116 THE STORY OF EEPTILE LIFE. 



only, as in the case of the strictly subterranean 

 snakes. The result of an exclusively aquatic life 

 may now, therefore, fittingly be considered. 



As might be expected, such a mode of life is 

 approached by many gradations. The Common 

 Ringed Snake, for example (Tropidonotus natrix\ 

 of Great Britain, divides its time, more or less, 

 between the land and the water. Common in 

 woods, heaths and hedges, it is especially abundant 

 near water. Its chief food is frogs, but it preys 

 also on mice, voles, young birds, eggs, and fish. 

 When swimming, which it does with the greatest 

 ease, the head and neck are raised above the 

 surface of the water, a fact which shows that no 

 special adaptation has taken place in response to 

 the environment. The Giant Anaconda (Eunectes 

 murinus) of the tropical forests of the Guianas, 

 Brazil, and North-Eastern Peru, is still more 

 aquatic, spending the greater part of its time in 

 the water. Attaining a length of over thirty 

 feet, this enormous reptile, however, is more 

 versatile than the Ringed Snake, inasmuch as 

 it is frequently found on shore basking on the 

 burning sand, coiled up among the rocks, or 

 stealthily hiding among the trees. The traveller- 

 naturalist Bate several times encountered these 

 enormous reptiles, and describes them as especially 

 numerous and much detested in the country near 

 Santarem, where it periodically visits the farm- 

 yards, carrying off poultry, young calves, and 

 whatever else it can lay hold of. Even man is 

 sometimes attacked. As an instance, he quotes 

 the case of a lad who was suddenly encircled in 

 the terrible coils of one of these monsters at Ega. 



