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The Tisiphone ( Tisiphone ) is much like the ROOM x 
Rattle Snake, but the tail ends in a small 
recurved spine; these are all peculiar to 
America. Most of the Snakes of this division 
have the tail simple at the end, and are found 
both in the Old and New World. Some of these 
have the head covered with scales like those on 
the back (Cophias\ as the Fer de Lance of the 
French American Collonists (Cophias lanceo - 
latus ), from the West India Islands; and the 
Green Cophias (Cophias viridis ), the Purple- 
spotted Cophias (Cophias purpureomaculaius ), 
and the Beautiful Cophias (Cophias ornatus). 
The last three are the most beautiful, and the 
most poisonous snakes of India. 
Other species, with simple tails, have the head 
covered with large shield-like plates ( Trigono - 
cephalus). 
The Vipers (Viperd) have the same broad 
head as the Rattle Snakes, but they have no 
pit before the eyes. Amongst these the True 
Vipers (Vipera) are distinguished by the head 
being covered with scales like those on the 
back, and by the nostrils being very large. 
Amongst these there are the Nose-horn Viper 
(Col. nasicornis ), peculiar for two horns on the 
end of the nose; the Cerastes (Col. cerastes ), 
the male of which has a long horn-like scale 
over each eye, which being wanting in the 
female. 
