POISONOUS SNAKES. 77 



Xenurelaps bungaroides, founded on a single specimen received 

 from the Khasya hills (north of Sylhet) ; and the Megcerophis 

 Jlaviceps, which inhabits the Indo-Chinese and the Malayan 

 countries, but not India. The latter attains to more than six feet 

 in length, and when alive or fresh the head and neck are vivid 

 blood-red, which soon fades to a pale buff hue in specimens im- 

 mersed in spirit, and hence the faulty name oi Jlaviceps. As 

 many as seven genera — Glyphodon, with two ascertained species; 

 Diemansia, with four ; Hoplocephakis, with eight ; Pseudechis, with 

 one ; Pseudo-naja, with one ; Brachysmna, with three ; and Ver- 

 micalla, with one — are peculiaa- to Australia with Tasmania, making 

 twenty known species of Colubriform Venemous Snakes in that 

 range of territory, whereothers doubtless remain to be discovered ; 

 and there is one descrifeed as Pseudo-elaps superciliaris, which is 

 suspected to be a second species of Pseudo-naja. The Cyrtophis 

 scutatus of South Africa is a sort .of hoodless Cobra, without any 

 small teeth behind its fangs. In America there is only the genus 

 Elaps, with numerous species, which are mostly of small size, and 

 in some instances are very brightly coloured, as one of the Coral 

 Snakes* of Brazil {E. coraUinus) , which is beautiful coral-red, 

 with the body encircled by equidistant black rings. The genus 

 Elaps in America is represented in Africa by Homorelaps, in the 

 Indian region by Callophis, and in Australia by Vermicalla. In 

 general, these are small and slender Snakes, too much so to be 

 held in much dread. What Dr. Griinther remarks of the species 

 of Callophis will apply, as we believe, equally to the others : — 

 "They appear to prefer hilly countries to the plains, live con- 

 stantly on the ground, and are slow in their movements. In their 

 habits, in their form, and in their powerless muscular organization, 

 they show the greatest similarity to the Calamarice ; and this is 

 why the Callophides feed almost entirely on the latter, the venemous 

 Snake being able to overpower the non- venemous. Both of these 

 genera have also the same geographical distribution ; and Ceylon, 

 where we do not find the Calamarice, is not inhabited by a single 

 Callophis. If we are allowed to judge from the number of indi- 

 viduals of both genera brought to Europe in collections, the 

 Calamarice are about twice as numerous as the Callophides." 



* This name teing also applied to the harmless Tortrix acytaU [vide p. 46.) 



