LIZARDS — SNAKES 



203 



in the touktar {Gecko verticillatus), which inhabits eastern Bengal, southern China, 

 and the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago. The stump-tailed gecko (Gehyra 

 mutilata) is noteworthy on account of its extensive geographical rano-e, which 

 embraces Ceylon, Burma, the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago, New Guinea, the 

 Mascarenes and Seychelles, and western Mexico. Such a distribution is almost, if 

 not quite, unparalleled in the case of a land verte- 

 brate. Unlike the geckos, which occur in all the 

 continents of the world, the chamseleons have 

 a more restricted range, and include only a 



BANDED MONITOR. 



Snakes. 



single Oriental species (Chamceleon calcaratus), which is confined to India and 

 Ceylon, and does not therefore enter the area under consideration. 



Among numerous venomous snakes inhabiting the Malay area, 

 one of the most formidable is Russell's viper (Vipera russelli), which 

 is common to India and the Malay Peninsula, and is said to occur also in Sumatra 

 and Java. Belonging to the same genus as the European viper, this species, which 

 attains a length of 4 feet, is sluggish in disposition, fearless of man, and a fierce 

 biter, so that it is one of the most dangerous of all snakes. The cobra (Naia 



