THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



What Classification means. 



To give a clearer idea of what we mean by classification, we 

 will take the Boomslang or Tree Snake as an example. We will 

 assume it is the first time I have seen or heard of a Boomslang. 

 I know at a glance it belongs to the Ophidia or snake order. I 

 examine its dentition and discover it possesses a set of grooved 

 teeth longer than the rest, set a good way back in the upper jaw, 

 therefore I know it belongs to the division of snakes known as the 

 Opisthoglypha, which means snakes with hind fangs. Then I 

 count the number of the upper and lower teeth and note the 

 shape and number of the shields on the head, and reckon the 

 number of rows of scales round the body. After examining 

 the shape of the head and body, its colouration, etc., I identify 

 and classify it as follows : — 



Order : Ophidia. 



Division : Opisthoglypha. 



Family : Coluhridce. 



Sub-family : Dipsadomorphince. 



Genus : Dispholidus. 



Species : Dispholidus lypus. 



Common name : Boomslang or Tree Snake, 



Distribution : Tropical and South Africa. 



When any new tiling, whether a microbe or a large creature, 

 is discovered, it is carefully examined and classified immediately. 

 Without this S5^stem of classification it would be impossible to 

 make any progress in science. In every department of human 

 activity, classification is necessary. If you went into a museum 

 and wanted to find a certain flesh-eating animal — a Leopard or 

 a Mungoose, for instance — you would not look for it among the 

 hoofed animals or the fishes. You would expect to find it among 

 the group of creatures classified as Carnivora. 



A synonym in natural history means a scientific name, as of 

 a genus or a species, superseded or discarded, as by the law of 

 priority. 



When any new creature is discovered, it is given a scientific 

 name, and recorded. 



The recognized scientific name for the Boomslang is Dis- 

 pholidus iypus, but it has been named by various authors 

 Dispholidus lalandii ; Dendrophis colubrina ; Bucephalus capensis ; 



