

COLLECTION OF REPTILES. 4 11 



amongst the land serpents is the rattle snake 

 (crotalus}, of which the Museum possesses four 

 species. The banded rattle snake (c.horridus], 

 common in the United States, and the striped 

 rattle snake (c. durissus) of Guyana, are the 

 largest, and measure sometimes six feet; their 

 hite proves mortal in a few minutes. The vipers 

 and analogous genera, such as the trigonocephales , 

 twelve species of which are in the cabinet, are 

 classed immediately after the crotalus. The spe- 

 cimen of the rnegccj'a, which we see here, was 

 caught in the act of swallowing a very large 

 frog which it had not yet entirely taken in, it 

 shows at once the length of its fangs, and the 

 disproportionate size of the prey it can eat. 

 Next to these is the platurus, much resembling 

 the hydras from its flattened tail and poisonous 

 fangs. The only species we know inhabits the 

 Indian seas. The naja is a very remarkable snake, 

 from the thickness of its neck and the straight- 

 ness of its cervical ribs. We have two specie* 

 of these serpents : they can draw their head in 

 and out of their neck, and exhibit the most fan- 

 tastical attitudes. The coluber naja, or spectacle 

 snake, is so named from the large spot on its 

 neck much resembling the figure of a pair of 

 spectacles. The Portuguese call it cobra de ca- 

 pello. The Indian jugglers, after they have de- 



