192 
On the Teeth and Poison 
do they meet in front to form, as in the higher animals, the 
complete maxillary arch. The palatine or palate hone (the 
description of one applies of course to both) is long and 
curved, somewhat resembling an italic S, and extends from 
the articulation of the lower jaw behind, nearly to the inter- 
maxillaries in front. It consists of two portions united by 
ligament; of those, the anterior, which is much the shorter, 
is provided with about seven, and the posterior with about 
eighteen teeth, of the same form as those of the lower jaw. 
These, from their slender form and shallow alveoli, are ex¬ 
ceedingly liable to be broken oil’, but their temporary loss is 
soon repaired and their place occupied by the reserve teeth, 
which are here found lying close to their base on their exter- 
ternal, and not as in the case of the lower jaw, on their in¬ 
ternal aspect. 
The remaining bone which we have now to consider, the 
superior maxillary, is by far the most important we have yet 
seen. It also consists of two portions, united by ligament. 
The posterior part, small and round, is unprovided with 
teeth, and is attached, by ligamentous union, to about the 
centre of the palate bone, on its external aspect. The 
anterior portion, thick and massy, terminates abruptly in a 
round club-shaped head, and gives support to two varieties 
of weapons. First: from its extreme end rises a tooth, 
large, sharp, conical, recurved, and many times greater in 
size than any of the others—this is the poison fang. Just 
behind it, a large hollow, formed partly by bone and partly 
by membrane, lodges the reserve fangs. Posterior to this 
again we find a row of five or six teeth of fhe same prehen¬ 
sile form and character as those of the palate bones, but 
larger in size ; these too are supplied with teeth of reserve, 
which lie at their base along the inner margin of their shallow 
alveoli.* 
* For sake of brevity and clearness in description, and in order to 
avoid the use of too many names, I have called the long bone in the roof 
