1 44 I 
vent, but there it suddenly changes into a brownish-yelbw, the 
whole tail being of that tint (see modelK 
Comparatively rare on the Peninsula is the snake called 
Coluber taemurus, which, however, is found also in China^ Siam, 
Borneo and Sumatra. Its usual colour is grey-brown or olive 
above with a black stripe along each side of the hinder part of 
the body- It occurs in the * Batu Caves Selangor, and the 
specimens from there are much lighter in colour^ so that this 
serpent is locally known as the ' White Snake.' It attains a 
length of about 6 feet. Besides spirit specimens a water-colour 
sketch of such a snake is shown which Lieut, C. B. Harvey, 
EL E., made in the Batu Caves in 1896. 
The snake Sinwies octoUneatus, ' Ular tedong usat \ has 
its specific name from the lines (in reality only seven) which 
run along the whole length of its body. In the middle of the 
back there is a red line, followed on either side by a black 
one. There is an interesting model of such a snake half 
buried in a log of a tree and guarding a number of eggs. 
•It had been found in that condition in the Botanic Gardens and 
was presented by Mr. Ridley. The eggs are leathery, of an 
elongated oval shape and measure about 1% inches in length. 
A large, but harmless snake which by natives is fre- 
quently confused with the deadly Banded Adder, is the 
Dipsddi^niorphits demirophilus, common in mangrove swamps, 
e. g- at Serangoon where they are frequently seen on branches 
overhanging th| water. They are black with a large number of 
narrow yellow rings which are interrupted above and below. 
Size 6 feet Its Malay name is Ular punti. 
A very common snake in Singapore is the Green Tree 
Snake, * Ular puchok ' ( Dryopkis prashius), also called ' Whip- 
Snake * from its long and thin shape. It grows to nearly 6 feet 
in length, A model of it is shown. The yellow variety of this 
snake is called ' Ular kunyet ' by the Malays. 
Equally common is the snake called Cbrysopelea ornaiat 
a snake of yellowish-green colour, the scales of the back all 
being black-edged. A very pretty variety of it has a line of 
bright red spots running along the whole length of its back, 
the spots being arranged in clusters of four. (See the plaster of 
Paris cast). 
None of the above snakes is venomous, or at least the 
bite would affect man in no appreciable degree, though it might 
be sufficient to paralyse or kill small animals. But the Sea 
Snakes to which w^e come now, are all poisonous. They may 
easily be recognised by their strongly compressed tail, adapted 
