49 
hut the neck is not dilatable, anti the dorsal scales are 
broad ; many of these are marked with black and 
bright coloured bands, as Elaps corallinus . 
The Flat Tailed Coral Snake (Platurus) found in 
the Indian Seas, differs from the other Coral Snakes, 
by its tail being flattened like the Sea-Snakes. 
Cases 7 —IS contain the snakes which have a regular 
row of teeth on the edge of the upper jaw. Most of 
these have long conical tails, and broad plates under the 
abdomen. These species are, in general, innocent; a 
few have some of the upper lateral teeth rather larger 
than the rest, and grooved on the hinder edge, the 
groove communicating with a gland placed on the side 
of the face, but their bite is seldom so dangerous as 
that of the other snakes which have only large fangs in 
the upper jaw. The species of this division are exceed™ 
ingly numerous and difficult to determine, and they 
have lately been divided into many genera, which it 
would be tedious to characterize in this sketch. Those 
that live on the ground and take to the water for pro¬ 
tection, or to catch their food, have generally a cylindri¬ 
cal form and a tail, scarcely so long as the body; while 
those that live the greater part of their life on trees, 
and are thence called Tree-Snakes (Dendrophis), 
are generally very long and slender, and the scales on 
the sides of the back are usually narrow, and longer 
than those on the dorsal line; some of the Tree-Snakes 
have the end of the muzzle lengthened out into an acute 
appendage (Passerita). 
The Bull-headed Snakes (Dipsas) resemble the 
Tree-Snakes in form, but the head is short and broad, 
the body compressed, and the latter has a series of 
larger scales down the back. In this group the fangs 
are most commonly found intermingled with the teeth, 
in which character they agree with the Cerberi ( Homo - 
lopsis ), which are easily distinguished from all the 
other snakes by the head being scaly, with a few small 
plates over the face and between the eyes. 
The Boas have usually a short body, with narrow 
e plates 
ROOM X. 
Nat. Hist. 
