82 ■ OPHIDIAN EEPTILES. 



and body are covered. Lachesis, with two species, is another 

 kindred genus in South America, in which the end of the tail has 

 four rows of scales underneath. The Calloselasma rhodostoma is 

 a very formidable reptile of this same series, which inhabits the 

 Malay countries. It has a remarkably broad head, and grows to 

 three feet or more in length. Dr. Giinther states that " it is one 

 of the most beautiful and most dangerous of venemous Snakes. 

 Feeding on frogs, it frequents grassy plains, and approaches 

 gardens and human dwellings. Kuhl was eye-witness to a case 

 where two Men, bitten by one and the same Snake, expired iive 

 minutes after." Another Malayan species is known as the Atropos 

 acouba. The genus Halomys is characteristic of the fauna of 

 Central Asia, the species being found in Tartary, on the northern 

 side of the Himalayas, in China, in Japan, and in Formosa. One 

 of them occurs in the Western Himalaya, at an altitude of 9,000 

 feet, and another has been referred to this genus from the moun- 

 tains of Southern India. The "carawalla" of Ceylon (Hypnale 

 nepa) is likewise found on the mountains of Southern India. It 

 is a small species, but a good deal dreaded, although, remarks Dr. 

 Giinther, "its bite is but exceptionally fatal to Man, and in such 

 cases death does not occur before the lapse of some days. There 

 is always every hope of restoring the patient by a timely applica- 

 tion of the proper remedies." Its crown is more shielded than is 

 usual with Snakes of this family, and it varies much in colouring. 

 The rest of the Crotalidm are American, and consist of the 

 famous Rattlesnakes and their immediate kindred. In the genus 

 Cenckris the tail ends with a spine, and the tip of the tail has 

 several rows of scales beneath. The well-known " Copperhead " 

 (C contortrix) belongs to this genus, and the black "Water 

 Viper " ■( C. piscworus). The last has bred repeatedly in the London 

 Zoological Gardens, and is rather a large species, of very aquatic 

 propensities. " The Copperhead," according to Dekay, " is a 

 vicious reptile, and its venom is justly dreaded, being considered 

 as deadly as that of the Hattlesnake ; and an instance is recorded 

 in which a Horse, struck by one of these reptiles, died in a few 

 hours. Its motions are sluggish, and when aj)proached it assumes 

 a threatening aspect," raising its head and darting out its tongue. 

 It chiefly occurs in pastures and low meadow grounds, feeding on 



