1894.] OPHIDIA OF TRINIDAD, E. 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 lemniseatus, of which they stand in the 

 greatest fear. They only survive its bite about four minutes. The 

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

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

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

 in the ditches which run on either side of our thoroughfares. 



LlOPHIS REGEXJE. 



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

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

 of black mosquito curtain had 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 COBELLA. 



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 II at a meal of the little 

 Yellow-throated Frog, PhyUobates trinitatis (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 

 dirt}' 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, Thecadaeti/lvs rapicauda. 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 boddaebti. 



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 boddaerti, 



