THE CO LU BRINE SNAKES 2581 



the middle of the back being slightly enlarged. The shields on the under surface 

 of the body are rounded, and those beneath the tail form two rows. Deriving their 

 name of whip snakes from the extreme elongation and slenderness of the body and 

 tail these serpents move awkwardly enough on a flat surface, although when coil- 

 ing and climbing among the branches of trees their rapid movements are graceful in 

 the extreme. While retaining their hold by means of a few coils of the tail thrown 

 round a branch, the length of their body enables them with ease to reach another at 

 a considerable distance, or to dart forth their head in order to seize any hapless bird 

 or lizard that may be within striking distance. 



Nearly allied to the preceding are the sharp-nosed snakes ( Oxybelis) , 



of which seven species inhabit Central and South America, while the 

 Snakes 



eighth is found in Central and Western Africa. These have small 



heads, with the snout narrow and elongated, and the rostral shield projecting con- 

 siderably beyond the lower jaw. The neck is thin and slender, the body greatly 

 elongated and laterally compressed, and the long and thin tail tapering to a fine 

 point. The upper jaw carries seventeen solid teeth of nearly equal size, and four 

 large fangs. In appearance and habits these snakes closely resemble the whip 

 snakes. 



Brief reference must be made here to a group of nine genera of 

 Water aquatic snakes from India, Burma, China, New Guinea, North Aus- 

 Snakes tralia, and the adjacent countries, which constitute a second subfamily 

 (Homalopsince} in the hind-fanged series. From the preceding sub- 

 family they may be readily distinguished by the position of the nostrils on the upper 

 surface of the muzzle, while they are further differentiated by their thoroughly 

 aquatic habits. It will be unnecessary to particularize the various genera; but it 

 may be mentioned that the typical genus, Homalopsis, belongs to a group in which 

 the two nasal shields of the head are in contact; and that in a second group, as rep- 

 resented by Cantoria, they are separated by an internasal shield. Most of these 

 snakes are of small size, few of them exceeding a yard in length, while many are 

 considerably smaller. Although mainly fresh-water snakes, seldom coming to 

 shore, a few members of the group enter the sea. Many of them are furnished 

 with prehensile tails, by means of which they attach themselves to convenient ob- 

 jects; and the majority feed exclusively on fish, though a few prefer crustaceans. 

 Their young are produced alive in the water. 



The beautiful but venomous coral snake (Elaps corallinus} is the 



Coral Snake , , , . , . , , . ,, . , .. 



best-known representative of a genus which brings us to a third and 



last series of the great family under consideration. All the members of this front- 

 fanged series (Proteroglypha) are characterized by having the front teeth of the 

 hinder upper jawbone or maxilla, grooved, and the posterior ones simple and solid. 

 These snakes are all poisonous; and they are divided into two subfamilies, accord- 

 ing to their habits and the conformation of the tail. In the first, or Elapine sub- 

 family (Elapincz} the tail is cylindrical; the snakes themselves being either terres- 

 trial or arboreal in their mode of life. These Elapine snakes are distributed in 

 larger or smaller numbers over Asia, Africa, and America, and are especially 

 abundant in Australia, where they form by far the greater moiety of the ophidian 



