518 OPHIDIANS. 



The TIGER PYTHON or ROCK-SNAKE, Python, (Gr. puthon,) 

 tigris, a native of India and Java, and elegantly marked. It is 

 said to be as large as the largest Boa, but more slender, and 

 greatly to be feared. Stories are told of the tiger falling a prey 

 to this formidable reptile. 



The RETICULATED PYTHON, P. reticulatus, is found in Hindos- 

 tan, Ceylon, and Java. It is said to increase until it reaches 

 thirty feet in length, and can " manage a buffalo," crushing it 

 in its huge folds. It is one of the most brilliant species of the 

 entire family, "the whole body being covered with a gay lacing 

 of gold and black." 



The Pythons, in the British Zoological Gardens, " are fed with 

 rabbits, which they destroy by winding round and crushing 

 them ; they are then easily swallowed ; the expansive power of 

 the jaws permitting a very small specimen to manage such 

 animals." 



THIRD FAMILY. MARINE SNAKES. 

 Hydridcz, (Gr. vd^a, hudra, a water- snake.) 



The truly Aquatic or Marine Snakes, are all confined to the 

 intertropical regions. They are mostly found in the seas and 

 rivers of the East Indies. These singular reptiles, excepting 

 that they are destitute of fins, are not unlike the eel, particularly 

 in the form of the tail, which is expanded in a vertical direction, 

 and flattened laterally, so as to act the part of a paddle. Some 

 species, however, have conical tails, and these are thought to 

 live in fresh water. In the Indian Seas, numbers of these snakes 

 collect together, forming shoals, which may be seen swimming 

 about in pursuit of fishes and other prey. It is very seldom 

 that the true sea snakes visit the land. Sometimes they coil 

 themselves up on the shore, where they lay their eggs. It is 

 supposed that they live on sea-weed. They are often found 

 asleep on the surface of the sea, when they are easily caught, 

 as they are unable to descend without throwing themselves 

 on their backs, probably for the purpose of expelling the air 

 from their capacious lungs. They are frequently thrown 

 ashore in the surf, to the terror of the natives. Occasionally, 

 they are carried up rivers by the tide; but they cannot long live 

 in fresh water. The fishermen of the Eastern seas, often take 

 them in their nets, and greatly dread them on account of the 

 poison of their bite. 



The species are said to be, without exception, venomous. Dr. 

 Cantor, who was in the service of the East India Company, and 



