COLUBER. 
809 
taedron fides. Befides this defcription of Linnaeus, are the 
following varieties: 1. A coluber inclining to blue, with 
lineated fides. 2. The natrix my&erizans of Laurentius. 
3. The natrix flagelliformis, or brov/n coach-whip-fnake. 
4. Anguis viridis, or deep green myfterizans. It has 192 
abdominal fcuta, and 167 fub-caudal fquamae, total 359 ; 
or 187, and 148, making 335. Dr. Ruffed alfo faw an in¬ 
dividual of this fpecies,'on the coaftof Coromandel, which 
he defcribes as follows: The head much broader than 
the neck, oblong, depreffed above, rounded on the fides, 
then compreffed, and contrafted at the eyes, protruding 
into a long, ftraight, angular, pointed roltrum, which re- 
fembles the beak of a bird, with a fmall, foft, obtufe, re¬ 
flex, procefs, at the extremity. The occiput is covered 
with fub-orbicular, imbricate, fcales; the crown and rof- 
trum with eleven larnir.se: the two anterior of which are 
pyramidal, rounded at the bafe; the next pair nearly of 
the fame form, but larger; next, a fmall pair triangular: 
the central lamina between the eyes fpatuia-form, thofe 
on the fides conical; the pofterior pair femi-cordate. The 
mouth wide, the upper jaw a little longer than the lower, 
the fcale in front not emargiriate. The teeth reflex, (len¬ 
der, (harp; the anterior in both jaws lefs clofe, thicker, 
and longer; a marginal and two palatal rows in the up¬ 
per jaw. The eyes lateral, large, oval, prominent; of 
a golden colour. The noftrils fmall; on the fide of the 
rolcrum near the apex. The trunk fomewhat triangular, 
the back being (lightly carinated, the fides declining, the 
abdomen flattifli. The fcales linear-lanceolate, loofely fet 
on the neck and fore part of the trunk, but on the reft 
clofdy imbricate. The fcales on the ridge of the back, 
and thofe next the fcuta, are rounder, or ovate. The 
length four feet fix inches, of which the tail compre¬ 
hended one foot ten inches. The circumference of the 
neck three-fourths of an inch, the thickeft part of the 
trunk little exceeding an inch and a half. The tail 
round, remarkably long and (lender, covered with ovate, 
imbricate, fcales, (harp-pointed, and fo lmall near the 
end, that it is difficult to count the lub-caudal fquamce. 
The colour. The head has the appearance of being co¬ 
vered with green velvet, with a yellow ftreak on each 
cheek; the reft, including the neck, the trunk, and the 
tail, is of a yellowifh grafs-green, when the animal is at 
reft ; but when provoked, the neck and part of the trunk 
fwells; and the fcales, which there lie loofer, feparating 
from each other, difeover the white interrtitial (kin, and 
fome-very dark fcales, hardly obferved before, which, to¬ 
gether with the white and black edges of fome of the 
other fcales, produce a beautiful variegation : the green, 
however, predominating. When the inflation ceales, or 
the animal dies, the fcales fall again clofe together, and 
the uniform green colour takes place. From the throat 
to the anus, on eaqh fide of the belly, runs a yellowifh 
white fillet, which, becoming of a deeper yellow, is con¬ 
tinued along part of the tail; two narrower fillets, of a 
bright yellow colour, run along the middle of the abdo¬ 
minal fcuta, but are not continued on the tail. The fcuta 
and (quarnse are of a light yellowifh green. This (hake 
is very common about Vizagapatam, and in tlje circars, 
as well as in the Carnatic. It is often found oh trees; 
and is faid to attack paffengers, aiming particularly at 
the eyes. Its bite on chickens, tried repeatedly by Dr. 
Ruffe) 1 , produced no other effect than pain. The num¬ 
ber of fub-caudal fquamae in this fnake varies confider- 
ably in different lubjefts: the number of fcuta is more 
conftant. It may further be remarked, that, from its ex¬ 
treme flendernefs, the tail is often found mutilated. The 
coluber mydferizans was marked by Linnseus as veno¬ 
mous; a miftake which lias very juftly been correfted by 
Dr. Gray, in his ingenious paper on the fubjeft of Am¬ 
phibia, read before the royal fociety. Phil. Tranf. vol. 79. 
