ZOOI.Or.lCAL SOCIKTV lU LIJIIN 



299 



111 IKM |i \ Il'KK 



.0 Stand even a slight degree 

 of cold. In several shijjnients 

 of African reptiles received 

 during the winter, all of the 

 cobras, in every instance, 

 were found to be dead, while 

 the vipers and other snakes 

 that live on the hot sands of 

 the deserts were in good con- 

 dition, though necessarily a 

 little benumbed from expo- 

 sure. Yet the vipers that so 

 readily survive shipment into 

 this country during the win- 

 ter months are very delicate 

 as captives. They feed well 

 enough for a few months, 

 then die of various ailments 

 — enteritis, diseases of the 

 lungs or su|)purative disorders of the iiiouth parts. 

 The Horned N'iper, {Vipera cenislcs) i> repre- 

 sented in the collection iiy eight adult >pecimens. 

 These re])tiles will not feed unless kept very warm. 

 They continually lie on the perforated copper 

 sheathing covering the heating pipes in the front 

 of their cages. Like all of the desert vi])ers they 

 are always seeking to throw sand over their backs, 

 thus hiding their bodies. In shovelling sand the 

 reptile tlattens the body to such an e.xlent that the 

 lower edge acts as a scoop, then, by a remarkable 

 series of wave-like motions travelling the length of 

 the body on either side, the snake sinks into the 

 sand or works it over the back. To ]>rovide for 

 semi-burrowing life the eyes are placed near the 

 top of the head, as with some water snakes: but this 

 character is more pronounced with the Common 

 Sand Viper, {Vipera vipera), of northern .Africa. 

 .\ flourishing colony is living in the Park. The 

 members alternately endeavor to shovel sand or 

 move ra|)idly about the cage in a bewildering -eries 



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SAMi \ Il'l K 



of l()o]>s, the snake not ai tuallv crawling, l)Ut throw- 

 ing out lateral loops one after another, in a fashion 

 that imparts a rapid, 'uuilkiiif; motion. The arrival 

 of these vipers was attended with a great sur|)rise 

 to the writer, who momentarily imagined he had 

 discovered a ''new species." 



When the vipers arrived at the Park specimens 

 of the Horned species, (Vipera cerastes) were in- 

 cluded among a greater number of the commoner 

 snake (\'ipera vipera). All of the horned speci- 

 mens were placed in a cage by themselves. The 

 examples of Vipera vipera were put into an ad- 

 joining cage. Upon looking over the former lot 

 the writer was surprised to discover specimens with 

 horns back of the eye, instead of directly over the 

 organ, while the entire scalation of these specimens 

 was suspiciously like that of the common sand 

 vii)er. k closer inspection showed a remarkable 

 condition. The clever Arab "fakirs" had forced 

 two ciuills of the desert hedgehog (Eriiiaceus 

 aiiritiis) thnnmh the roof nf the mouth and out 



HINUEU-U.'VCK TORTOISE, (CINIXVS EROS.\). 

 Showing the carapace (upper shell), and the plastron (lower shell). 



