COLUBERID^. y 45 



was disabled by a Bengalee, who seemed to have much less 

 fear of it, stating that he had a remedy for its bite : what it 

 was, however, he would not communicate. After its back 

 was broken it bit fiercely at everything within its reach, 

 striking its formidable poison-fangs into sticks with great 

 force. A Malay stated that he had known an instance in 

 which a man died in three hours after being bitten by a large 

 one : he, however, said that the bite was not usually mortal, 

 but producing only violent vomiting, fever, delirium and 

 long continued stupor. They are very sluggish animals, never 

 attempting to move out of the way, but infallibly striking if 

 anything approaches within their reach. Their favourite pos- 

 ture is to lie upon a small twig in a complicated irregular fold, 

 and so closely do they resemble a twig of green leaves, that 

 even when pointed out by the natives, it is often a long time 

 before an inexperienced eye can make them out. Upon 

 Burong Island to the south of Labuan, which is an amor- 

 phous mass of limestone of an area of perhaps five acres, 

 and covered with jungle, they are especially abundant. 



Fam. Coluberidse. 

 Gen. Elaps. 



Elaps furcatus (var.). 



General colour — rufous cream colour, much lighter below than 

 above : a deep brown longitudinal stripe runs along the whole length 

 of the vertebrae ; a pair of similar stripes run parallel to this at 

 about the distance of the width of two scales ; each of these again is 

 margined by a third narrow stripe of the same colour, which passes 

 along just above the line of the abdominal scuta ; on the bellj and 

 lower part of the tail a series of broad blackish transverse bands 

 occur at nearly regular intervals ; these are forty-one in number, 

 thirty-nine being upon the abdomen and two upon the tail. 



Scales smooth ; fangs long ; no teeth in the upper jaw; palate 

 furnished with teeth ; body long and nearly of an uniform size and 

 shape ; tail short and tapering. 



Abdominal scuta, 238. 



Subcaudal scuta, 24. 



Found in Labuan. When fresh, the markings were very 

 elegant ; red, black, and white being the prevailing colours : 

 they soon faded, however, upon the animal being put into 



spirits. 



