54 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



Indian snakes, and being comparatively abundant, its mark- 

 ings and attitudes are well known, yet there is an innocuous 

 colubrine snake — Tropidonotios macrophthalmus — found side 

 by side with the cobra, which is frequently mistaken for it. 

 It has the neck dilatable, as in the cobra — a feature almost 

 peculiar to the latter ; while the arrangement of the scales is 

 nearly similar in both. 



(2.) The Ophioi^hagus elaps is an exceedingly poisonous 

 Indian snake. Major Beddome says the young of 0. elaps is 

 very like the Di/psas dendrophila, an innocent snake — so like 

 that it may very well be mistaken for it. N'ext to the cobra, 

 the krait (Bungarus cmrideus) is the snake that kills most 

 people in India. " The la^ait," Dr Fayrer says, " may be mis- 

 taken for Lycodon aidicus, an innocent snake, the coloming 

 and general appearance being in many cases very similar. 

 The least examination of the mouth would detect the differ- 

 ence, but at first sight they are very much alike, and are often 

 mistaken; the lycodon suffering for its resemblance to its 

 poisonous fac-simiUr The injury, however, wdiich it suffers in 

 this way must be much more than compensated for in the 

 immunity from the attacks of snake-eating animals which it 

 no doubt shares with its poisonous model. 



The author, in conclusion, criticised the theories advanced by 

 Murray, Bates, and A. W. Bennett, to explain the phenomena of 

 mimicry. 



II. — On some Fishes and Reptiles from Old Calabar. By 

 Professor Duns, D.D. 



The specimens on the table, and several others, were sent 

 more than a year ago to the New College Museum, by Dr 

 Eobertson, Old Calabar. They were received in a weak solu- 

 tion of carbolic acid, and are in a perfect state of preservation. 

 The colours are fresh and bright. Various shades of gTeen, 

 blue, brown, and yellow, are unaltered from then- natural 

 tints. When the specimens were remoA^ed from the carbolic 

 acid, they were freely washed, and then put into methylated 

 spirit, sixty-one over proof, in which they have been for two 

 months without any change having taken place in the tints. 



