10 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 



Coniophanes imperialis imperialis Baird. 



Eight labials. Body above deeply purplish-black, with two dorsal yellowish- 

 brown stripes from head to tip of tail, and separated by a narrow vertebral line of 

 ground-color;- head above black, with two narrow yellow lines from nostrils to 

 occiput crossing upper angle of orbit; ground-color of the back extends into end 

 of abdominal scutella; middle of abdomen uniformly bright red. 



Coniophanes imperialis proterops Cope. 



This species is distinguished from Baird's species by having 7 labials instead of 8. 



Coniophanes lateritius Cope. 



Erythrolamprus lateritius Boulenger. 



Erythrolamprus melanocephalus Cope, 1887, U. S. Nat. Mus., 78. 



Tachymenis melanocephalus Peters, Mon. Ber. Akad. 1869, 876. 



Whole body bright vermilion, punctulated with brown, passing through orange 

 to golden on the belly. Head broad posteriorly with acute prominent muzzle. 

 10 scales posteriorly black, labials bordered and transversed by yellow lines, and 

 occiput dotted with the same; throat and chin black-spotted. Anal divided. 

 Small in size with a rather slender body and .long tail. Head and neck not very 

 distinct. Central America and Mexico, northward into southern Texas. 



The remaining genera of the subfamily Dipsadomorphinae are as follows: 



Thelotornis, Xenopholis, Micrelaps, 



Oxybelis, Apostolepis, Elapotinus, 



Dryophiops, Amblyodipsas, Miodon, 



Chrysopelea, Calamelaps, Polemon, 



Dispholidus, Rhinocalamus, Brachyophis, 



Hydrocalamus, Xenocalamus, Macrelaps, 



Ogmius, Elapomoius, Aparallactus, 



Stenorhina, Elapomorphus, Elapops. 



Subfamily ELACHISTODONTINjE Boulenger. 



Only a few teeth, both on posterior part of maxillary and dentary bones and on 

 palatines and pterygoids. Some of the vertebrae in the thoracic region have highly 

 elongated unpaired hypapophyses which are so protruded as to pierce the dorsal 

 wall of the gullet in forward direction. Only one species is known, Elachistodon 

 westermanni. Brown above, with yellowish stripe; below yellow. Inhabits India. 



Subfamily HOMALOPSIN^ Boulenger. 



One or more posterior maxillary teeth grooved. Eyes small, vertical pupils. 

 Nostrils on upper surface of snout and provided with valves which can be closed. 

 Some species have very narrow ventral scales, recalling the burrowing or Hydro- 

 phine snakes; none of these snakes use their ventral scales for locomotory purposes. 

 One genus, the Herpeton, has a vegetable diet, while the rest are piscivorous. This 

 subfamily is absolutely aquatic, and embraces the fresh-water snakes of all coun- 

 tries. Head usually small and thick, scarcely distinct from neck. Many of the 

 East Indian species are semimarine and inhabit the tide-water or coast. Habitat, 

 southeastern Asia, including India, Malay Archipelago, Philippines, southern 

 China, New Guinea, and northern Australia. 



Genus HOMALOPSIS Kuhl. 



Maxillary teeth 11 to 13, decreasing in length posteriorly, followed after an inter- 

 space, by a pair of slightly enlarged, grooved teeth; anterior mandibular teeth 

 much longer than the posterior. Head distinct from neck; eye small, with verti- 

 cally elliptic pupil. Body cylindrical; tail moderate, 2 subcaudals in two rows. 

 Southeastern Asia. 



