206 



SNAKES. 



Fierce Snakes. 



Nearly allied to the preceding are the ophidians which (from 

 their German name zornschlangeri) we may term fierce snakes ; these 

 demanding special notice on account of their having several representatives in 

 Southern Europe. From the preceding genus they may be distinguished by the 

 more slender form of the body, and the presence on the head of one or more sub- 

 oculars below the preocular shield ; while the arrangement of the longitudinal rows 

 of scales in odd numbers differentiates them from an allied genus. The number of 

 teeth in the hinder upper jawbone varies from twelve to twenty: the head is long 

 and distinct from the neck, with the eye of moderate size or large, and its pupil 



THE DARK GREEN SNAKE (J Hat. size). 



round. The body is elongated and cylindrical, with the smooth or slightly keelec 

 and pitted scales arranged in from fifteen to thirty-one rows. On the lower surface 

 of the body the shields are rounded, or obtusely keeled on the sides ; and the long 

 tail has two inferior rows of shields. The fierce snakes are represented by some 

 twenty species, ranging over Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa ; several of them 

 occurring on the Continent, although none are met with in the British Islands. 

 Their headquarters may be considered to be the countries surrounding the Mediter- 

 ranean basin. Deriving their name from the fierce and bold demeanour of the 

 majority of their representatives, these snakes are terrestrial or partially arboreal 

 in their habits, and feed chiefly on small mammals and birds. Of the European 

 forms, a well-known example is the dark green snake (Zamenis gemonensis), 



