VIPERA CORNUTA.— Auct. 

 Reptilia.— Plates XXXII and XXXIII. 



V. supra purpureo-grisea, flavo-griseo-tincta ; partibus superioribus ordinibus quatuor macularum cas- 

 tanearum variegatis; infra subochrea, purpureo-brunneo-maculata. 



Longitudo e naso ad basin caudaa 12 unc. ; caudae l£ unc. 



Hornsman of the Cape Colonists. 



Colour. — The ground colour of the upper and lateral parts lavender- 

 purple, tinted with yellowish grey, and broken hy four rows of somewhat 

 quadrangular chesnut-brown spots, each spot freckled or spotted with liver- 

 brown. The spots of the two central rows which extend along the back, are 

 the most regular in form ; those of the two other rows are smaller, less 

 distinctly defined, and disposed irregularly, particularly towards the head 

 and tail. Each spot is narrowly edged with bluish white, and the space 

 between such of the spots of the central and lateral rows as are opposed to 

 each other, is bluish white, tinted with pale Dutch-orange. The sides of the 

 head are brownish red with an oval bluish white blotch on each temple, and 

 an oblique yellowish white bar between the under eyelid and the edge of the 

 upper lip. The under parts pale sienna-yellow, mottled with light liver-brown 

 spots and dots. Eyes clear brown. 



Form, &c. — Figure rather robust, greatest thickness near middle of body. 

 Tail short, conical, and pointed. Head posteriorly considerably broader than 

 the neck, above it is slightly convex, between the eyes rather concave ; the 

 temples are much bulged and the muzzle broad and rounded ; the upper lip 

 is much more protuberant than the margin of the upper surface of the head. 

 The eyebrows are curved and armed with a clump of lengthened spinous 

 scales forming a sort of short horn. Fangs large and considerably curved. 

 The neck is rather slender, and like the body is somewhat cylindrical. Tail 

 flat below and subtriangular above. The skin covering the head and tail is 

 firmly attached to the parts under it, that of the neck and body rather loosely. 