170. Coluber cterulefcens, or bright Iky coloured 1 viper; 
a native of South America and India; linooth, and of a 
bright azure blue. The head is of a lead colour, and 
pointed; called natrix casrulefcens by Laurentius. It has 
Vol. IV. No. 2^0. 
215 abdominal fcuta, and 170 fub-caudal fquamse; making 
3 g 5- ' . . f 
171. Coluber Argus, the eye-fpotted viper; a native of 
Africa, the upper part remarkably fmooth and brown, 
reticulated with the vifeous of the fquamse more diluted, 
the under part teflelated, the back of the head two-lobed, 
and gibbous. 
To the preceding fpecies we fhall now add the indivi¬ 
duals lately difeovered by Dr. Ruffell on the coaft of Co¬ 
romandel ; and which, not having any fpecific names, we 
fhall put down in the language of the country, as they are 
called by the natives, and deferibed by the above ingeni¬ 
ous w’riter. 
172. Katuka rekula poda. —The head is large, much 
broader than the neck, gibbous, or fwelling behind, de- 
prefled above, compreffed on the fides, and, narrowing 
from the eyes, terminates in an obtufe fnout, faced with 
a pyramidal emarginate lamina : the labial and fub-jugu- 
lar fqllamas are large and fmooth ; but the reft of the 
head is covered with fmall, ovate, highly carinated, fcales, 
without any of the ufual large laminae. The mouth is very 
large, the jaws nearly of equal length ; the anterior teeth 
in the lower jafa, long, (lender, almoft upright; the others, 
fiiorter, few, reflex ; the two palatal rows in the upper 
jaw, fmall, reflex, thick-fet; no marginal row; the fangs 
confpicuous, longer than thofe of the cobra de capello, 
thicker and ftouter; two generally emergent from the 
fac on each fide, one fmaller than the other. The eyes 
are lateral, forward, large, oval, not prominent. The 
noftrils on the fame line with the eyes, clofe to the point 
of the fnout, v'ery wide and open. The trunk round, 
thick, beautifully fpotted, and covered with oblong-oval 
carinated fcales, thofe excepted iying clofe to the fcuta, 
which are fmooth, 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 (harp 
point; the fcales carinated. The colour of the head and 
trunk a yellowifh brown ; the back variegated with above 
twenty-two large, oblong-oval, fpots, brown in the mid¬ 
dle, with black borders edged with white. Of thefe fpots 
fome are feparate, but molt of them are joined by a nar¬ 
row neck, or run waving into each other: fmall black 
dots, Angle, or two or three in a clutter, are fometime? 
interfperled. A fecond row of fpots adorn the fides, fimi- 
lar in colour to the firft, but fmaller, and in form more 
orbicular, each of thofe on the trunk having a fhort Item, 
tending obliquely to the abdomen, made up of fmooth 
black fcales; and in the interftices, angular black fpots 
are difpofed along the verge of the fcuta. The fcuta are 
white and gloffy, with a membranous ftriated margin, and 
many of them are marked with one or two dufky femi- 
circular fpots, but which are hardly vifible near the tail. 
The fub-caudal fquamse are of a dufky yellow, and not 
fpotted. The colour in different fubje&s varies con- 
fiderably: in captivity it becomes of a dark brown, and 
the fpots are lefs brilliant. They vary little in form, but 
are more or lefs joined on the back. It is not lefs com¬ 
monly. met with, in a wild (late, than the cobra de capel¬ 
lo ; but from its not being, like the cobra and fome other 
fhakes, exhibited as a public (how, it is not fo univer- 
fally known, either among the natives or Europeans. 
Neverthelefs it is doubtful whether its poifon is not 
equally deleterious with that of the cobra de capello: it 
may at leaft claim a fecond place. Its bite proved mortal 
to chickens in thirty-fix feconds ; and to a dog in twen¬ 
ty-fix minutes. Abdominal fcuta 168, fub-caudal fqua- 
mte 59 ; total 227. 
173. Bodroo pam .—The head is much broader than the 
neck, fub-trigohal, gibbous behind, above depreffed, the 
roftrum obtufe, compreffed ; the crown covered with very 
lmall, fmooth, orbicular, fcales, except a fmall lamina 
above each eye : the fcales on the reft of the head fmall, 
but (lightly carinated. The fub-jugular (quamae linear 
and truncate. The mouth large; the jaws nearly equal. 
The teeth fmall, regular, reflex; two palatal rows, but 
9 U 14 ® 
