MOLE SNAKES. 

 .—The Mole Snake [Pseudaspis cana), also known as the Zwart Slang and Lui Slang. Average length 

 3 to 4 feet. Mole Snakes vary remarkably in colouration. There are six pronounced varieties of 

 colouration which are as follows: i. Glossy black, shading into purple on the under-parts. No 

 trace of spots or markings. (Zwart Slang.) 2. Brown, covered with blackish, irregular, more or 

 less rounded markings. Under-parts yellowish. 3. Uniform dark brown. Lighter on the under- 

 parts. No trace of markings'. 4. Brick red in colour, covered with more or less rounded blackish 

 markings. Under-parts yellowish. 5. Half-grown young. Sometimes like No. 2 and No. 3. I 

 have examined specimens from Eastern Province of Cape Colony, which are light brown, with a 

 succession of lateral markings from the tip of the tail to the head. These are made up of alternate 

 black and white spots. The spots over the backbone are the largest, and form a continuous line of 

 black, running lengthwise. 6. Young, from birth to 3 months of age. Brown, with wavy cross- 

 markings of blackish. These markings are edged with white, and the whole form four longitudinal 

 seiics. 



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