76 OPHIDIAN EEPTILES. 



or boughs, when a large ' Griian/ which was disturbed in the tree, 

 struck the Elephant on the trunk between the eyes. The Elephant 

 at once retreated, became faint, and died in about three hours." 

 This terrible Snake would appear to be not uncommon in the 

 Andaman Islands, and its range of distribution extends through 

 the Malay countries to the Philippines and to New Guinea. 



The genus Bungarus is so called from the vernacular appellation 

 of Bungarum, which is applied to one of the species on the Coro- 

 mandel coast. Some of them are very like Cobras without the 

 hood, as the " Kerait " (B. c&ruleus), which is a much-dreaded 

 Snake in India, but the geographic range of which extends neither 

 to the countries eastward nor to Ceylon, The Snakes of this genus 

 have a row of broad hexagonal scales along the middle of the back. 

 The Kerait grows to four feet and a half in length, and has the 

 upper parts of a bluish or brownish black, either uniform or more 

 generally marked with numerous narrow white cross-lines, which 

 mostly radiate from a white vertebral spot. In its habits it 

 resembles the Cobra, preying on small Mammalia, Lizards, Toads, 

 and probably other Snakes occasionally. The "Raj-samp" (lite- 

 rally Lord Snake) is a larger and thicker species than the Kerait, 

 beautifully marked throughout with alternate broad rings of black 

 and golden-yellow. This one is found almost generally through- 

 out the Indian region, and would seem to prey entirely on other 

 Snakes, especially of the Tropidonotus genus. It is of verv 

 sluggish habits, and frequents moist places and the vicinity of 

 water. A species, or local variety (B. ceylonicus), takes its place 

 in Ceylon, and there is also a kindred species (B. semifasciatus) 

 in China and Formosa. According to Cantor, the Bungarums are 

 capable of darting nearly the anterior half of the body. Their 

 bite is very dangerous ; but " the magnitude of the danger," 

 remarks Dr. Giinther,, " depends, as in other venemous Snakes, on 

 many circumstances chiefly on the size and energy of the indi- 

 vidual Snake and on the place of the wound. As the fangs of the 

 Bungarums are comparatively short, the wound is always super- 

 ficial, and can be easily excised and cauterised ; also, experiments 

 made on some of the lower animals show that the general effect 

 on the whole system becomes visible only after a lapse of time." 

 Of poisonous Snakes akin to the Bungarums, there are the 



