228 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



in the extreme western part of the United States, rang- 

 ing as far north as Oregon. One genus, Eryx, is com- 

 posed of small burrowing forms inhabiting southern 

 Asia and northern Africa. Two fine members of the 

 genus Boa are found in ]\Iadagascar. Several genera 

 besides Eryx are confined to the Old World. 



In the New World the largest of the boas is the 

 Anaconda or Water Boa, Eunectes murinus, of Cen- 

 tral America and tropical South America, a species 

 alleged to grow twenty-five feet long, though individ- 

 uals of such proportions seem to be so rare they never 

 find their way to zoological institutions. Two fine spec- 

 imens of this really aquatic snake are on exhibition in 

 the Reptile House of the New York Zoological Park. 

 The largest is seventeen feet long. She gave birth to 

 thirty-four young, which were each twenty-seven inches 

 long and an inch in diameter at the thickest part of the 

 body. The coloration was the same as the parent, dark 

 green with round black spots. Like their mother, they 

 were vicious, resenting handling by quickly twisting 

 from side to side in an effort to bite. They spent most 

 of their time in a big tank, swimming slowly or massed 

 in a dark corner with only their snouts protruding from 

 the water. The birth of these youngsters illustrates a 

 characteristic among the boas, the majority, or possibly 

 all of which bring forth their young alive. The pythons 

 differ bj"- laying eggs, coiling about them until they 

 hatch after six or eight weeks' time — sometimes longer. 



The writer has numerous records tending to show the 

 progeny of boas to be numerous. One note relates to 

 the brood of a big specimen of Boa constrictor ^ which 

 gave birth to sixty-four living young; another relates 

 to an Anaconda, fifteen and a half feet long, with a 

 brood of thirty-seven young. Observations show the 



