VIPERA CORNUTA.— Auct. 
Reptilia.- — Plates XXXII and XXXIII. 
V. supra purpureo-grisea, flavo-griseo-tincta ; partibus superioribus ordinibus quatuor macularum 
tanearum variegatis ; infra subochrea, purpureo-brunneo-maculata. 
Longitudo e naso ad basin caudee 1 2 unc . ; caudse 1 £ unc. 
Hounsman of the Cape Colonists. 
Colour. — The ground colour of the upper and lateral parts lavender- 
purple, tinted with yellowish grey, and broken by four rows of somewhat 
quadrangular chesnut-brown spots, each spot freckled or spotted with liver- 
brown. The spots of the two central rows which extend along the back, are 
the most regular in form ; those of the two other rows are smaller, less 
distinctly defined, and disposed irregularly, particularly towards the head 
and tail. Each spot is narrowly edged with bluish white, and the space 
between such of the spots of the central and lateral rows as are opposed to 
each other, is bluish white, tinted with pale Dutch-orange. I he sides of the 
head are brownish red with an oval bluish white blotch on each temple, and 
an oblique yellowish white bar between the under eyelid and the edge ot the 
upper lip. The under parts pale sienna-yellow, mottled with light liver-brown 
spots and dots. Eyes clear brown. 
Form, &c. — Figure rather robust, greatest thickness near middle of body. 
Tail short, conical, and pointed. Head posteriorly considerably broader than 
the neck, above it is slightly convex, between the eyes rather concave ; the 
temples are much bulged and the muzzle broad and rounded ; the upper lip 
is much more protuberant than the margin of the upper surface of the head. 
The eyebrows are curved and armed with a clump of lengthened spinous 
scales forming a sort of short horn. Fangs large and considerably curved. 
The neck is rather slender, and like the body is somewhat cylindrical. Tail 
flat below and subtriangular above. The skin covering the head and tail is 
firmly attached to the parts under it, that of the neck and body rather loosely. 
