52 



Seepejjts.- 



-REPTILES.- 



-BOAS. 



of their appearance. The species are, generally speaking, 

 of a very somhre hue. The upper part of the body is 

 of a brownish olive or blackish tint ; the under part is 

 generally yellow, marked with large square spots, and 

 some of the species are spotted, wliile others are 

 adorned with rays or transverse bands. The young 

 are usually marked with more lively colours than the 

 adults. 



THE lARGE-CHEEKED HOMALOPSIS {Homalopsi^ 

 buccata) — fig. 14 — is one of the most characteristic 

 species of the group, and one of the best known. 

 This serpent attains the length of four feet, and a cir- 

 cumference of an inch and a half. The body is a little 

 compressed, and the tail, which occupies about a quar- 

 ter of the total length, is conical, robust, and is not 

 distinct from the trunk, which, however, becomes con- 

 siderably more slender towards the posterior extremity. 

 The head is broad at the base, extremely thick, high, 

 conical. The muzzle is short, and truncate at the tip. 

 The muscles connected with the jaws are well deve- 

 loped, and the salivary glands are very large. This 

 produces a swelling in the region of the cheeks, which 

 are very projecting, and gives the head a heart-shape 

 that causes it to resemble that of the vipers. Indeed 



Fig. 14. 



The Large-cheekcii ii... ..a.. .£/.!.- . .i.r.„.t;opbis buccataj. 



tliis serpent has been described as venomous, and some 

 authors have, on account of the viperine aspect of the 

 head, actually placed it amongst the truly venomous 

 species. The teeth too of this Ophidian are much 

 more curved posteriorly than in ordinary cases, and at 

 the posterior part of the jaw they show a grooved or 

 furrowed structure, which has given rise to strong sus- 

 picions as to its venomous nature. Schlegel, however, 

 asserts that all the species of this group are innocuous. 

 It was considered at one time that this serpent was 

 peculiar to Java, where it was originally found inhabit- 

 ing the large fresh-water lakes in the western parts of 

 that island. Besides Java, however, it has been found 

 in Bengal and Sumatra. 



THE WAMPUM SNAKE {Farancia fasciata) is another 

 species of this group, but instead of inhabiting Asia is 

 found in America. It attains a length of near five feet, 

 and a circumference of three and a half inches. The 

 body is elongated and almost cylindrical, tapering 

 only towards the commencement of the tail, which is 

 remarkably short, conical, and terminates rather abruptly 

 in a slight point. It is of a bluish-black colour above, 

 the sides being marked with transverse blotches of 

 bright red. A specimen was kept alive in the menagerie 

 of the Garden of Plants at Paris for fifteen months, but 

 during the whole of that time it could not be induced 

 to take any nourishment which was presented to it. It 

 is a native of North America, being found in Louisiana 

 and South Carolina. Catesby was one of the first 



authors to make this species known. He says it " re- 

 ceives its name from the resemblance it has to Indian 

 money called wampum, which is made of shells cut 

 into regular pieces, and strung with a mixture of blue 

 and white. Some of these snakes are large, being five 

 feet in length ; yet there is no harm in their bite ; but 

 as all the largest snakes are venomous, so will they 

 devour what animals they are able to overcome." 



Family II.— BOAS {Boidce). 



The family of Boas {Boicbr) contains a considerable 

 number of species, upwards of forty being described in 

 the Museum catalogue. They are, generally speaking, 

 the largest of all the sei'pent tribe, and are characterized 

 by several very distinctive marks. The greater number 

 of them have, in the proper signification of the word, a 

 prehensile tail, which, though short, is excellently fitted 

 for grasping branches of trees or other such (jbjects. 

 They possess rudimentary hinder extremities, which 

 are developed under the skin. Tliese consist of several 

 small bones, which terminate in a horny spur not unlike 

 the spurs of the common fowl, and which penetrate the 

 skin and project externally a little in front of the vent. 

 The body is particularly well organized for twisting and 

 twining round other bodies ; and the scales which cover 

 it are small and numerous. As they advance upwards 

 upon the head and forwards upon the belly, it causes 

 the abdominal plates to be small and very narrow, and 

 those on the head to be of a less regular form than in 

 most others of the Colubrine order. 



According to Pliny and some later authors, the name 

 Boa is derived from the Latin word has, an ox, because 

 they believed that the young reptiles were in the habit 

 of following the cattle in the fields, and living on the 

 milk of cows. This fable is not the only one that is cur- 

 rent in early writers concerning these huge creatures as 

 is the case for instance with regard to their size. Aris- 

 totle speaks of African serpents of such a length as to 

 be able to overturn a galley with three oars. Plin}' 

 tells us of an Indian species swallowing large stags and 

 bulls. Elian mentions huge serpents of from eighty to 

 one hundred cubits in length, and Suetonius asserts 

 that there was exhibited at Rome, under Augustus 

 Caesar, a living serpent fifty cubits in lenglh. Modern 

 travellers and writers are not much behind these 

 ancient authors in their marvellous tales of the size of 

 the Boas. George Andersen, in bis " Travels in the 

 East," tells us that in the island of Java there are ser- 

 pents large enough to swallow men entire. Baldjeus, 

 in his "Description of Ceylon" informs us that he found 

 serpents there, eight, nine, and ten eUs long (from thirty 

 to thirty-SLX feet), but that there are much larger ones 

 in Java, as well as in Banda, where one was taken 

 which had swallowed a stag, and another which had 

 swallowed a woman entire. Charles Owen, in his 

 " Natural History of Serpents," says, that in Batavia 

 there are serpents fifty feet in length. Marco Polo 

 tells us in his " Travels," that in the island of Carajan 

 very large serpents are seen, ten paces in length, and 

 ten hands-breadths in circumference. Father Gumilla, 

 in his " History of Orinoko," mentions the occurrence 

 there of serpents upwards of forty feet long. Bosmau, 



