SERPENTES. 



Iiorror amonfr the army, that they confefl'ed they would ra- 

 ther attack. Carthage itfelf than fuch another monller : nor 

 could the camp continue any longer in the fame ftation, but 

 was obliged to fly ; the water and the whole adjacent region 

 being tainted with the peftiferous effluvia. Amoll mortifying 

 humiliation to human pride ! Here at lead was an inltance 

 of a whole Roman army, under the command of Regulus, 

 and univerfally viftorious both by fea and land, oppofed by 

 a fmgle fnake, whicli conflifted with it when living, and even 

 when dead obliged it to depart. The proconful, therefore, 

 thought it no diminution to his dignity to fend the fpoils of 

 fuch an enemy to Rome, and to confefs at once the greatnefs 

 of his viftory and his terror, by this public memorial : for 

 he caufed the Ikin of the fnake to be taken off and fent to 

 the city ; which is faid to have mcafured 1 20 feet : it was 

 fufpended in a temple, and remained till the time of the Nu- 

 mantine war." 



Cenchbis, the Rufcfcent Boa, with large dufliy dorfal 

 rings, and hlackifh kidney-fhaped lateral fpots with white 

 centres ; it has 265 plates on the belly, and 57 on the tail. 

 It inhabits Surinam ; it is greenifh, with white ocellate fpots ; 

 the irids are grey. 



Ophrvas, or Brown Boa, has on its belly 281 plates, on 

 the tail 84; the body is brown, and in appearance it re- 

 fembles the B. conllriftor. 



ENVDHii ; or Water Boa. This fpecies is variegated 

 with different fhades of grey ; the teeth in the lower jaw are 

 longer than ufual in this genus ; the number of abdominal 

 fcuta is 270, and of thofe on the tail 105. It is very like 

 the hortulana, hereafter to be defcribed. 



MuiuNA ; Grey Boa. This fpecies has 254 plates on 

 the belly, and about 65 on the tail. It inhabits America. 

 It is glaucous, with round black fpots. 



ScYTALE ; Spotted Boa. Cinereous, with large orbi- 

 cular black dorfal fpots, and annulated lateral ones, with 

 white centres ; it has 250 plates on the belly, and 70 on the 

 tail. 



This is fcarcely inferior in fize to the B. conllriftor, and 

 is of fimilar manners, deflroying, like that animal, goats, 

 (hecp, deer, &c. ; it is generally of a grey or glaucous colour, 

 marked with large orbicular black fpots on the back, and 

 with fmaller ones of a fimilar form, but with centres, on the 

 fides ; while on the abdomen are fcattercd feveral oblong 

 fpots, and marks interfperfed with fmaller fpecks and varie- 

 gations. It is a native of feveral parts of South America, 

 and like other large fnakcs is occafionally eaten by the In- 

 dians. 



HoRTKLANA ; Garden Boa. This is of a yellowifh- 

 grey, with brown variegations, thofe on the head refembling 

 lace ; the body fub-comprefled, and the fides marked by 

 wedge-lhaped fpots ; it has 290 plates of the belly, of the 

 tail 128. 



This very elegant ferpent, which is of a moderate fize, 

 meafurmg only a few feet in length, and being of a flendcr 

 form, has obtained its fpecific name from the fingular varie- 

 gations on the head, which reprcfent the form of a parterre 

 in an old-fafhioned garden ; the variegations on the body 

 arc, like thofe on the head, of a blackifh-brown, on a pale 

 ferruginous or yellowifli ground ; they are difpofed into 

 large circular, and fometimcs angular patches on the fides, 

 the centres of fome being open, and of others marked by an 

 oblong Ipot ; befides thefe there arc others interfperfed of 

 fmaller fize and of different forms ; the abdomen is com- 

 monly yellowifh, with dufl<y fpecks and patches; the ground- 

 colour of tlie whole fnake is fometimes of a pale violet, and 

 the variegations of a dark purplifh-brown ; but in all its 

 varieties this fpecies may be cafily diflinguifhed by the rich 



Vol. XXXII. 



embroidered appearance of the pattern, and more particu. 

 larly by that on the top of the head ; the head is alfo 

 broader, and the neck more (lender in proportion, than in 

 moll of the other box, the body flightly compreffed, and 

 the tail flender. It is a native of South America. 



