318 SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY 



up on the tops of bushes. Though having no poison gland, its 

 sharp teeth can inflict an unpleasant bite, and it is strong enough 

 to strangle young children, although it rarely attacks human 

 beings. The indigo or gopher snake, Spilotcs coupai, which 

 reaches a length of three meters, is found in some of our South- 

 ern states and is never molested by the negroes, as they con- 

 sider it a natural enemy of the rattlesnake. The garter snakes 

 of the eastern United States are harmless, but emit a most dis- 

 agreeable odor when captured. Many non-poisonous snakes, it 

 should be said, strike at the eyes of passers-by and are danger- 

 ous on that account. 



The poisonous serpents are generally considered under two 

 heads, those in which the poison fangs are fixed rigidly in posi- 

 tion, and those whose fangs can be erected or depressed at will. 

 In the first of these groups belong the most deadly serpents. 

 The best-known and the commonest, as well as one of the larg- 

 est, is the dreaded cobra-da-capella of India, Naja tripudiaiis. 

 Thousands of natives die from its bite every year. Like several 

 of its relatives, it possesses the power of expanding its neck 

 laterally, on the back of which are the curious markings resem- 

 bling a pair of spectacles; they exhibit great variation in color 

 and markings and are favorites with the Indian serpent charmers. 

 Related to the cobra is the asp of northern Africa, Naja haje, 

 which Cleopatra has rendered classical. But there is a larger 

 and more deadly serpent than the cobra : it belongs to the 

 genus Ophiophagus and is the most venomous animal in exist- 

 ence ; its poison is said to kill a man in three minutes and an 

 elephant in two hours. It reaches a length of lour and a half 

 meters. Fortunately it is rare ; it inhabits India, Java, and 

 some adjacent islands, and feeds chiefly on other serpents. Of 

 the smaller poisonous snakes with fixed fangs some of the most 

 widely distributed and best known are the harlequin snakes, 

 found in America, the East Indies, South and North America. 

 They have the bod}' marked by circular bands of black, red, or 

 yellow. Australia is very abundantly supplied with poisonous 

 serpents. There are many poisonous sea snakes, particularly 

 in the Indian and Pacific oceans. They appear blinded and 

 helpless when taken from the water and soon die; the tail is 

 laterally compressed and so serves for an organ of locomotion in 



