268 SNAKES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



They were fed tadpoles or young frogs, which they would seize 

 and hold some time, and then begin the process of swallowing. 

 They frequently bit each other, and on two ocasions one was 

 found engaged in swallowing one of its brothers ; one was with- 

 drawn that had been half swallowed, and it recovered. The 

 young lived for about two months when an epidemic appeared 

 among them and all died. 



A young specimen, five days old, bit a guinea pig, which suc- 

 cumbed in twenty-two minutes. These snakes are poisonous, 

 and probably cause more deaths than any other snake in the 

 Philippines. 



The subspecies is found very commonly in Luzon, and it occurs 

 in Palawan and probably in other large islands. 



Genus HEMIBUNGARUS Peters 



Elaps, part., DuMERiL and BiBEON, Erp. Gen. 7 (1854) 1191; GUN- 

 THER, Cat. Col. Snakes (185S) 229; Jan, Rev. and Mag. Zool. 

 (1858) 516. 



Brachyrhynchus Fitzinger, Syst. Rept. (lS4o) 28. 



Callophis, part., GiJNTHER, Proc. Zool. Soc. London (1859) 81. 



Hem.ibungarus Peters, Mon. Berl. Ak. (1862) 637; Boettgee, Ber. 

 Senck. Nat. Ges. (1886) 117; Boulenger, Cat, Snakes Bvit. Mus. 

 3 (1896) 392; Casto de Elera, Cat. Fauna Filipinas 1 (1895) 

 440;, .Stejneger,, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 58 (1907) 387. 



"Maxillary bone extending forwards beyond the palatine, with 

 a pair of large grooved poison-fangs and one to three small solid 

 teeth ; mandibular teeth subequal. Prefrontal bones in contact 

 with each other on the median line. Head small, not distinct 

 from neck; eye small, with round pupil; nostril between two 

 nasals; no loreal. Body cylindrical, much elongate; scales 

 smooth, without pits, in 13 or 15 rows; ventrals rounded. Tail 

 short; subcaudals in two rows." (Boulenger.) 



Key to the Philippine specief; of Hemibiingariis Peters. 



a'. Temporals 2 -f 3 ; 6 upper labials. 

 ')'. Second labial not touching preocular. 



H. caUigaster (Wiegmann) (p. 269). 



h\ Second labial touching preocular H. mcclungi sp. nov. (p. 272). 



a-. No temporals; 7 upper labials, sixth forming a suture with parietal. 



H. coUaris (Schlegel) (p. 269). 



The genus Hemibnuganis is a small, compact one, with few 

 species. The three species given in the key are confined to the 

 Philippines. Another species, H. iiiyreHcciis, is found in India, 

 and two others, H. japoiilcii^ and H. hocttgeii. are found on near- 

 by archipelagoes to the north. The snakes are poisonous. They 



