EXPERIMENTAL VENOM POISONING IN ANIMALS 123 



another Cnemidophorus by the left arm and chewed several times. At the end of a 

 few minutes the bitten animal died without convulsions, without agitation, as if 

 asleep, a little blood issuing from the wound. (Stejneger.) 



On Tarbophis vivax similar experience has been described by Edm. Eiffe. 



I offered the half-grown snake a perfectly healthy Lacerta vivipara, which he 

 at once commenced to lap with his tongue and grasped slowly behind the fore legs. 

 The lizard defended itself as best it could and used its teeth well on its enemy. In 

 less than a minute the lizard was almost motionless, the jaws were powerless and 

 the eyes closed; before the expiration of another half minute the lizard died, and 

 was then swallowed. 



Still another exhibition of the'poisonous'effect of the bite of an opisthoglyph 

 upon a lizard has been reported by Vaillant. 1 The snake in this case was 

 Tragops prasinus Wagler. 



A small, living, green^lizard was presented to the snake by means of a forceps. 

 The snake seized it across* the neck without descending from the shrubbery among 

 which it lived, and by the play of the jaws drew it back to the corner of the mouth. 

 The lizard tossed and bent about, winding its body and tail around the head of 

 the snake; three minutes later it hung down inert, only the tail still trembling; after 

 a similar space of time convulsions of the whole body occurred again, tying itself 

 around the head, then relapsing without motion, except some spasmodic undula- 

 tions of the tail; this lasted two minutes, and the animal was then dead. 



1 L6on Vaillant. M&n. Centen. Soc. Philom., 1888, Sc. Nat., p. 44. 



