392 LOWER VERTEBRATES. 



ing the young, in the apprehension of danger, has been attributed. Though the peo- 

 ple who are willing to swear that this is an ordinary occurrence are numerous, they 

 are, nevertheless, often uneducated; the fact that not a single naturalist of good 

 standing has ever observed the trait, though many have been their endeavors, seems 

 to cast considerable shade on this case of parental oversight. The poison of this ani- 

 mal must be of a very strong nature, for though it is only in the minutest quantity 

 when compared with that of such animals as the rattle-snake, it is capable of pro- 

 ducing the most severe symptoms, which sometimes last for days. During the cold sea- 

 son the adders, like the American copper-heads, congregate together, often entwining 

 themselves into a ball of the most repulsive appearance. 



The African puff-adder, Clotho or Echidra arietans, has received its popular name 

 because of its habit of swelling or puffing itself up when irritated. It is both the 

 largest and the most poisonous reptile of South Africa, not infrequently reaching a 

 length of over four feet, and while other poisonous snakes are sufficiently active to 

 endeavor to escape on seeing an intruder, the puff-adder is so consummately lazy that, 

 rather than move or make itself known, it will remain, half buried in the hot sand, 

 with its sullen eyes fixed upon the unsuspecting traveler with a most freezing glare, and 

 if irritated in the slightest way, it starts up a hissing, which is followed, if the animal is 

 further approached, by a most deadly attack. It is with the poison of this animal 

 that the Bushmen arm their most effective arrows. In collecting these serpents they 

 are said to walk up to the sullen animals, and before the snakes have fairly made up their 

 mind to strike, plant the bare foot upon the neck and sever the head with a small 

 knife. The color of the reptile is brown, variously ornamented with spots of gray or 

 white. Clotho nasicornis is also an inhabitant of Africa, where it has received the 

 name of river-jack. The male is peculiar in having a spiine, protected by scales, pro- 

 jecting from the upper side of the nose, between the nostrils. S. cornuta, or the 

 plumed-adder, as it is called, derives its name from the peculiar plume-like structures 

 which appear over each eye. Though short and stout, it is very beautifully orna- 

 mented, the body being marbled with chestnut, and punctate with numerous small 

 dots ; along each side of the vertebral line are two i-ows of dark blotches. 



Of the Indian vipers there are but two kinds, Dahoia russellii has the nostrils very 

 large, laterally placed, and surrounded by three shields. The head is covered with 

 scales, those of the sides as well as tliose of the body being keeled. The general 

 color is brown, with three rows of large white-edged rings, of which those of the 

 middle of the body are largest ; the lower side is yellow, and in some cases marbled 

 with brown. The ticpolonga, as this species is called by the natives of Ceylon, in- 

 habits not only that island, but also India, as far as the Himmalehs. It is a most com- 

 mon terrestrial reptile, and is much dreaded, being nocturnal in its habits. It is 

 sometimes fifty inches in length, feeds on small mammals, and has been named by the 

 Europeans, because of its venomous nature, the cobra monil. 



The other Indian viper, Echis carinata is structurally different from the previous 

 species, in that the sub-caudals are simple, and the nostrils are small, and situate 

 in a large, posteriorly divided nasal. The small keeled scales of the head are imbri- 

 cate, two rows of which are between the eye and the labials. It differs chiefly from 

 its African congener in having a fewer number of ventral shields. E. carinata is 

 common in many parts of India. It never exceeds a length of twenty inches. Being 

 such a small snake, its bite is not known to have ever proved fatal, though some au- 

 thors speak of it as a most virulent form, requiring a double dose of medicine to 



