BOA. 
whole adjacent regioit being tainted with 
the pestilential effluvia proceeding from its 
remains, and the waters with its blood : 
the Roman army was obliged to remove its 
station. The skin of the monster was 120 
feet long, and was sent to Rome as a 
trophy.” 
Another account says, that “ it caused so 
much trouble to Regulus that he found it 
necessary to contest the possession of the 
river with it, by employing the whole force 
of the army, during which a considerable 
number of soldiers were lost, while the ser- 
pent could neither be vanquished nor 
wounded: the strong armour of its scales 
easily repelling the force of all the weapons 
that were directed against it ; upon which 
recourse was had to battering engines, with 
which the animal was attacked in the man- 
ner ot a fortified tower, and was thus at 
length overpowered. Several discharges 
were made against it without success, till 
ifs back being broken by an immense stone, 
the monster began*to lose its powers, and 
was with difficulty destroyed ; after having 
diffused such a horror among the army that 
they confessed they would rather attack 
Carthage itself than such another monster. 1 
The flesh of the serpent is eaten by the 
Indians and Negroes of Africa, and they 
make its skin into garments. 
Boa scytale, or spotted. The spotted 
boa is sometimes scarcely inferior in size to 
tiie constrictor, and is of similar manners, 
destroying, like that animal, goats, sheep, 
deer, &c. It is described as being gene- 
i ally of a grey or glaucous colour, marked 
with large orbicular black spots on the 
back; and with smaller ones of similar 
form, but with white centres on the sides ; 
while on the abdomen are scattered several’ 
oblong spots arid marks, interspersed with 
smaller specks and variegations. It is a 
native of several parts of South America, 
and like other large snakes is occasionally 
/ eaten by the Indians. 
Boa canina, a highly beautiful snake, 
measuring about four teet in length, and 
being of moderate size or thickness in pro- 
portion : the head is large, and shaped like 
that ot a dog; the colour of the whole ani- 
mal on the upper parts is a most beautiful 
Saxon-green, with several short, undulatin* 
transverse white bars down the back tl°e 
edges of which are of a deeper or stronger 
gieen than the ground colour of the body: 
the under or abdominal part is white. This 
species is a native of South America. In 
the British Museum is an elegant specimen. 
See Plate Serpentes, fig. 3. 
Boa phrygia. Among the whole serpent 
tube it may be doubted whether there ex- 
ists a species more truly elegant than the 
present. Its general size seems to be nearly 
that of the boa canina, but its length is ra- 
ther greater in proportion: the ground co- 
lour of the whole animal is white, with a 
very slight cast of yellowish brown on t^e 
back, while along the whole upper part is 
disposed a continued series of black varia- 
tions, so conducted as to bear a striking re- 
semblance to an embroidery in needle- 
work : the head is of the sanie form with 
that of the boa canina, and marked by three 
narrow black streaks, which, running aion* 
the top of tiie head and the cheeks, join with 
the embroidered pattern of the back. 
Boa hortulana is of moderate size, mea- 
suring only a few feet in length, and being 
of a slender form ; has obtained its Linmean 
title from the singular variegations on the 
head, which are of a blackish brown, on a 
pale ferruginous or yellowish ground, and in 
some degree represent the form of a parterre 
in an old-fashioned garden : the variegations 
on the body are of similar colour, and 
are disposed info large circular, and some- 
tunes angular patches on the sides. 
Boa fasciata. It is to Dr. Patrick Russel 
that we owe the knowledge of this remark- 
able species, which is a native of India, and 
said to be most frequent in the country of 
Bengal. It is of a yeliow colour, marked 
with pretty numerous dusky-blue transverse 
bands, continued at equal distances: the 
head is rather small, and covered in front 
with large scales : the body is of a trigonal 
torn, the sides sloping very considerably: 
the whole length of the animal is somethin* 
more than five feet; the diameter, in the 
thickest part being nearly five inches : the 
length of tiie tail five inches only, and its 
termination rather obtuse. This snake is 
among the number of poisonous species, and 
its bite is considered by the Indians as in- 
evitably fetal. A specimen was brought to 
Dr. Russel in the month of November, 
1788, in an apparently weak and languid 
state, having been bruised in taking. Being 
set at liberty iu a room, it crept slowly to- 
wards an obscure corner, where a chicken 
being presented to him, he took no particu- 
lar notice of it, and even suffered the bird 
to stand on his back. As he shewed no dis- 
position to bite, his jaws were forcibly 
opened, and the thigh of the chicken being 
placed between them, the mouth was so 
