THE SEA-SERPENTS OF SCIEXCE. in 



The habits of the animals in attacking the whales, evidently 

 point to a close correspondence with those of terrestrial 

 serpents of large size, such as the boas and pythons ; whilst 

 the fact of the animal being described in the various 

 narratives as swimming with the head out of water, would 

 seem to indicate that, like all reptiles, they were air-breathers, 

 and required to come more or less frequently to the surface 

 for the purpose of respiration. The difficulties which appear 

 to stand in the way of reconciling the sea-serpent with a 

 marine snake, in this or in other cases, are two in number. 

 The great majority of intelligent persons are unaware of the 

 existence of serpents of truly and exclusively marine habits ; 

 and thus the mere existence of such snakes constitutes an 

 apparent difficulty, which, however, a slight acquaintance 

 with the history of the reptilia would serve at once to 

 remove. Mr. Gosse speaks of these marine snakes, the 

 HydrophidcE of the naturalist, which inhabit the warmer 

 seas, possess compressed fin-like tails adapted for swimming, 

 and are frequently met with far out at sea.* Whilst, as 

 regards the claims of the " sea-serpent " to belong to the true 

 serpent order, naturalists have dismissed this idea, simply 

 because it has never occurred to them that a gigantic 

 development of an ordinary species of sea-snake would 

 frilly correspond with most of the appearances described, 

 and w r ould in the most natural manner explain many of the 

 sea-serpent tales. Suppose that a sea-snake of gigantic size 



* It is interesting to note that frequent mention of the occurrence of 

 large " sea-serpents " is made by the crews of vessels which have sailed 

 through the Indian Ocean. An instance of a large sea-snake being seen 

 in its native seas is afforded by the report of the master of the barque 

 Georgina from Rangoon, which (as reported in the newspapers of Sep- 

 tember 4, 1877), put into Falmouth for orders on the 1st September. 

 On May 21, 1877, in latitude 2 X. and longitude 90 53' E., a large 

 serpent about forty or fifty feet long, grey and yellow in colour, and ten 

 or eleven inches thick, was seen by the crew. It was visible for twenty 

 minutes, during which time it crossed the bow, and ultimately disap- 

 peared under the port-quarter. There can be little doubt that this sea- 

 serpent was simply a largely developed marine snake. 



