OPIIIDIA. 283 



Dn/iniis, MeriTiii ; Pos-scrifo, Gr.iy.— Body as Ion;;? and slender as in the last, but a small and slender pointed 

 nppendag^e at the tip of tlie muzzle. 



Dryophis, Fitzinger.— The same lonff filiform or cord-like body, but no appenda^je, and the scales of equal size. 



Oligodon, Boie. Small species, -with an obtuse, short, and iirirrow head, and no palatai teeth. 



After all these dismemberments by different authors, there yet remain -several which appear to me less worthy 

 of adoption ; being; founded on sli^^ht ditTerences in the pro[iortions of the head, the thickness of the trunk, &:c, : 

 and there is still left a ^roup the most mnnerous of all in species, that of 



The Snakes, as most restricted, which have no peculiar distin2:uishinf,'- character. Several of these are found in 

 France, [and one only in Britain, the common Rinj^-necked Snake (C. nairix and i\'atrix torquatiis), which attains 

 to a yard in length, and feeds on Frof^s, iMice, insects, &c.] It is eaten in some provinces of France. The e-xotic 

 species are innumerable : some are remarkable for the splendour of their colours ; others for the regularity of the 

 distribution of them ; many are quite uniform in their tints ; and a few only attain a very larpe size. 



The Acrochordus, Ilornstedt — 

 Are readily disti)iguished from tlie rest of tliis family liy tlie uniforinly small scales with which their 

 body is coYered both above and below. 



The known species {A.Javensis, Lac. ; Angu'is grannlatus, Schneider,) has each of its scales raised into three 

 little crests, resembling, when the skiu is very loose, three isolated tubercles. It grows to a large size. Hornstedt 

 has stated that it subsists altogether on fruits, which in an animal of this kind would be very extraordinary. 



The Venomous Serpents par excellence^ that have isolated fangs, present a peculiar structure of the 

 organs of manducation. 



Their superior maxdlary bones are very small, borne upon a long pedicle, analogous to the outer 

 pterygoid apophysis of the sphenoid, and are also very moveable ; having a pointed tooth aftixed to 

 them, wdiich is pierced by a small canal, through which issues a liquid secreted by a large gland 

 beneath the eye. This liquid it is, instilled into the wound inflicted by the tooth, which poisons 

 the bodies of animals, and produces effects more or less deadly, according to the species from 

 which it is derived. The tooth hes down flat in a fold of the gum when the Serpent has no occasion 

 for it, and behind it are several germs designed successively to i-eplace it, in case it should be 

 left in a wound. Naturalists have termed these venomous teeth crochets mo/Ale^ [or fangs'], but it is 

 properly the maxillary bone that moves. These Serpents have no other teeth besides the doulde 

 range upon the palate. 



All the venomous species of which we possess certain information, bring forth their young alive, the 

 eggs harching within the body of the parent, [though daring the act of parturition]. It is thus that 

 their general name of Vipers has arisen, which is a contraction of viviparous. 



Venomous Serpents with isolated fangs, present nearly the same external characters as the pre- 

 ceding; but the greater number have extremely dilatable jaws, and the tongue very extensile. Their 

 head, which is wide posteriorly, has in general a savage aspect, which to a certain extent announces 

 their ferocity. They form two princiital great genera, the Rattle-snakes and the Vipers, of which tlic 

 second has many subdivisions, around which some alien small ones require to be grouped. 



The IIattle-snakes [Croialus, Lin.) — 

 Are more celebrated than any other Serpents for the deadliness of their venom. In common with the 

 Boa, thev have simple transverse plates I>eneath the body and tad, but are most obviously distinguished 

 by the rattling instrument which they carry at the ti\) of the tail, and which is formed of several 

 scaly cornets loosely attached together, that move and rattle whenever the animal shakes or alters the 

 position of its tail. It appears that the number of these cornets increases with age, and that ihey acquire 

 an additional one at each casting of the skin. Their muzzle is hollowed by a little rounded depression 

 behind each nostril. All the known siieeies are from America. They are so much the more dan- 

 gerous, as the season or climate is hotter ; but their ordinary habits arc tranquil and sluggish. They 

 move slowdy, and only bite when provoked, or for the puri)0se of kilhng their prey. Although they do 

 not climb trees, they nevertheless feed principally upon Birds, Squicrels, &c., wliich it was long be- 

 lieved they possessed the faculty of hallucinating or cliarming, so as to draw them l)y degrees to enter 

 their throat. It would seem, however, that the fear which their appearance inspn-es occasions those 

 disordered movements of their prey, which have given rise to the foregoing supposition. 



Most of the species have the head scaled similarly to the back ; while others have great plates upon the head. 

 AVe approximate 



The Trigoiioccphali of Oppel (Bothrops, Spix ; Cophws, Mervem) ; which are distinguished "by the absence of 

 the rattle, but accord in their other characters. Some of these have simple subcaudal plates, as in the preceding, 



