COLUBER, 
808 
head, neck, and upper part of the back, of a Iky-blue, 
the reft of the body of the cleared: white, vying with the 
colours of fhe rainbow, and called by home the matrix 
ahastulla; by others, the long green Borneo fnake; and 
by Seba, a moft beautiful ferpent of Amboyna named 
bbriguatrera. It has 163 abdominal fciita,'i 50 fub-caudal 
fquamae; total 313. But in this refpedt the varieties differ 
extremely. 
155. Coluber petalarius, the petalled viper; a native 
of South America and India; from a foot and a half to 
two feet in length. It is,brown, with white ftripes 5 the 
under part white. It has 212 abdominal fcuta, 102 fub- 
caudal fquamse ; total 314.; but thefe vary, as in the pre¬ 
ceding fpecies. 
T5'j. Coluber pidlus, the painted viper ; fo named from 
the variety and refplendency of its colours. The whole 
body appears as if painted in irregular compartments of 
red, yellow, white, and black ; the red and black fcales 
all edged with white. The head is of an oblong oval 
forni, very little wider than the neck; the cheeks are in¬ 
flated, and the eyes yellow, fcarcely diftinguifhable from 
the bright colours of the face, which are moft elegantly 
variegated ; the crown of the head terminated with large 
upright pointed fcales. The abdominal fcuta are ar¬ 
ranged in alternate bands or lines of red, black, and 
white; and their termination on the Tides forms an even 
line from head to tail, the {quatnae of which partake of 
the painted colours of the back. 
157. Coluber caracaras, the caracara viper; a coluber 
variegated by bright vivid colours. Seba defcribes it as 
the Angular ferpent caracaras. It has 190 abdominal fcuta, 
125 fub-caudal fquamae; total 315. 
15S. Coluber Haje, the viper Haje ; a native of Lower 
Egypt, of a great iize, black, with oblique ftripes, and 
the fcales edged with white. When irritated and intend¬ 
ing to bite, it fiercely eredls its head, and Itretches out the 
neck. Its bite is deadly; but the Egyptian conjurors 
make it harmlefs by taking out the fangs; abdominal 
fcuta 207, fub-caudal fquamae 109, making 316 ; or 206 
and 60, in all 266. 
159. Coluber filifonnis, the thread-formed viper; a na¬ 
tive of South America and India. It is black, with lines 
remarkably fmall, like threads running down the back ; 
the under part white; the head is thicker than the body. 
A variety called ftiiformis natrix, is of a livid colour in 
the upper part; a brown line proceeds on each fide be¬ 
hind the eyes, which is foon formed into fmali oblique 
points, which become at la ft imperceptible. It has 165 
abdominal fcuta, 158 fub-fcaudal fquamse, amounting 
to 323. 
160. Coluber puilatus, the mourning viper; a native 
of Alia, twenty-two inches long, ornamented with black 
ftripes and white fpecks ; the temples white, with black 
fpots ; the nofe round and obtufe. Boddaert defcribes it 
as a black coluber with white fpots, and the under part 
white with black fpots. It has 217 abdominal fcuta, and 
108 fub-caudal fquamae, total 325; or 215, and 104, 
making 319. 
161. Coluber hippocrepis, the viper hippocrepis; a 
native of America, of a livid colour, with brown fpots; 
brown ftripes between the eyes, and arched ones at the 
back of the head. It has 232 abdominal fcuta, and 94 
fub-caudal fquamae; total 326. 
162. Coluber Minervte, the viper of Minerva; a native 
of South America and of the Eaft Indies. It is grey, 
with a ill let on the back, and three brown ftripes on the 
head. It has 238 abdominal lcuta, and 90 fub-caudal 
iquamae; making 328. 
163. Coluber cinereus, the cinereous viper; a native 
of South America and India; of a cinereous grey colour; 
the abdomen white, angulated ; the fcales of the tail fer¬ 
ruginous at the edges. It has 200 abdominal fcuta, and 
137 fub-caudal iquamae; total 337. 
164. Coluber viridiflimus, the greeneft viper; a native 
of Surinam, of a very deep green ; the fcuta of the abdo- 
4 
men dilated in the middle. It has 217 abdominal fcuta,. 
and 122 lub-caudal fquamae; making 339. 
