CHAPTER XLIII 

 ORDER OF SERPENTS 



General Characters. — A serpent, commonly called a 

 "snake," is a very slender, long-bodied, legless reptile, cold 

 blooded, covered with scales, and breathing air. It moves by 

 a sinuous motion, in which the scales under the body grip 

 the earth, while the extension of the body muscles push the 

 body forward. To afford a good hold upon the earth, the 

 abdominal scales are very broad, set crosswise with the body 

 and the rear edge of each scale is free and .sharp like a blade. 



The backbone contains a great number of vertebrae, 

 sometimes nearly 300, and there is one for each crosswise 

 scale under the body. There are also a great number of 

 ribs, but the tail vertebrae are of course without them. The 

 ribs are quite loosely attached to the vertebrae, in order that 

 they may have the very free play that is absolutely necessary 

 to the life of a serpent. 



The head is usually flat and broad, and entirely covered 

 with scales. The jaws are long, and well armed with long, 

 sharp-pointed teeth, which point backward, in the direction 

 of the throat. There are no molars for masticating food, 

 and therefore all food is swallowed whole. Excepting in the 

 injection of poison, the only function of the teeth is to seize 



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