64 



Serpents. - 



-KEPTILES.- 



-CoLUBuixE Serpents. 



the sudden spring which they make upon it, and tlius 

 enables them to twist themselves round their victim 

 and strangle it in its numerous t'o\As. They have in 

 general a mild, gentle look, and ate usually adorned 

 with lively colours, elegantly disposed. The species 

 all inhabit the intertropical regions of both hemi- 

 spheres. They are fery brisk in their movements, 

 and climb with extrime agility. Tlvey seldom quit 

 the forests, where tli^y are; always tOv be met with 

 upon the branches of shndisiand tre^, reusing them 

 selves amongst the leaves, tud^-ifing in wajt for tli 

 small animals upon which*t1iey feed, such as"i»w«s, 

 small saurian reptiles, &o., and which inliabit similar 

 situations. They also feed upon mice, frogs, toads, 

 &c., to obtain wbiL-h they are occasionally obliged to 

 descend to the ground. 



THE BOOM-SLAWGE {Bucephalus capensu) is the 

 only species we have time to mention. It is long and 

 slender, with a high, suliquadraiigular head, very dis- 

 tinct from the rieck, very large eyes, the body covered 

 with elongate, narrow, strong, and keeled scales, and 

 the hinder teeth larger than the others, and furrowed. 

 In colour it varies very much, and these varieties differ 

 greatly in size. It has been well described and 

 figured in several of its varieties by Sir Andrew Smith. 

 " The Boom-slange," he says, " is generally found 

 upon trees, to which it resorts for the purpose of 

 catching birds, upon which it delights to feed. The 

 presence of a specimen in a tree is generally soon dis- 

 covered by the birds of the neighbourhood, who collect 

 around it, and fly to and fro, uttering the most pierc- 

 ing cries, until some one more terror-struck than tlie 

 rest actually scans its lips, and almost without resist- 

 ance becomes a meal for its enemy. During such a 

 proceeding the snake is generally observed with its 

 .head raised about ten or twelve inches above the 

 branch round which its body and tail are entwined, 

 with its mouth open and its neck inflated, as if anx- 

 iously endeavouring to increase the terror which it 

 would almost appear it was aware would sooner or 

 later bring within its grasp some one of the feathered 

 group. 



We must pass over the remaining four families 

 without notice, and hasten on to the consideration of 

 the venomous species of Colubrine serpents. 



Group II.— THE VENOMOUS COLUBRIFORM 

 SEUPEXTS [Ehnmke). 



In this second group of true Colubrine serpents, or 

 those which have a permanently erect grooved fang 

 in front, many are exceedingly interesting, and some 

 are even of classic and historic renown. Forty-three 

 species have been described by Dr. GUnther in the 

 Museum catalogue. 



These serpents, though furnished with venomous 

 fangs, and endoweil with highly poisonous qualities, 

 approach in general outward form so nearly to the 

 harmless species, that even an experienced eye has no 

 little difficulty in distinguishing them at first sight. 

 They differ from the venomous sea-snakes by the 

 absence of the flattened tail ; and they cannot be con- 

 founded with the Viperine serpents, as they have 



neitlrer the heavy shape, the broad, triangular head, 

 the Vertical pupil, nor the keeled scales. Their body 

 is mere slender than either of these two families. 

 Their tail is rather short, often conical, or of equal 

 thicWness throughout, and rounded at the extremity. 

 Thahead, which is generally of the same size and on 

 a Ime with the neck, is small and short, with a thick, 

 sl/ghtly conical, and most frequently a blunter rounded 

 luzzle. The eyes are rather small, sometimes verti- 

 cal, and the pupil is round. The scales with which 

 the body is covered are numerous, and, with one 

 exception, always smooth. The organs constituting 

 the poison apparatus are much less developed than in 

 the Viperine species ; they do not appear to have the 

 power of opening their jaws so wide as these latter 

 serpents have, and consequently are not able to ele- 

 vate the fangs so much, nor cause such deep and dan- 

 gerous wounds. The venomous teeth or fangs are 

 fixed in the maxillary bone, are less developed, and 

 are open on the anterior surface by a groove or furrow, 

 which unites the two orifices. 



One of the most important of all the genera con- 

 tained in the family is the genus Naja. Though, as 

 now constituted, it contains only two species, yet these 

 are both of great interest, and are well known. One 

 of them is a native of India and the large islands in 

 the Indian archipelago ; the other of Africa, from 

 Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope. 



THE COBEA DE CAPELIO, THE HOODED SNAKE, 

 0RSPECTACLE-SNAKE(iV(yai'ry«i(;«<7!s)— represented 

 in Plate 5, fig. 5 — is remarkable alike for the ele- 

 gance of its form, the strength of its body, and the 

 danger which attends its bite. It derives its name of 

 Spectacle-snake from a black mark it has on the exten- 

 sible part of the neck, and which gives a more or less 

 exact representation of a pair of spectacles, such as 

 used to be worn, and were called barnacles. The 

 pattern consists of two large eye-shaped spots, white, 

 with a black centre and border, and united in front by 

 an arched line. It is sometimes very distinct, but at 

 others it is not visible at all, or consists of a number of 

 black irregular marks. The predominating colour of 

 the Cobra is a yellow-ochre with a brownish shade, 

 sometimes very clear, at others very dull. The body 

 is of rather stout proportions, and the tail, which is not 

 very long, is robust and conical towards the extremity. 

 The head is pretty large, and not very distinct from 

 the body ; the occiput is swollen and broad, and the 

 muzzle is rather short and rounded. One of the most 

 striking characters, however, shown by this serpent, 

 is the power it possesses of expanding the skin of the 

 neck and raising it in form of a hood. Hence its 

 name of Hooded Snake. This remarkable expansion 

 of the skin is a voluntary action, and is quite distinct 

 from that inflation which all serpents when irritated 

 are more or less capable of. The Cobra is a bold and • 

 courageous reptile, and as it attains considerable 

 dimensions, measuring often from four to six feet in 

 length, it becomes a formidable antagonist. When 

 surprised by some imprudent traveller, or irritated and 

 roused to anger, it rises on the lower part of its body, 

 elevates its head, expands its neck, hisses loudly, and 

 by its actions and the bright glance of its eye, evinces 



