The Elapine Poisonous Snakes 



neck broadly, thus producing the familiar "hood." The skin 

 is spread by a number of movable ribs, which lie against the back- 

 bone when the snake is in a passive mood. 



The American Elapine serpents the Coral Snakes although 

 structurally related to the deadly and vivacious Cobras and their 

 allies, are rather degenerate reptiles, of considerably smaller pro- 

 portions. All evince burrowing habits, and the greater number of 

 the species occur in tropical South America and Central America. 



Anatomy of the Elapine Snakes. From a structural stand- 

 point, with the exception of the teeth, the Elapine serpents are 

 exactly like the typical harmless snakes sub-family Colubrirue. 

 The majority of the species are slender of body, with a rather 

 narrow head. A Cobra, when in a passive mood, exhibits much 

 the same outlines as the harmless Gopher Snake (Spilotes corais 

 couperi) of the southern United States. Compare heads 

 (figured) of the coral snakes with those of the harmless 

 species. Hence the beginner must again make careful note 

 that all poisonous snakes and in fact some of the most deadly 

 known species cannot be distinguished by the possession of a 

 ''broad, triangular bead." That rule applies to the viperine 

 snakes, but is by no means infallible in separating the latter from 

 many of the thick-bodied innocuous species. 



With a thorough technical knowledge of snakes, this involv- 

 ing their scalation and distribution, the Elapine snakes may be 

 generally recognised upon a hasty examination of their external 

 characters. With most of the species a certain plate on each 

 side of the head the loreal is lacking. This plate is to be found 

 with the greater number of the harmless colubrine snakes. Its 

 position is indicated on the heads figured. 



An examination of a skeleton head of one of these reptiles 

 at once shows the reason for giving the Elapine serpents a distinct 

 place in classification. On the front portion of the upper jaw 

 bones is a pair of short, stout fangs that are rigid in their position 

 that is, they do not fold against the roof of the mouth 

 as do the long fangs of the viperine snakes. On the front 

 surface of these fangs is a distinct groove. In fact these 

 snakes have been described as possessing "grooved" fangs. This 

 term, however, is misleading and might tend to bring about the 

 idea that the structure of the fangs is the same as that displayed 

 with the dentition of the Opisthoglyph snakes previously 



393 



