22 REPTILE GALLERY. 



the New World. The Anaconda (Boa murina) , of which a spe- 

 cimen (F) measuring 29 feet is exhibited in a separate glass case, 

 and represented in the act of seizing a Peccary (which frequently 

 falls a prey to this species), is the largest Snake known, the true 

 Boa constrictor beiDg a much smaller species (Case 24). 



The Erycidce (Case 23) are small Snakes, closely allied to the 

 Boas, but differing by possessing a very short non prehensile tail ; 

 their habits are terrestrial, or even burrowing. Cliftia fusca and 

 Erebophis asper, the latter from New Britain, belong to this family. 



[Case 26.] The Acrochordida are distinguished by their small, wart-like, 

 not imbricate, tubercular or spiny scales. Acrochordus javanicus, 

 from Java and the Malayan peninsula, grows to a length of 

 8 feet. 



[Case27.J The Elapidts are poisonous Snakes, with the physiognomy of 

 the harmless Colubrine Snakes : they occur in all the tropical 

 regions, and are most abundant in species in Australia, where they 

 form almost the entire Snake-fauna. The Indian Cobra (Naja 

 tripudians) and the African Cobra (Naja haje) are two of the 

 best known and most dreaded Ophidians. They possess the re- 

 markable faculty of expanding their neck when irritated, by raising 

 the elongated ribs of this region, and thus stretching the skin 

 outwards on each side ; the dilatable portion is frequently orna- 

 mented on the back by a figure resembling a pair of spectacles. 

 The Hamadryad, Ophiophagus elaps, is allied to the Cobra, but 

 attains to a much larger size, and is one of the most dangerous 

 venomous Snakes, as it is well known to frequently attack people 

 without provocation. It feeds on other Snakes, and occurs in 

 many parts of the Indian continent and archipelago. A specimen, 

 13 feet long, is exhibited in a spirit-tank opposite the wall-case. 

 The true Elaps, or Coral- Snakes, are small, brilliantly-coloured 

 Snakes, and their very small mouth renders them much less 

 dangerous to man. 



[Case 27.] The Sea-Snakes, Hydrophidce, are inhabitants of the tropical 

 parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and most abundant in the 

 East-Indian archipelago and in the seas between Southern China 

 and North Australia. They pass their whole life in the sea. Their 

 tail, which is compressed and paddle-shaped, answers all the pur- 

 poses of the same organ in a fish, and their motions in the water 



