AMERICAN SNAKES 265 



snake, Hydrus platurus, which has been taken off the 

 Pacific coast of Tropical America, they are all Elapince 

 and Crotalince. 



American Elapince all belong to the genus Elaps (p. 253), 

 and most of them are vividly coloured in rings. Of the 



FIG. 106. Dispholidus typus. The Boomslang, showing very wide gape 

 and grooved posterior fangs. 



thirty species known all but three are South American. 

 Elaps surinamensis, the Himeralli, is found in the neigh- 

 bourhood of rivers and swamps in Tropical South America. 

 It grows to a length of over 6 ft., and is said to be a lethal 

 snake. Its colouring is, like that of several other species, 



FIG. \Q>].Atractaspis aterrima. A viperine snake with large headshield 

 like a Colubrine, prodigious poison fangs, and hardly any other teeth in the 

 head. (Enlarged.) 



in black, yellow, and red rings : the black rings are 

 grouped in sets of three, the sets being separated by 

 broad red rings, and the rings in each being separated 

 by narrow- yellow rings. Elaps corallinus is another 



