Animals called \ by Linnaeus, Amphibia . 
** larum affix a, ut vix vulnerare vale at hojles, folum cibos veneno 
“ inficereA 
Linnaeus’s opinion refpe&ing the ufe of the fangs, in the 
laft mentioned fpecies, appears to me. not very clearly ex- 
preffed*. But I have quoted both defcriptions, merely to (hew 
that Linn.® us thought the fangs were fometimes placed in 
the bafe of the jaw ; an idea for which I have never been able to 
difcover any foundation. Thefirftof the two fpecies in queftion. 
I have never feen ; of the ftolatus 1 have examined feveral 
fpecimens, and am convinced it is not venomous. 
1 (hall not dwell any longer on the falfe notions which have 
been entertained, refpe£ting the fangs of venomous Serpents, 
but (hall proceed to fhew how, in my opinion, they may be moft 
eafily, and moft certainly, diftinguifhed from common teeth. 
With refpedt to their iize, I have already obferved that it is 
very various, confequently no certain judgement can, in all 
cafes, be made from that circum dance. In fome fpecies they 
are fo large, that their fize alone fufficiently diftinguifhes them 
from common teeth ; but in others they are fo fmall, that it is 
very difficult to difcover them. 
The fize of the common teeth alfo varies very much, in dif- 
ferent fpecies. In the Coluber myfterizans they are remarka- 
bly large, efpecially thofe which are fituated near the apex of the 
upper jaw ; which circumftaoce probably helped to lead Lin- 
NjEU s into the erroneous opinion he entertained, that this Ser- 
* Linnaeus’s opinion teems not unlike that of the Abbe Fontana, who 
(in the work already mentioned, chap. 12.) iuppofes the poifon of the Viper may 
be of ufe, to the animal, in digeftion. To me the venomous fangs have ever 
appeared to be merely offenfive weapons 5 nor can I fee greater difficulty in iup- 
pofing fuch a weapon, with the power of injecting poison, placed in the head of 
a Viper or Rattle-fnake, than in fuppofing fuch an one, with a fimilar power, 
placed in the tail of a Wafp or Hornet. 
Vol. LXXIX. 
F 
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