196 



SNAKES. 



The distinctive features of the genus are the presence of two teeth in the anterior 

 upper jawbones, or premaxillse, and the eye being situated in the middle of an 

 ocular shield. The colour is a splendid coral-red, ornamented with black rings, or 

 incomplete ring-like black bands. From the little that is known concerning its 

 habits, it appears that this snake is sluggish in its movements, and never wanders 

 far from its retreat, which is situated under the roots of a tree or in a hole or cleft 

 in the ground. It feeds on insects and blind-snakes, and produces living young. 



The true cylinder-snakes, as typically represented by the red 

 snake (Cylindrophis rufus), differ from the preceding by the absence 

 of teeth in the anterior upper jawbones, and likewise by the eye not being 

 included in any of the head-shields. This genus has three representatives, and is 

 distributed over Ceylon and South-Eastern Asia to the eastwards of the Bay of 



Red Snake. 



CORAL CYLINDER- SNAKE (^ nat. size). 



Bengal; the common red snake ranging from Burma and Cochin-China to the 

 Malayan region. This snake, which attains a length of about 2 J feet, is either brown 

 or black above, with or without light alternating crossbars ; the under-parts being 

 either white with black transverse bars or spots, or black with white bands ; while 

 the under surface of the tail is of a brilliant vermilion hue. All the snakes of 

 this genus are burrowing reptiles, seldom showing themselves above the surface of 

 the ground, and feeding on insects, worms, and the smaller mammals. In common 

 with their allies, they have the body covered with polished, rounded scales, which 

 (in conformity with their burrowing habits) are scarcely larger on the upper 

 than on the lower aspect, although becoming wider on the inferior surface of 

 the tail. 



The third genus of the group (Anomalochilus), represented by a single species 

 from Sumatra, differs from the preceding in the absence of a groove on the chin. 



