632 OPHIDIA 



CHAP. 



he extracted the fangs in my presence and gave them to me. 

 He then squeezed out the poison on to a leaf. It was a clear 

 oily substance, and when rubbed on the hand produced a fine 

 lather. I carefully watched the whole operation, which was 

 also witnessed by my clerk and two or three other persons." 



N. haje is the common hooded cobra of Africa, the " Aspis," 

 so called on account of its shield or hood the " Spy-Slange " of 

 the Boers. As a rule the spectacle-marks on the neck are absent 

 or indistinct, the general colour varies much, either brown above, 

 yellowish beneath, with or without brown spots ; or dark brown 

 above with yellowish spots, dark brown beneath ; or blackish 

 above and beneath. The name Spy-Slange, meaning Spitting 

 Snake, refers to the habit which this and other African Cobras 

 have of letting the poison drop from the mouth like saliva when 

 they are excited. This is not a particularly economical habit, 

 nor is it of the slightest use to the snake. 



N. (Opliiopliagus s. Hamadryas) bungarus s. elaps is the 

 " Hamadryad " or " Snake-eating Cobra" or " King Cobra." It 

 has a well dilatable hood ; the very variable coloration is 

 yellowish to black, with or without an olive gloss. Many 

 specimens have more or less distinct dark cross-bands or rings 

 around the body, while others are olive above with black-edged 

 scales, and others again are very dark above and beneath. The 

 distinctive, specific character is the small number of scales, these 

 forming only fifteen rows on the middle of the body, nine- 

 teen or twenty-one on the dilatable neck. There is a pair of 

 large occipital shields behind the parietals. 



This snake reaches the length, enormous for a poisonous 

 snake, of 12 feet or more. Its size and very poisonous nature 

 make it the curse of the jungle. It ranges from India to South 

 China, and to the Philippines. The food seems to consist entirely 

 of other snakes. 



Sepedon haemachates is another hooded snake in South Africa, 

 where it is known as the " Einghals," i.e. banded neck. It 

 differs from Naja by the absence of small teeth on the maxil- 

 laries behind the fangs, and by the strongly keeled scales, which 

 form nineteen rows. The general colour is black above variegated 

 with yellow or pale brown ; the under parts are also black, often 

 with one or two whitish bands across the lower portion of the 

 neck. 



