REPTILIA 153 



said to be of delicious flavor, resembling chicken. In the Bahamas the 

 lizards were formerly one of the most important articles of food; they 

 were hunted with dogs and kept in captivity till wanted. They have 

 been hunted almost to the point of extermination in some places. 



Ophidia. Of all the vertebrates the Ophidia or serpents are probably 

 the most universally and undeservedly hated by man. 



While not one of the more important groups economically the 

 Ophidia have sufficient importance to warrant some discussion, and 

 the majority are, to say the least, quite harmless and inoffensive. 



Dividing the Ophidia into two main groups, the venomous and non- 

 venomous snakes, it will be found that the former is much the smaller 

 group and it will be discussed first. 



It is generally said that all of the venomous snakes of the United 

 States are included among the rattlesnakes, the copperhead, the moc- 

 casin, and the coral snakes; but, according to some authors, the so- 

 called opisthoglyph snakes should be included among the venomous 

 serpents. As indicated by the name, the opisthoglyph snakes have 

 their poison fangs, which are small and grooved, in the rear part of 

 the upper jaw, so that a person may be bitten by one of these snakes 

 without being pierced by the poison fangs and hence without unpleas- 

 ant results. Some of these snakes are too small to have any effect 

 upon man, others are large enough to produce unpleasant though prob- 

 ably not serious results. They are found only in the far south espe- 

 cially along the southern borders of Texas, Arizona, and New Mex- 

 ico. So far, then, as the vast majority of the people of the United 

 States are concerned the venomous serpents are included among those 

 mentioned above, and it is a very simple -matter to distinguish these 

 few from the much greater number of harmless ones. The idea that 

 several of our common and harmless snakes are venomous is so deep 

 rooted that it is difficult to make people believe otherwise. 



Of the really venomous forms the Elapine snakes are the rarest. 

 They include two beautiful snakes in this country, the Harlequin or 

 Coral Snake of the southern states and the rare Sonora Coral Snake of 

 southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. Both snakes belong to the 

 genus Elaps, and are related to the deadly Cobras of the Orient. 



The Harlequin Snake, Elaps fulvius. This is a comparatively 

 small, slender snake, rarely reaching a length of a yard. It is found 

 from North Carolina through the Gulf States into Central America. 



