822 



VIPER. 



The females are ovoviviparous. The eggs vary 

 from a dozen to about two dozen in number ; the 

 gestation lasts about eight months ; the eggs, when 

 matured, are about the size of those of the wren ; 

 and when the young at first burst the membrane, and 

 come out of the oviduct of the parent, they remain 

 some time " on the egg," as is the case with the 

 young of the ovoviviparous fishes ; but they do not, 

 according to the vulgar statement, take refuge in the 

 body of the mother after they have been produced. 

 This species, and not any of the non-venomous snakes, 

 is the Adder of common language, the Neidr of the 

 Welsh, and the Nathair of the Scotch Highlanders ; 

 though the common snake often gets the name and 

 comes in for a share of the persecution, and of all the 

 superstitious beliefs connected with the adder. It is 

 eagerly eaten by the wild boar, and also by various 

 species of birds ; these, however, take the precaution 

 of bumping it on the head, or beating its head against 

 the ground, until it is incapable of using its fangs. 



It is doubtful whether the a:*prig of Scandinavia, 

 and some other places of the north and the east of 

 Europe, is any thing else than the common viper. 



Horned-muzzle Viper (V. ammodytis}$\$ not uncom- 

 mon in the valley of the Danube, and in countries 

 further to the south. It has a soft bone covered 

 with small scales in advance of the muzzle ; but, in 

 other respects, it differs but little from Lucus, though 

 in proportion as it is a more southerly inhabitant, its 

 venom may be presumed to be more active. 



Horned Viper (V. cerastis). This one has a small 

 projecting horn over each eye ; it is of a greyish 

 colour, inhabits the hot and dry parts of Africa, espe- 

 cially the borders of the valley of the Nile, and con- 

 ceals itself in the sand. 



The tufted Viper (V. lophophris), is an analogous 

 species found in Southern Africa, but instead of the 

 two projecting bones over the eyes it has two tufts 

 of filaments. 



The short-tailed Viper ( V. brachyura), is a foreign 

 species, with the scales on the head keeled and imbri- 

 cated like those on the back j it inhabits warm regions, 

 and is represented as being very poisonous. 



The brown and white Viper ( V. /uzmachates), is a 

 South African species, of a reddish-brown colour 

 marbled with white ; it has plates on the head very 

 similar to those on the colubers, and the lower part 

 of the muzzle is bevelled off. 



NAIA. These are, generally speaking, of small 

 size, but they are remarkable for the virulence of 

 their poison. They are found in very warm coun- 

 tries, such as India and Egypt, and lurk about ruins 

 and among stones and rubbish. They have plates 

 on the head, and they have the power of inflating 

 the body immediately in the rear of the head by 

 advancing and expanding the anterior ribs. 



Naia tripudians is the most notorious species. It 

 abounds in the warmer parts of India, where it is 

 called cabro capello, hooded snake, by the Portu- 

 guese ; and it is also called the spectacled serpent, 

 from a black mark, something in the form of a pair 

 of spectacles, which appears on its inflated disc. 

 There are one or two coloured varieties, as in the 

 common viper, but they are all equally poisonous. 

 They are animals of some speculation ; for the Indian 

 jugglers teach them to dance and play a number of 

 tricks, pretending to charm them ; but the safest part 

 of the charming is the extraction of the poisonous 



Naia Haje. This is an Egyptian species, which 

 has been celebrated from the remotest antiquity. 

 The inflated neck, and often the erect attitude, which 

 we observe in the serpent of the ancient paintings 

 and sculptures of Egypt, is proof that this is the 

 serpent which they made the emblem of the protect- 

 ing divinity of the world, and, as such, placed it as 

 a guard, at each side of the globe, upon the portals 

 of all their temples. There is little doubt that, if 

 Cleopatra did poison herself by the bite of a serpent, 

 the haje was the aspic which she employed for the 

 purpose only it could not have been procured from 

 the mud of the Nile, as it is not aquatic. Its mark- 

 ings are greenish' and brown, not yellowish and 

 bluish-brown, as in the preceding ; and it cannot 

 inflate the anterior part of the body to such a degree. 

 It has been taken advantage of by the jugglers as 

 well as its congener, who, by pressing its occiput, 

 can make it as stiff as a stick, so as alternately to 

 seem a rod and a serpent. The power that it has 

 of erecting itself when alarmed, or otherwise excited, 

 is probably the reason why the office of a guardian 

 was conferred upon it. 



ELAPS. These have the head furnished with 

 plates ; but the bones of the anterior part of the 

 body are very different from those of Naia; for, 

 instead of the ribs being dilatable, the jaws can hardly 

 be separated from each other in consequence of the 

 shortness of the tympanal bones ; their head, in con- 

 sequence, seems one continuation with the body. 

 They form an exception to the general geography of 

 the vipers, in being found in the tropical parts of the 

 American continent as well as in the East. Perhaps 

 they ought to be formed into a distinct section. They 

 are the labarra or libarri snakes of Guiana, and neither 

 so large nor so formidable as the crotali of that part 

 of the world. The one best known is E. lemniscatus, 

 of which the ground colour is white, marked with 

 rings of black, approaching each other in species, 

 and one of the black rays forming the point of the 

 muzzle. The poison of this one is much dreaded ; 

 and, as is the case with the viper of Britain, it brings 

 part of its bad name upon some of the harmless ser- 

 pents, which have the misfortune of bearing some 

 resemblance to it in their general appearance. 



There are many species of Elaps in different parts 

 of the warm latitudes which resemble each other in 

 the marking of their colours, and some of them, from 

 the stoutness of the tail, have been called Micruri. 



PLATURI have plates on the head, and a double 

 row on the tail, with the tail flattened for swimming. 

 They are found in the Indian seas. 



TRIMEEESURI have some of the plates on the tail 

 single and others double. 



OPLOCEPHALI have very large plates on the head, 

 and all those on the tail single. 



ACANTHAPLEIS will be found noticed in its place 

 in the alphabet. 



ECHIS, or SCYTALI, have the scales on the head 

 small, and large single plates on the under side of the 

 tail. 



LANGAGA are but little known. They are said to 

 be of Madagascar, to have plates on the head, the 

 muzzle narrow and projecting, the anterior part of 

 the tail furnished with rays which invest it all round, 

 and the terminal part with small imbricated scales on 

 the under side as well as the upper. 



BUNGARI, called also PSEUDOBOA, or false boa, 

 have large entire plates on the under side of the tail, 



