BRITISH REPTILES, AMPHIBIANS, 



AND 

 FRESH-WATER FISHES 



I. CLASS REPTILIA, OR SNAKES AND LIZARDS 



Introduction. — Whilst in certain parts of Great Britain 

 both Snakes and Lizards are of frequent occurrence, 

 there are many districts where neither are found, and 

 although on odd occasions introduced Snakes have been 

 unexpectedly discovered in Ireland, the Emerald Isle 

 does not include even one species of Ophidia in its 

 native fauna. Moreover, our own island-fauna as a 

 whole contains very few species of Snakes, or Lizards, 

 and if at the outset it is stated that only three species in 

 each of the two Orders of Op/«W/a (Snakes), and LacertiHa 

 (Lizards), are entitled to inclusion, the truth will at once 

 be told. Of a fourth kind of Snake (the Small Red 

 Viper : Vipera rubra) something will be said at a later 

 stage, and as regards Lizards I have myself caught, or 

 had in my possession, specimens from foreign climes 



