n6 



THE ERPETON. 



and is handsomely colored. It is extremely venomous, a fowl that had been bitten 

 by a Chittul dying within five minutes after receiving the injury. The ground color 

 of this Snake is yellow, and the body is covered with an irregular row of black rings. 

 Some black bands also cross the neck. 



In the ACROCHORDE, sometimes called the Oular Carron, the tail, instead of being 

 flattered, is rounded, conical, and very short, diminishing in diameter in a very sudden 

 manner. It is a native of Java, and is said to be wholly vegetarian in its diet, the 

 stomach having been found to contain nothing but half-digested fruit. The flesh of 

 the Acrochorde is said to be excellent. 



Upon the head are a number of little scales, each of which is divided into three 

 ridges. The creature is in the habit of distending its body with air to a very great 

 extent, and when it so acts, the scales separate from each other and make the head 

 and body look as if they were covered with tubercles. The general color is brown in 

 the adult, and brown banded and streaked with a darker hue in the young. 



ACROCHORDE. Acrochordus Javaalous. 



The CHERSYDRUS (Chersydrus granuldtus) is a rather curious aquatic Serpent, found 

 in Asia and most common in Java. It is sometimes called the Banded Acrochorde; 

 but wrongly so, as its tail, instead of being round and conical, is flat, compressed, and 

 sword-like in shape. It inhabits the bottoms of marine creeks and the mouths of 

 rivers. The Javanese call it Oular Limpe. The body of this reptile is covered with 

 small scales, each boldly keeled in the centre, and its color is black and white arranged 

 in alternate rings. 



The ERPETON, or HERPETON as the name is sometimes written, is a truly curious 

 reptile, of no great size, but bearing a pair of appendages on the head that seem to 

 serve no recognized purpose save to bewilder zoologists. The muzzle of this creature is 

 covered with scales, and on each side of it rises the curious appendage which is seen 

 in the illustration. This remarkable organ is soft, but completely covered with scales 

 and defended by them. Of its habits nothing appears to be known, and even its 

 country is dubious. Its color is pale brown streaked with white. 



