THE CO LU BRINE SNAKES 



2579 



another on the crown, and a ring on the neck, behind which are smaller spots of the 

 same color. With age the color darkens, and the markings disappear, till in the 

 adult the upper surface is black, and the lower side white. Very common in 

 the neighborhood of Bahia, this snake, like the other members of the subfamily, is 

 almost exclusively nocturnal; and its food consists solely of lizards. Although their 

 fangs are large, it appears that these reptiles never attack human beings. 



As one of the few European representatives of the group under con- 

 sideration, reference may be made to the so-called cat snake ( Tarbo- 

 phis vivax}, which is the sole member of its genus. It is characterized by its 

 spindle-shaped body, the clear distinction between the flattened head and the neck, 



Cat Snake 



CAT SNAKE. 

 (One-half natural size.) 



the relatively-short tail, and the small size of the eyes. In place of a lower preocv 

 ular shield, the elongated loreal extends backward to the eye, so as to come in con- 

 tact with the upper preocular, this arrangement being unknown in any other 

 European snake. In the lower jaw the front teeth are much longer and more bent 

 than those which follow; while the fangs in the hinder part of the upper jaw are 

 also elongated and much curved. Sometimes reaching a little over a yard in lengtfo 

 this snake is of a dirty brownish yellow or gray ground color, with small black dots- 

 and a chestnut-brown spot on the shields of the head; the neck has a large blackish 

 or reddish-brown patch, and rows of smaller spots of the same color ornament the 

 back. There is also a dark band from the eye to the corner of the mouth; each side 

 of the body has a row of small spots; and the under parts are whitish with a brown 



