COLUBRINE GROUP. 



209 



the ornamentation of the back takes the form of a row of large greyish brown 

 black-edged spots, which are lozenge-shaped on the neck, but further back become 

 irregular, and confluent with two lateral rows of spots. The yellowish white 

 shields of the edges of the jaws have black lines of division, and behind each eye 

 a blackish brown streak runs to the angle of the mouth. This snake frequents 

 swampy situations well covered with trees and bushes, and is remarkably swift 

 and active in its movements. In its general habits it appears to resemble the 

 ringed snake, feeding almost entirely on frogs and fish. 



The typical representatives of the family are the climbing snakes, 

 of which there are a large number of species, distributed over the 

 great part of Europe, Asia, and North and Tropical America. Agreeing with the 

 preceding genus in having the teeth in the hinder upper jawbone of nearly equal 

 size, the climbing snakes have from twelve to twenty-two of these teeth, the 

 teeth of the lower jaw being likewise subequal; and they are further specially 

 distinguished by having the scales of the body arranged in from fifteen to thirty- 

 five longitudinal rows, and furnished with pits at their extremities, those in the 

 middle line of the back not being larger than the others. The long head is well 

 defined from the neck, with a moderate-sized eye, of which the pupil is circular, 

 and the shields normally arranged ; the elongated body is slightly compressed, with 

 its scales either smooth or keeled ; and whereas the shields on the lower surface of the 

 body usually have a more or less well-marked keel on the side, those of the tail 

 are arranged in a double row. All these snakes are fierce in their disposition, and 

 while all can climb well, some are almost entirely arboreal ; others again, frequent 

 the neighbourhood of water, and are good swimmers. The food of all consists of 

 small mammals and birds. Formerly the chain-snake {Coronella getula), of the 

 United States, common in the neighbourhood of New York, and attaining a length 

 of about 5 feet, was included in this genus, but is now referred to Coronella. The 

 dark ground-colour, which varies in tint from reddish brown to blackish brown and 

 even black, shows on the upper surface a number of yellow crossbands, which on 

 the lower part of the sides unite with similar longitudinal stripes, and thus form a 

 regular light-coloured chain extending to the very tip of the tail. The shields on 

 the top of the head are deep chocolate-brown, with a few yellow spots ; the labial 

 shields are dusky or yellowish white, bordered with blackish brown, and the under- 

 pays dirty yellowish white marbled with brown. 



Among the European representatives of the genus, the yellow, or iEsculapian 

 snake {Coluber longissimus) is recognised by the small head, imperfectly distinguished 

 from the neck, and rounded at the muzzle, as well as by the stout body, rounded tail, 

 and the nature of the scaling. On the head there is no small preorbital shield, and 

 of the eight upper labials the fourth and fifth enter the circle of the eye ; the body 

 has from twenty-one to twenty-three rows of smooth scales, and the anal shield is 

 divided. Generally, the upper surface is brownish yellow, with a tinge of grey, 

 and the lower aspect whitish, the hinder-part of the head having a yellow spot ; 

 while the back and sides are marked with small whitish dots, which in some places 

 are very distinctly defined, and assume the form of the letter X. There is, however, 

 great individual variation in colour, and a dark and a light variety may be 

 recognised. In the south of Europe, where it attains a length of about 4 feet, 



vol. v. — 14 



