234 



SNAKES. 



Russell's Viper. 



to a height of between three thousand and four thousand feet. Except during 

 the pairing-season, when it is found in couples, it is a solitary creature, subsisting 

 on other snakes, mice, voles, birds, and lizards. 



As being one of the deadliest of Indian snakes, we may take 

 as our next example of the genus the beautiful Russell's viper 

 (V. russelli), of India, Ceylon, Burma, and Siam. From the other viper inhabiting 

 Kashmir, this species may be distinguished by having the rostral shield of the 

 head as long as broad, and the scales on the body arranged in from twenty-seven 

 to thirty-one rows. Sometimes known as the chain-viper, this snake attains a 



Russell's viper (i nat. size 



length of 4 feet. Its ground-colour is pale brown, with three longitudinal series 

 of black light-edged rings, sometimes replaced by faint dark spots; the lower- 

 parts being yellowish white, either with or without small crescentic black spots. 

 In young specimens, as shown in our illustration, the black rings on the upper- 

 parts surround dark reddish brown spots, which in the middle series are in contact 

 with one another. Sir J. Fayrer regards this snake as being, next to the cobra, 

 the most dangerous in India, stating that fowls bitten by it sometimes expire 

 in less than a minute. "It is nocturnal in its habits, is sluggish, and does not 

 readily strike unless irritated, when it bites with great fury ; it hisses fiercety and 

 strikes with vigour. Its long movable fangs are very prominent objects, and with 

 them it is capable of inflicting deep as well as poisoned wounds. When disturbed, 