165. Coluber mucofus, the filmy viper; a native of the 
Eaft Indies, and of America. The fpecimen delcribed by 
Linnaeus was of a grey colour, and but little more than 
a foot in length. Dr. Ruffed has favoured us with the 
following description of one of a different colour, and 
larger fize, which he examined in Bengal: The head is 
proportionally fmall, Icarcely broader than the neck, 
ovate, depreffed,. but towards the ..roftrum compreffed. 
Befides the ufual laminae, there are eight or ten, of va¬ 
rious ihapes, on each fide of the hind head. The lirft 
pair, orbicular, between the noftrils; the next pair, irre¬ 
gularly fquare. The (hield-form laminae, between the 
eyes, rather broad above ; the lateral laminae, conical 4 
the two pofferior laminae, irregular hexagons; the mouth, 
wide ; the jaws nearly of equal length ; the upper jaw a 
little divided. The teeth numerous, fmall, reflex; tw r o 
palatal rows in the upper jaw, and one marginal. The 
eyes lateral, large, orbicular, prominent. The noftrils 
near the point of the roftrum, fmall, but gaping. The 
neck covered with fcales, fmall, oval, fmooth, imbricate; 
the back, carinated ; the (ides, a little compreffed ; the 
fcales fub-rhomboidal; but four rows on the upper part 
of the back, are either carinated or ftriated. The length, 
five feet four inches. The tail, taper, fmall, Iharp-point- 
ed. The cheeks, and lides of the throat, are of a pale 
fiefii, or whitifh, colour, ftreaked traniverfely with black 
lines. The jugular fcuta are of a yellowilh-white, each 
having a blackilli fpot on'the fides. The head, neck, and 
part of the trunk, are of a dull yellowifh-olive, variegated 
by tranfverle black lines and fpots, joined together, which 
become blacker, or more confpicuous, as they approach 
the tail. Half the abdominal fcuta are of a dull white, 
ftrewed with dufky fpots; but the inferior edge of each 
fcale is of a purplilh black. The edges of the fcales on 
the tail being black, make it appear as if regularly check¬ 
ered : the fub-caudal Iquamae have the like appearance, 
but they are of a greemlh yellow. It had 199 abdominal 
fcuta, and 121 lub-caudal fquamae, making 320 ; and, by 
the natives in India, is called jeri potoo. Chickens bitten 
by this fnake Ihewed no figns of poifon ; they fufFered 
pain, but the parts about the bite did not change colour, 
and the birds were not vilibly difordered. It is a com¬ 
mon fnake at Vizagapatam ; and is fometimes found of 
a much larger fize than the fubjeft here deferibed. 
166. Coluber domefticus, the domeftic viper; a fpecies 
which infefts the houfes in Barbary, creeping through the 
thatch, and hiding in cellars, and under the beds. °It re- 
fembles the hippocrepis, but is diftinguilhed by ftrokes 
cut in two between the eyes, or by a double black fpot. 
It is innocuous; and has 245 abdominal fcuta, and 94 
fub-caudal fquamae ; making 339. 
167. Coluber Sebae, or Seba’s viper; a very large and 
elegant clouded coluber, with 272 abdominal fcuta, and 
70 fub-caudal fquamae; total 342. It is a harmlefs fpe¬ 
cies, and takes its name from Seba, who firft difeovered it, 
t68 . Coluber cenchoa, or viper cenchoa. It is a native 
of America; the ground colour brown, with faint fpots 
and fome white ftripes; the head globular. It has 220 
abdominal fcuta, and 124 fub-caudal fquamae; total 344, 
The male of this fpecies is of an aftonilhing length, and 
very {lender and elegant confidering its fize. The head 
is fmall and fhort, the eyes are large, and fituated very 
near the noftrils. It affords a fubjedt for a moft beautiful 
plate; a pale yellow tinges the fcales with a mixture of 
cinereous, which is covered the whole length of the back 
by fomething refembling a brown veil, hanging like a 
fringe near the fides. The lower fcales are tinged with, 
a dirty yellow. 
169. Coluber mydlerizans, the mocking viper ; a na¬ 
tive of America and the Eaft Indies. It is very thin and 
long, refembling the thong of a coach-whip. The head 
is angular; the nofe extended on four fides; the fides of 
a pale colour, with a lineal fillet; the tail has five pen- 
taedron, 
