
species is also vegetarian in its diet. In the stomach of one caught 
in Java,* a quantity of undigested fruit was found, and in one caught 
in Bangkok | discovered a curious conglomeration of small hard nuts, 
small stones, a large piece of string, as well as a quantity of fish bones. 
Such things could only have been swallowed accidentally, or more 
probably were in the stomach of some creature eaten -by the snake. 
lam not sure that it will not eat carrion. Further observations upon 
its diet will be interesting. 
Jt is a prolific snake. Cantor mentions one in his possession 
which brought forth 27 young ones, and two others which I examined 
towards the end of May contained respectively 27 and 32 well 
developed embryos. 
Dimensions. Up to 2500 mm. (Boulenger). The largest speci- 
‘men I have seen measured 1855 mm. (6 feet). For its length this 
snake has enormous girth, greater than that of any other snake 
I know, (This ,point is well brouzht out in the very excellent 
slate, reproduced from a photograph taken while the creature was alive 
g 
* Vide Boulenger’s Leptilia and Batrachia of the Maluy Peninsula. 
