BOAS.- 



-REPTILES.- 



-CoRAr. Snake. 



is about six feet long, about as thick as a child's arm, 

 and is remarkable for its fine colours. The ground 

 colour is a more or less deep but clear reddish-brown 

 fading into j'ellow, and a double row of round brownish- 

 j'cllow spots edged with black runs along the upper 

 parts, which, however, often become confluent, running 

 into each other and then forming a single row of large 

 spots. On the flanks, three other rows of a blackish- 

 brown colour may be seen. The head of the Aboma 

 is nearly of the same size as, and on a line with the 

 trunk, is small, narrow, elongate, conical, and flattened 

 on the crown. The muzzle is very compressed and 

 prominent, forming a kind of nose. The nostrils are 

 open, lateral, and are placed very near the extremitj'. 

 The tail is very short, conical, always curved inwardly 

 and terminates in an obtuse point. The Aboma is a 

 native of South America and the West, Indies. The 

 Prince of Neuwied observed it on the east coast of 

 Brazil, where the natives call it tlie Jiboya, and say 

 that it possesses similar habits and manners of living 

 to the Boa constrictor, which they also know bj' that 

 name. It ascends trees and often establishes itself in 

 hollows in the ground, but never frequents the water. 

 Its food consists of small mammalia. 



In the second group of the family Boidm, or those 

 with only a slightly prehensile tail, and the spurs small 

 or even hidden under the skin, the head is very small 

 and indistinct. It is nearly of the same size as the 

 neck, and the body is cylindrical, and of nearly equal 

 circumference throughout all its length. The throat 

 is not wide, nor does it admit of such extension as in 

 the greater paii of the Ophidians, and the eyes are 

 small. The scales with which they are covered are 

 almost always smooth, and are all of the same form, 

 with the exception of those which are on the head and 

 under part of the body. The species which, according 

 to Schlegel's idea, form only one family, the Torlri- 

 cina, are arranged in the British Museum catalogue 

 in four small families, their characters being taken 

 from the distribution of tlie scales of the head, the 

 presence or absence of intermaxillary teeth, &c., &c. 

 As these, characters, however, are onlj' important for 

 the purpose of methodical arrangement, and as there 

 is not much known of the habits of many of the indi- 

 viduals belonging to the group, we will consider them 

 here as all being rel'errible to one subfamily. 



THE BUEROWTNG SNAKES {Tortricina) are peace- 

 ful and harmless serpents, mild in disposition, and slow 

 in their movements. They are always found living 

 on the ground, and prefer for tlieir place of abode open 

 and sandy places. For enabling them to move with 

 celerity on such kind of ground, nature has furnished 

 them with a cylindrical body, a narrow bell3', and a 

 short but strong and sometimes prehensile tail. 

 Their teeth are short, but pretty strong, conical in 

 sliape, and not very numerous. The nostrils are either 

 orbicular or elliptical, and most frequently vertical. 

 The eyes are very small, somewhat vertical, and except 

 in one or two species, with a round pupil. The pre- 

 vailing colours are red, brown, and yellow, but they 

 vary much in diiferent species. In general they are 

 iridescent and exhibit a considerable play of colours. 

 They never acquire any great size, and it is rare to 



find individuals exceeding two or three feet in lerigth. 

 The young are more brilliant in hues than the adults, 

 and possess a somewhat longer tail. The species 

 have been found in the hot parts of both Old and New 

 Worlds. They have, in particular, been noticed in 

 several of the Polynesian islands, in Java, Bengal, and 

 in Surinam. Individually they are not widely spread, 

 with the exception of the Eryx, which inhabits tem- 

 perate climates, and is found in the South of Europe, 

 Western Asia, and the North of Africa, being a native 

 of Greece, Tartary, Persia, Arabia, Syria, and Egypt. 

 They frequent dry grounds open and exposed to the 

 sun, .such as sandy deserts. Living continually on 

 the ground, they form little burrows to shelter them- 

 selves from their enemies. They are never seen on 

 trees, and appear to avoid the water. It appears that 

 they are not much embarrassed in their choice of food, 

 as they swallow indiscriminately small quadrupeds and 

 rejjtiles, &c., provided the size of the prey is not too 

 much for them. Mice, cecili;ie, &c., are what have 

 been chiefly found in the stomachs of such as have 

 been opened. Their bite is attended with no bad 

 effects ; but hy the common people of the countries 

 where they are found they are believed to be danger- 

 ous. The species of this family are most probably 

 oviparous. They are few in number, ten having been 

 described in the iMuseum catalogue. 



THE COKAL SNAKE {Tortrix scytah) is one of the 

 best known, perhaps the most beautiful of all, and is 

 the only species found in the New World.* It is a 

 native of Surinam, and is often brought to Europe by 

 sailors. The body, wdiich is well marked by alternate 

 rings of red and black, is of a cylindrical form, elon- 

 gate, and of the same thickness throughout its entire 

 length. The head is nearly of the same size as the 

 trunk, somewhat conical, and with a rounded muzzle. 

 The nostrils are round and vei'y small, as also are the 

 eyes, which are placed vertically on the head. The 

 prevailing colour in the living specimen is a beautiful 

 vermilion red. Numerous rings, close set, of a deep 

 shining black, often divided into two, or interrupted 

 and alternate, surround the body and the tail through- 

 out all its length. A broad ring, which occupies the 

 posterior part of the head, and the red pointed tail, 

 are more constant than any other characters. The 

 points of the scales on the body are often marked with 

 black, giving the appearance of a very pretty network 

 pattern. With the exception of size, the young and 

 old resemble each other closely, as do also the two 

 sexes, which are not distinguishable from each other 

 by any external characteristics. When full-grown, 

 the Coral Snake is ordinarily about two feet, or from 

 that to two foet six inches in length. A curious fact 

 has been noticed in this reptile with regard to its eyes. 

 When old, the eye often becomes opaque, the covering 

 of the eye being hardened, and blindness is the rcsnlt. 

 It is very common in Guiana, but is scarcely ever seen 

 to the north of Surinam. In the colony it is known 

 by the names of the Serpent with the two heads and 

 the Coral Snake. It is erroneously believed by the 

 natives to be venomous, a belief entertained also by 



* With the exception of one from California [Clmrina hottce), 

 of which very little is known. 



