COLUBERlDyE. 
45 
was (disabled by a Bengalee, who seemed to have much less 
fear of it, stating that he had a remedy for its bite : what it 
was, however, he w’ould not communicate. After its back 
was broken it bit fiercely at everything within its reach, 
striking its formidable poison-fangs into sticks wdth great 
force. A Malay stated that he had known an instance in 
whicli a man died in three hours after being bitten by a large 
one : he, however, said that the bite was not usually mortal, 
but producing only violent vomiting, fever, delirium and 
long continued stupor. They are very sluggish animals, never 
attempting to move out of the way, hut infallibly striking if 
anything approaches within their reach. Their favourite pos- 
ture is to lie upon a small twig in a complicated irregular fold, 
and so closely do they resemble a twig of green leaves, that 
even when pointed out hy the natives, it is often a long time 
before an inexperienced eye can make them out. Upon 
Burong Island to the south of Labuan. which is an amor- 
phous mass of limestone of an area of perhaps five acres, 
and covered with jungle, they are especially abundant. 
Fam. Coluteridas. 
Gen. Flaps. 
Flaps furcatas (var.). 
General colour — rufous cream colour, much lighter below than 
above : a deep brown longitudinal stripe runs along the whole length 
of the vertebrae ; a pair of similar stripes run parallel to this at 
about the distance of the width of two scales ; each of these again is 
margined by a third narrow stripe of the same colour, which passes 
along just above the line of the abdominal scuta ; on the belly and 
lower part of the tail a series of broad blackish transverse bands 
occur at nearly regular intervals ; these are forty-one in number, 
thirty-nine being upon the abdomen and two upon the tail. 
Scales smooth ; fangs long ; no teeth in the upper jaw ; palate 
furnished with teeth ; body long and nearly of an unifornr size and 
shape ; tail short and tapering. 
Abdominal scuta, 238. 
Subcaudal scuta, 24. 
Found in Labuan, When fresh, the markings were very 
elegant ; red, black, and white being the prevailing colours : 
they soon faded, how'ever, upon the animal being put into 
spirits. 
