REPTILIA. 269 



One of the best kno'R'n species of Boidce is tlie anaconda {Eanectes 

 9nurinus, ])l. 1-i,Jig. 62). It is found in Brazil, and is said to attain to a, 

 length of 40 feet, although the specimens exhibited in museums and mena- 

 geries rarely exceed 10 or 15. In a •wild state it is often found uith the tail 

 coiled round a tree on the river's edge, and the body floating in the ^vater, thus 

 awaiting the approach of its prey. It feeds on animals of mixlerate size, 

 peccaries, agoutis, &c., which it kills by crushing, and then swallows Avhole, 

 but does not disdain fish, frogs, &c. Little fear is experienced by the 

 inhabitants of the country, as it is quite timorous and rarely disposed to attack 

 man. 



The Boa Constrictor {pi. Sid,Jig. 5) is another familiar species from Brazil; 

 it is more terrestrial in its habits than the anaconda, keeping in dry desert 

 situations, among bushes, trees, and rocks. It readily climbs trees, from 

 which it hangs suspended by its prehensile tail, ready to drop upon any 

 unlucky animal which may pass beneath. Like the anaconda, it is destroyed 

 in various ways, by shooting, lassoing, noosing, &c. The thick skin is fre- 

 quently tanned and converted into leather for boots and saddles. The fxt is 

 made use offer various fanciful purposes, and the dried excrement employed as 

 medicine. Another species. Boa, or rather Xiphosoma canlnum, from Brazil, 

 is represented mjil. SI, Jig. 4. The giant snakes of the Old World belong 

 chiefly to the genus Python. 



Fam. Cohibridoi. In this, the last family of Ophidia, we find species 

 ■which are very rarely provided with poisonous fangs. The belly is covered 

 with broad scales, and there are no rudiments of hind feet as in the last family. 

 The tail is conical and tapering, and rarely compressed. The nostrils arc open 

 and placed at the side of the snout, near the top. The head is most generally 

 covered with regular plates, which by their number and shape afford excellent 

 distinctive characters. They are distributed all over the world, and are in 

 much greater number, both of individuals and species, than in any other family 

 of Ophidia. 



This family is especially abundant in the United States, where it occurs 

 under two principal types. Coluber and Tropidonotus, with several sections 

 of less extent. The genus Coluber embraces most of the larger familiar 

 species with the scales smooth and without a longitudinal ridge along the 

 centre of each, as in Tropidonotus. The body is generally slender and 

 cylindrical, and incapable of being flattened in a horizontal plane like 

 Tropidonotus. They are rarely seen in the water, and are mostly oviparous, 

 the eggs being deposited in decayed wood, sand, or other localities. The 

 other genus, Tropidonotus, on the other hand, possesses the power of 

 depressing the body, and is generally viviparous, the eggs being developed 

 in the oviduct. Coluber constrictor, or the Black Snake, is a familiar 

 instance of the American species of Coluber. It is abundant in all parts 

 of the country, and sometimes attains the length of six feet. It climbs trees 

 "with great readiness, and moves over the ground with much velocity. 

 Numerous stories are current of their pursuing individuals, and thereby 

 earning their common name of '• Racers." It is quite possible that under 

 some circumstances they may follow after a person who flies in terror 



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