Reptiles. 



305 



iLTuaua. 



very abundant ; they do not occur on the Andes or on the 

 Pacific coast. Their qnack-quack, drum-drum, hoo-hoo, is 

 one of om* pleasant memories of South America. Of 

 snakes there is no lack ; and yet they are not so numerous 

 as imao;ination would make them. There are one hundred 

 and fifty species in South America, or one half as many, 

 on the same area, as in the East Indies. The diabolical 

 family is led by the boa, while the rear is brought up by 

 the Amphisbsenas, or " double-headed snakes," which pro- 

 gress equally well with either end forward, so that it is dif- 

 ficult to make head or tail of them. The majority are 

 harmless. The deadly coral is found on both sides of the 

 Andes, and wherever there is a cacao plantation. One of 

 the most beautiful specimens of the venomous kind is a 

 new species {Elwps imperator, Cope), which we discovered 

 on the Maranon. It has a slender body more than two 

 feet in length, with black and red bands margined \vith 

 yellow, and a black and yellow head, with permanently 

 erect fangs. 



"We have already mentioned the most common birds. 

 Probably, says Wallace, no country in the world contains 

 a greater variety of birds than the Amazonian Yalley. 



U 



