REP MEH S: OF 
ALL LANDS 
Pranic 
RHINOCEROS VIPER (Bitis nasicornis) : 
hk 
a 
# 
WEST AFRICA (SEE PAGE 631) 
Most beautifully colored of the poisonous snakes, but the bright hues are soon dimmed 
after the skin is shed by the reptile’s habit of entering the water. 
On account of its semi- 
aquatic habits it is also called the river jack. Photo by Raymond L. Ditmars. 
of the world the rodent-eating species are 
protected by law. Distributed through- 
out India is a large and active species 
known as the rat snake. Its useful habits 
are recognized in many areas. ‘This is 
likewise the case with a closely related 
species found throughout tropical Amer- 
ica. The creole French call the latter 
the cribo, and in the coastal regions, 
where the bubonic plague has appeared, 
there is a fine imposed for the killing of 
rat-eating snakes. 
The farmers of our western States 
are now beginning to realize the useful 
habits of several species of serpents, and 
the writer has received letters from 
widely scattered arec3 asking about the 
possible propagation of a large plains 
reptile—the bull snake, Pitwophis say. 
Queerly enough we find some of the 
deadliest known serpents belonging to 
the same family as the non-venomous 
species. The Indian Ocean and the 
waters of the tropical Pacific are in- 
habited by a great number of wholly 
aquatic, veritable sea serpents that pos- 
sess deadly fangs and sometimes swim 
in schools of countless thousands. These 
snakes have a paddle-like tail to assist 
them in swimming. They range in size 
from a yard to eight feet in length, and 
the greater number of them are vividly 
ringed : a few are longitudinally banded. 
The marine snakes form a subfamily 
that may be designated as a specialized 
offshoot of the creat family containing 
the harmless serpents, the Colubride. 
Another offshoot is the subfamily con- 
