INDIAN SERPENTS. 
II 
The mouth very large, the jaws nearly of equal length; the anterior teeth in the lower 
jaw, long, slender, almost upright; the others, shorter, few, reflex; the two palatal rows in 
the upper jaw, small, reflex, thick-set; no marginal row; the fangs conspicuous, longer than 
those of the Cobra de Capello, thicker and stouter; two generally emergent from the sac, 
on each side, one smaller than the other. 
The eyes high, lateral, forward, large, oval, not prominent. The nostrils , on the same line 
with the eyes, close to the point of the snout, very wide and open. 
The trunk round, thick, beautifully spotted, and covered with oblong-oval, carinated 
scales, those excepted lying close to the scuta, which are smooth, broad-ovate, larger, and 
not carinated. 
The length , four feet two inches; the middle of the trunk two inches in circumference. 
The tail tapers to a sharp point; the scales carinated. 
The colour of the head and trunk a yellowish brown; the back variegated with above 
twenty-two large, oblong-oval, spots, brown in the middle, with black borders, edged with 
white. Of these spots, some are separate, but most of them are joined by a narrow neck, or 
run waving into each other: small black dots, single, or two or three in a cluster, are some¬ 
times interspersed. A second row of spots adorn the sides, similar in colour to the hi st, but 
smaller, and in form more orbicular, each of those on the trunk having a short stem, tend¬ 
ing obliquely to the abdomen, made up of smooth, black scales; and in the interstices, 
angular black spots are disposed along the verge of the scuta. All these spots become more 
and more obscure as they approach the tail. 
The scuta are white and glossy, with a membranous, striated margin, and many of them 
are marked with one or two dusky, semicircular spots, but which are hardly visible near 
the tail. The sub-caudal squamae are of a dusky yellow, and not spotted. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
The colour in different subjects varies considerably: in captivity, it becomes of a dark 
brown, and the spots are less brilliant. They vary little in form, but are more or less joined 
on the back. 
The number of the scuta varies inconsiderably. In the subject described it was 5 9 ; in 
another subject, 5 6 ; but then three of the squamse, near the anus, were not reckoned. 
It is not less commonly met with, in a wild state, than the Cobra de Capello ; but from its 
not being, like the Cobra and some other snakes, exhibited as a public show, it is not 
so universally known, either among the natives, or Europeans. Nevertheless it is doubtful 
whether its poison is not equally deleterious with that of the Cobra de Capello: it may at 
least claim a second place. Its bite proved mortal to chickens, in thirty-six seconds; and to 
a dog, in twenty-six minutes. 
