298 REPTILIA OPHIDIA. [VIPEBA 



cated, oval approaching triangular, carinated ; increasing in size towards 

 the sides of the body, where the longitudinal keel becomes lost : beneath 

 the lower jaw some imbricated scales without a keel : plates of the belly 

 transverse, oblong, about one hundred and forty-three in number ; sub- 

 caudal plates about thirty-three on each side. (Colours.) Extremely 

 variable : ground of the back and upper parts, in some, dirty yellow ; in 

 others olive, or pale cinereous brown : space between the eyes, and an 

 oval patch on each side of the occiput, black or dark brown ; a zigzag 

 dorsal fascia of the same colour commencing at the nape and reaching to 

 the extremity of the tail (in some the fascia assumes rather the appear- 

 ance of a longitudinal row of confluent diamond-shaped spots) ; also a 

 row of small triangular black spots along each side parallel to the dorsal 

 fascia : belly, and beneath the tail, steel-blue, stained in some places with 

 yellowish ; sometimes almost wholly black. Obs. The markings above 

 vary much in intensity of colouring, but always preserve, those on the 

 head especially, nearly the same form. The following are some of the 

 principal varieties noticed by authors. 



Var. /3. Red Viper. Rackett in Linn. Trans, vol. xn. p. 349. Strick- 

 land in Loud. Mag. of Nat. Hist. vol. vi. p. 399. Gray in Proceed, of 

 Zool. Soc. (1834) p. 101. Coluber Chersea, Linn. Syst. Nat. torn. i. 

 p. 377. Petite Vipere, Cuv. Reg. An. torn. n. p. 92. " Of a bright fer- 

 ruginous red, with zigzag markings down the back, resembling in form 

 those of the Common Viper; but instead of being black or dark brown, 

 they are of a deep mahogany colour : also a series of irregular spots of 

 the same colour along each side : the zigzag line terminates at the back 

 of the head in a heart-shaped spot, placed between two converging dark- 

 coloured bands, which meet on the top of the head, and again diverge 

 towards the eyes : belly ferruginous, like the back. Head much broader 

 and shorter than in the Common Viper." STRICKL. 



Var. y. Blue-bellied Viper. (Coluber cseruleus,) Shepp. in Linn. 

 Trans, vol. vn. p. 56. 



Var. . Black Viper. Leach, Zool. Misc. vol. in. pi. 124. Coluber 

 Prester, Linn. Syst. Nat. torn. i. p. 377. Wholly black, or very dark 

 brown; the markings hardly distinguishable. 



Common in many parts of the kingdom, frequenting thickets, old chalk- 

 pits, and other waste places, more especially where the soil is dry. Said 

 to be most abundant in the Western Islands. In Cambridgeshire very 

 rare. Feeds on mice, frogs, and insects. Brings forth its young alive. 



Var. /3. was first obtained by the Rev. T. Rackett from Cranborne 

 Chase, in Dorsetshire. It has been since met with in Suffolk, Worcester- 

 shire, Somersetshire, and Berkshire. By some it is considered as a dis- 

 tinct species ; I have, however, no hesitation myself in regarding it as a 

 mere variety of the common kind. The fact of its being always found of 

 a small size is probably due to the circumstance of the colours changing 

 in advanced life. 



Var. y. was described by Mr Sheppard, who considered it as another 

 distinct species. He does not state whence his specimen was obtained. 



Var. 8. has been found in Suffolk, and a few other parts of England, 

 but is very rare. 



Obs. The Coluber Berus of Linnaeus is thought by Cuvier to be 

 the same as his Vipere Commune, a species perfectly distinct from the 

 Common Viper of England*. 



* Obs. According to Mr. Lyell, (Prin. ofGeol. vol. n. p. 103.) none of the above three species 

 of Ophidian Reptiles have been observed hitherto in Ireland. According, however, to another 

 author, (Edinb. New Phil. Journ. vol. xvm. p. 373.) Snakes have been lately imported into 

 that country, and, "arc at present (1835) multiplying rapidly within a few miles of the tomb of 

 St Patrick/' 