Such are the Linnxan fpecies given by Gmelin ; the fol- 

 lowing are additional ones, defcribed by Dr. Shaw in his 

 General Zoology. 



Regia ; Royal Boa. With longitudinal flriped neck, 

 and body variegated either with brown and grey, or orange 

 and rofe-colour. This fpecies, which is defcribed by Seba, 

 is, in its general fhape, moll allied to the canina and the 

 phrygia. It varies very much with refpedl to colour, the 

 ground-work being white, but the variegations fometimeg 

 duflvy or chefnut, and fometimes of an elegant orange-red, 

 accompanied by a tinge of bloffom-colour on the lighter 

 parts of the pattern ; the top of the head is filled by a large 

 patch, from which run two long parallel ilripes to a con- 

 fiderable diflance on each fide the neck, leaving a wider 

 ftripe of the ground-colour along the upper part, and which 

 afterwards ceaflng, forms a part of tlie general variegation, 

 which confifls of a large chain-like dorfal bai:d running- 

 down on each fide, at moderately diilant intervals, into ob- 

 tufe procefles, or fituations regularly bordered by the white 

 ground-colour, the intervening lateral fpaces being much 

 lighter, and each is marked by a dufl^y patch on the upper 

 part ; the under parts of the body and tail are white, the 

 head is covered in front with large fcales, the tail is ex- 

 tremely (hort, and tapers rather fuddenly. 



Phrygia ; Embroidered Boa. White, with a greyifh 

 call on the back ; the body is moil elegantly marked with 

 black lace-like variegations. 



This is unqueftionably one of the moft elegant fpecies of 

 the whole ferpent tribe ; its variegations are fo condufted, 

 as to bear a linking refemblance to an embroidery in needle- 

 work. It is a native of the Eaft Indies, where divine wor- 

 (hip is paid to it. 



Fasciata; Fafciated Boa. With fubtriangular body an- 

 nulated with blue ; is a native of India, and moll generally 

 found in the country of Bengal. It is of a yellow colour, 

 marked with numerous dufky-blue tranfverfe bands, con- 

 tinued at equal diflances tliroughout the whole length of the 

 animal, each band completely invefling the body ; the body 

 is of a trigonal form, the fidea (loping very confiderably ; 

 along the ridge of the back runs a continued feries of hexa- 

 gonal fcales. This fnake is among the number of poifonous 

 fpecies, and its bite is confidercd by the Indians as fatal. A 

 fpecimen was brought to Dr. Ruffel in the month of Novem- 

 ber 1788, in an apparently very weak and languid ftate. Being 

 fet at liberty, it Ihewed no difpofition to bite ; it fuftered a 

 chicken to got on its back, without noticing it ; but the 

 thigh of the bird being put within its jaws, it (hewed im- 

 mediate fymptoms of liaving been poiloiied, and it expired 

 in the courfe of half an hour. Thir. was tlie only experiment 

 whicii was made, the fnake dying the next day ; but from 

 the languid flatc in which it appeared, and the cffetl of its 

 bite on the chicken, it may be concluded that, when in full 

 vigour, it mufl be an animal of a highly dangerous nature. 



ViPEiiiNA ; Viperinc Boa. Grey, with a black, undu- 

 lating, dorfal band, edged with white ; and the fides fpotted 

 with black. It is about a foot and a half in length, and of 

 a moderately brown colour. It is faid to produce by its 

 bite a flow wafling of the fingers and toes, fimilar to what 

 happens in fome leprous cafes. A living fpecimen, however, 

 was obtained in 1778, and though in good health, yet its 

 bite was not followed by any deleterious cfledls. 



LiNBATA, Lineated Boa, called alfo Geodi Paragoodoo, 



