PSEUDOBOA LINEATA. 81 



slowly towards an obscure corner, where a chicken being presented 

 to him he took no notice, and even suffered the bird to stand on his 

 back. As he shewed no disposition to bite, his jaws were forcibly 

 opened, and the thigh of the chicken being placed between them, 

 the mouth was closed over it so as to cause the fangs to act. The 

 bird, when disengaged, showed immediate symptoms of poison, 

 and after several ineffectual efforts to rise, rested with the beak on 

 the ground, the head being seized with trembling. In the space 

 of twenty minutes, it lay down on one side, and convulsions soon 

 supervening, it expired within twenty-six minutes from the bite. 

 This was the only experiment made, the snake itself dying in the 

 course of next day." 



No remedies which deserve notice against the bite of the Pseu- 

 doboa are known to the natives ; in the treatment of this and simi- 

 lar accidents, charms and superstitious applications are generally 

 resorted to. 



PSEUDOBOA LINEATA.— Lineated Pseudoboa. 



Spec. Char. Body blackish blue, with white dotted 

 transverse bands ; length four to five feet. 



Gedi Parag-ootloo ; Russel, Ind. Serp. p. 1. t. 1. Boa lineata; Shaw, Zool. iii. 

 p. 356. 



Like the preceding species, this reptile is not uncommon in many 

 parts of India, particularly at Vizagapatam, where it is known to 

 the natives by the names of Gedi Paragoodoo and Pakta Poola, 

 It is of an exceeding dark blue colour, so as to appear almost black 

 in certain lights, and is marked throughout the whole of the upper 

 part by several transverse dotted white lines, disposed at nearly 

 equal distances, and varying in number in different individuals 

 from forty-two to fifty ; the transverse plates which cover the 

 under surface of the body and tail being of a yellowish white. The 

 head is covered with large plates ; the tail is about five inches and 

 a half in length, tapering, and pointed. 



K 



