﻿294 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  194 
  3 
  

  

  longs, 
  are 
  found 
  in 
  southeastern 
  Asia 
  and 
  the 
  East 
  Indies, 
  however. 
  10 
  

   These 
  are 
  pit 
  vipers, 
  and 
  differ 
  from 
  the 
  true 
  vipers 
  which 
  are 
  likewise 
  

   found 
  in 
  those 
  regions 
  by 
  the 
  possession 
  of 
  a 
  complex 
  pit 
  on 
  the 
  side 
  

   of 
  the 
  head 
  between 
  eye 
  and 
  nostril. 
  Both 
  these 
  families 
  differ 
  from 
  

   the 
  following 
  ones 
  in 
  having 
  a 
  head 
  distinctly 
  set 
  off 
  from 
  the 
  body 
  by 
  

   the 
  swelling 
  at 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  jaws 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  poison 
  glands, 
  which 
  are 
  

   much 
  smaller 
  in 
  the 
  Elapidae 
  and 
  Hydrophidae. 
  

  

  The 
  family 
  Elapidae, 
  represented 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  World 
  by 
  the 
  coral 
  

   snakes, 
  contains 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  widespread 
  and 
  dangerous 
  of 
  Old 
  

   "World 
  snakes 
  — 
  the 
  cobras. 
  Australia 
  has 
  about 
  80 
  kinds, 
  while 
  Africa 
  

   and 
  southern 
  Asia 
  boast 
  of 
  numerous 
  species 
  also. 
  Elapidae 
  have 
  the 
  

   head 
  and 
  body 
  nearly 
  continuous 
  in 
  outline, 
  with 
  no 
  distinctly 
  marked 
  

   "neck" 
  in 
  most 
  cases, 
  in 
  this 
  respect 
  resembling 
  the 
  harmless 
  colubrine 
  

   snakes. 
  

  

  The 
  Hydrophidae 
  (sea 
  snakes) 
  are 
  found 
  near 
  the 
  coasts 
  of 
  southern 
  

   Asia 
  and 
  northern 
  Australia. 
  Most 
  of 
  them 
  hug 
  the 
  shore 
  and 
  dislike 
  

   to 
  swim 
  far 
  away 
  from 
  land. 
  One 
  kind 
  has 
  successfully 
  crossed 
  the 
  

   Pacific 
  and 
  established 
  itself 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  coast 
  of 
  Central 
  America, 
  as 
  

   stated 
  above, 
  and 
  this 
  same 
  species 
  has 
  likewise 
  crossed 
  the 
  Indian 
  

   Ocean 
  to 
  the 
  eastern 
  shores 
  of 
  Africa. 
  

  

  Some 
  rear-f 
  anged 
  snakes 
  of 
  the 
  family 
  Colubridae 
  occur 
  in 
  Asia, 
  but 
  

   as 
  their 
  bites 
  are 
  not 
  deadly 
  to 
  human 
  beings, 
  they 
  will 
  not 
  be 
  dis- 
  

   cussed 
  here. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  African 
  species 
  are 
  potentially 
  very 
  dan- 
  

   gerous 
  to 
  man, 
  however. 
  

  

  While 
  no 
  poisonous 
  lizards 
  are 
  positively 
  known 
  from 
  the 
  Old 
  

   World, 
  an 
  exceedingly 
  rare 
  lizard 
  from 
  Borneo 
  possibly 
  related 
  to 
  the 
  

   Gila 
  monster 
  has 
  been 
  assumed 
  to 
  be 
  poisonous. 
  As 
  yet 
  no 
  proof 
  of 
  

   this 
  has 
  been 
  put 
  forward. 
  

  

  EUROPE 
  AND 
  NORTHERN 
  ASIA 
  

  

  The 
  true 
  vipers 
  (family 
  Viperidae) 
  are 
  the 
  only 
  poisonous 
  snakes 
  

   to 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  Europe 
  and 
  northern 
  Asia. 
  11 
  Some 
  of 
  their 
  character- 
  

   istics 
  are 
  a 
  vertical 
  pupil, 
  relatively 
  small 
  size, 
  and 
  a 
  zigzag 
  dark 
  

   stripe 
  down 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  back 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  pronounced 
  in 
  Euro- 
  

   pean 
  species. 
  These 
  vipers 
  fall 
  naturally 
  in 
  groups 
  of 
  closely 
  allied 
  

   species 
  which 
  have 
  much 
  in 
  common. 
  

  

  The 
  common 
  viper 
  and 
  its 
  allies. 
  

  

  This 
  snake 
  (Vipera 
  berus, 
  pi. 
  8, 
  fig. 
  1) 
  , 
  called 
  northern 
  viper 
  or 
  adder 
  

   in 
  part 
  of 
  its 
  range, 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  poisonous 
  species 
  inhabiting 
  the 
  British 
  

   Isles, 
  where 
  it 
  is 
  found 
  in 
  Scotland, 
  Wales, 
  and 
  England, 
  but 
  not 
  in 
  

   Ireland. 
  It 
  likewise 
  ranges 
  over 
  northern 
  Europe 
  at 
  least 
  to 
  the 
  67th 
  

  

  10 
  One 
  species, 
  Agkiatrodon 
  halys, 
  just 
  reaches 
  into 
  eastern 
  Europe 
  near 
  the 
  Caspian 
  Sea. 
  

   u 
  Except 
  the 
  pit 
  viper 
  Agkiatrodon 
  halys, 
  a 
  predominantly 
  Asiatic 
  species 
  which 
  extends 
  

   westward 
  to 
  the 
  Saltan 
  Murat 
  Desert 
  and 
  the 
  Induski 
  hills 
  near 
  the 
  Caspian 
  Sea. 
  

  

  