SNAKES 



591 



* * 



Photo b) a. G. F. Sfurrill, Ei 9 .] [Eaitbou 



LEOPARD-SNAKE 



A harmless and beautifully marked species inhabiting Italy and Sicily 



habitat, is the huge ANACONDA, or 1 



WATER-BOA, of Brazil and the adja- 



cent countries. This animal, which is 



undoubtedly the largest living repre- 



sentative of the Serpent Tribe, attains 



a length little, if any, short of 40 



feet. One such monster was specially 



referred to by Dr. Gardiner, the 



botanist, in his " Travels in Brazil " ; 



it had devoured a horse, and was 



found dead, entangled in the branches 



of a tree overhanging a river, into 



which it had been carried by a flood. 



Full-grown cattle, and occasionally 



human beings, as well as horses, are 



alleged to fall victims to the destruc- 



tive prowess of this gigantic snake. 



The anaconda isessentiallyamphibious 



in its habits, the greater part of its 



life being spent in the water, lying in wait, in the quiet lagoons and backwaters, with only 



its head above the surface, and prepared to seize any unfortunate animal which may come to 



the brink to drink. At other times it will coil itself upon the trunks and larger branches of 



the adjacent trees, and from that point of vantage will dart down its head, with sure aim and 



lightning rapidity, to seize any suitable quarry which may pass beneath. In some parts of 



South America where the rivers dry up at certain seasons of the year, the anaconda is recorded 



to be in the habit of burying itself in the mud and lying torpid, after the manner of 



crocodiles, until the return of the rains. The ground-colour of the anaconda is usually greyish 



brown or olive above, the back being ornamented with one or two transversely disposed rows 



of large, rounded, dark brown or blackish spots, while the sides are decorated with more 



irregularly scattered, smaller, eye-like spots, having whitish centres and dark margins. 



An interesting little group, connecting the Boas and Pythons with the Common Snakes, 



is that of the so-called SHIELD-TAILS, or EARTH-SNAKES, of India and Ceylon. These reptiles 



are earth-burrowers, like the Blind- 

 snakes, previously referred to, but 

 have well-developed eyes, and are 

 further distinguished by the abruptly 

 truncated contour of their posterior 

 extremity, which may be either a 

 naked disk or covered with keeled 

 scales. Their bodies are cylindrical, 

 with the scaly covering very smooth 

 and polished, the scales of the under- 

 surface being but little larger than 

 the upper ones; the jaws, in conformity 

 with the peculiar modification of their 

 skull, are not capable of wide dis- 

 tension. Seven genera and a large 

 number of species are recognised, some 

 n. t , t y H. G. F. Sfurr.u, E^.] [Ettttturnt being brilliantly coloured with tints 



f red 

 ^ 



TESSELATED SNAKE 



ThefamlyoftheCoMMONSNAKES 



