1894.] OPniDIA OF TRIIs^IDAD, B. W. I. 



507 



nine or ten eggs which they lay to hatch. They are exceedingly 

 fond of water, in which they will lie for days at a time. _ They 

 often fall a prey to Elaps lemniscatus, oi which they stand in the 

 e;reatest fear. They only survi\ e its bite about four minutes. The 

 Creoles call these snakes " Beh belle chemiu," or " Beauty of the 

 Eoad." They are frequently to be seen crossing dusty roads in 

 the early morning or evening, probably for the purpose of hunting 

 in the ditches whit-h run on either side of our thoroughfares. 



LlOPHIS EEGI>'.^. 



The adult snake is a very beautiful one, being in colour greenish 

 yellow when it has freshly cast its skin, and looking as it a piece 

 of black mosquito curtain liad been strained over it. Sometimes 

 the ground-colour is brighter. It feeds well on frogs and lizards 

 and is not at all fierce. Perfect specimens are rare, a large part 

 of the tail being usually missing. They flatten their necks when 

 irritated. They are found in mangrove-swamps and in the 

 vicinity of streams. 



LlOPHIS COEELLA. 



This interesting little creature is found in the mangrove-swamps, 

 sometimes in brackish water and close to the sea. It is known to 

 the Creoles as " Mapepiri Mangue." It feeds almost solely on frogs, 

 which it pursues with great energy and devours very quickly, 

 sometimes eating as many as 12 or 14 at a meal of the little 

 Tellow-throated Frog, Flujllohates trinitaiis (Garman). 



The females have usually faint transverse stripes on the back, 

 caused by the arrangement of slate-coloured scales with grey edges. 

 The general appearance, however, is mottled slate and grey. The 

 male is more gorgeous, being mottled with black, olive-brown, and 

 dirty yellow ; the scales of the lower jaw are grey. The ventrals 

 are chequered with large black spots on a white surface. We have 

 seen these snakes 3 feet in length, but the average size is 

 18 inches. Once, and only once, have we known a Cobella to 

 devour a lizard — a gecko, Thecadactylus rapicaiula. These snakes 

 are good swimmers, and on one occasion we watched one for half 

 an hour swimming in a little pool in the swamps. It constantly 

 dived and thrust its head amongst the weeds at the bottom, from 

 whence, after remaining a few minutes, it came to the surface for 

 air. A snake of this species laid several eggs, one of which 

 hatched. The young one was perfectly black ; being deformed it 

 only survived a week or two, refusing all food. 



Coluber bobdaeeti. 



This snake is known locally as " Machete couesse," which is 

 explained as meaning " Grass Machete." Machete is Spanish for 

 cutlass, and many snakes are known as Machetes because their 

 backs are somewhat ridged, reminding the Creole labourer of a 

 cutlass. But this description does not apply to Coluber hoddaerti. 



