^n 



262 SNAKES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



Naja naja miolepis and Naja naja philippinensis. are regarded 

 only as varieties, as Boulenger has treated them. It is certain 

 that all three should be regarded as distinct species if only Phil- 

 ippine material were to be considered, as two of the forms, miole- 

 pis and savicu'ensis, appear to be isolated here, geographically, 

 while the third invades the restricted territories of the other two. 

 There appears to be no intergrading of any sort. 



Remarks. — This cobra is probably confined to the eastern Vi- 

 sayan islands (Samar and Leyte) and Mindanao. It is common 

 in the Agusan Valley. The specimens in my collections were 

 found crawling in daytime in the forest or on the lawn about my 

 house. When discovered they made no effort to escape, but us- 

 ually stopped quiet; if disturbed they immediately raised their 

 heads and spread their hoods. I did not observe them, eject 

 poison from their fangs, as is true of A^aja naja pJulippi]ie)isis. 



A specimen from Zamboanga kept alive in the Bureau of Sci- 

 ence has a very intrepid disposition and is disposed to put itself 

 on the defensive at the approach of anything. It readily takes 

 living frogs and snakes (Calamaria gei'vaisii) for food. Snakes, 

 lizards, and frogs probably form its food under natural condi- 

 tions. The snake is deadly poisonous. Two large Berkshire 

 pigs kept on an agricultural farm at Bunawan succumbed to bites 

 of these snakes within a period of a few hours after being bitten. 

 Among the Manobos the snake is called aguasoii and is greatly 

 feared. Several harmless snakes are also classed as aguason 

 because of similarity in color. 



NAJA NAJA MIOLEPIS (Boulenger) 



Plate 3 '2 



Naiii- friimdianfs BouLENCEli, Ann. & Mag-. Nat. Hist, VI 14 (1894) 84. 

 Naia tripudians vav. miolepis Boulenger, Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus. 



3 (1896) 384. 

 Naja naja miolepis Grifein. Pliilip. Journ. Sci. § A 4 (1909) (500; 



§ D 6 (1911) 266; Barbour, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard Coll. 



44 (1912) 136. 



Description of species. — (From No. 3, Bureau of Science col- 

 lection; collected at Iwahig, Palawan, 1908, by C. M. Weber.) 

 Rostral one and one-fifth times as wide as high, visible above, 

 the part visible triangular; internasals about as large as pre- 

 frontals, their greatest length along prefrontal suture, their 

 mutual suture less than half their length, narrowly in contact 

 with preocular; prefrontals wider than long, shorter than inter- 

 nasals ; frontal one and one-fifth times as long as broad, and one 

 and a half times as wide as supraoculars, but equal in length, 



