ELAPIDiE. 
9 
sometimes all bifid. Maxillary with a large fang in front which 
is perforated at the end, showing a longitudinal groove in front; 
a second, small, simple tooth at some distance behind the fang.” 
The colour of this snake varies according to age and locality. 
The adult is some shade of olive green or brown. According to 
Gunther it is :— 
“ a. Olive green above; the shields of the head, the scales 
of the neck, hinder part of the body and of the tail edged 
with black ; trunk with numerous oblique, alternate black and 
white bands converging towards the head ; lower parts marbled 
with blackish, or uniform pale greenish.” This variety is found 
in Bengal, Assam, the Malayan Peninsula, and Southern India. 
“/3. Brownish olive, uniform anteriorly, with the scales 
black edged posteriorly; each scale of the tail with a very 
distinct white, black-edged ocellus, as in Ply as mucosus. 
This variety is not found in Bengal; Gunther says it is found 
in the Philippine Islands, and perhaps in Burmali. 
“ 7 . Uniform brownish black, scales of the hinder part of 
the body and of the tail somewhat lighter in the centre ; all 
the lower parts black, except the chin and throat, which are 
yellow.” This variety is found in Borneo. 
“ Young specimens have a much more varied coloration ; they 
are black, with numerous white, equidistant, narrow cross bands 
descending obliquely backwards; head with four white cross 
bands: one occupies the extremity of the snout, the second 
across the posterior frontals, the third across the crown of the 
head, behind the orbit; the fourth across the occiput to the 
angle of the mouth; the two latter bands are composed of oval 
spots. In a specimen from the Anamallay Mountains the belly 
is black, and the white bands extend across, being wider than on 
the back; in a second specimen, of which the locality is unknown, 
the belly is white, each ventral having a blackish margin.” 
The young Ophiophagus might well be mistaken for a snake 
of another genus. 
Major Beddome says the young Ophiophagus is very like 
the Dipsas dendroplila, an innocent snake. The shields 
surrounding the occipitals are large, and give a distinctive 
character to the snake. “There is one prse-orbital, 7 upper 
labials, the third and fourth entering into the orbit, the third 
the largest, the sixth and seventh very low; temporals large, 
2 + 2; ventrals 215-262; sub-caudals 80-100; the number of 
entire anterior sub-caudals varies much.” 
The Ophiophagus is probably the largest, and is one of the 
most deadly of the Thanatophidia; fortunately, though widely 
distributed, it is not very common. According to Gunther it is 
found in almost every part of the Indian continent; in the An¬ 
daman. and Philippine Islands, in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and 
according to Dumeril, in Mew Guinea. Major Beddome of 
Madras says he has killed one nearly fourteen feet in length 
near Cuttack in Bengal, where it is common. I had a living 
specimen of the dusky variety from Bangoon, nearly twelve feet 
in length. It does not appear to be much, if at all, known in 
the North-West or in Central India; it is most common in the 
damp climates of Assam, Bengal, Orissa, and Southern India. 
It has been caught in the Botanical Gardens, near Calcutta, and 
it is said by the snake-catchers to be not uncommon in the 
Soonderbunds. 
I have heard of an officer being attacked by one in Assam, 
and being in considerable danger. Dr. Anderson, curator of 
the Indian Museum, has dried the skin of an individual sent 
from Assam, that measures 11 feet 9£ inches in length; a 
specimen in the Indian Museum, killed in the Botanical 
Gardens, Calcutta, measures 8 feet 3f inches in length and 
5f inches in girth. For these measurements I am indebted to 
Dr. J. Anderson. 
The Ophiophagus , like many other snakes, takes to the water 
at times. A friend informs me that he recently shot one in 
the river near Teryah Ghat, at the foot of the Khasya Ilills. 
He was going slowly up a narrow stream in his boat when he 
met it coming towards him, with its head raised several inches 
out of the water. A charge of shot disabled it, and it was 
captured near the river bank, where it sought refuge. My 
informant had not the means of preserving the snake, so he cut 
off its head and made a drawing, which is evidently that of an 
Ophiophagus. It was above nine feet in length. 
The Bev. Dr. Mason, in his work on Burmah, gives the 
following account of the Plamadryad, which is, if not identically 
the same, merely a variety of the Bengal species:— 
“ The natives describe a venomous serpent that grows ten 01 - 
twelve feet long, with a short, blunt head, a dilatable neck, 
thick trunk, and short tail. It is of a darker colour than the 
common Cobra, nearly black. 
“ I have never seen it, but the description given me accords 
so well with the generic characters of Hamadryas, that it must 
be a species of that genus. £ The Hamadryas ,’ says Dr. Cantor, 
£ is very fierce, and is always ready not only to attack, but to 
pursue when opposed;’ this too is a conspicuous trait in 
our Tenasserim serpent. 
“ An intelligent Burman told me that a friend of his one day 
stumbled upon a nest of these serpents, and immediately re¬ 
treated, but the old female gave chase. The man fled with all 
speed over hill and dale, dingle and glade, and terror seemed to 
add wings to his flight, till reaching a small river he plunged 
in, hoping he had then escaped his fiery enemy ; but lo! on 
reaching the opposite bank up reared the furious Hamadryad, 
its dilated eyes glistening with rage, ready to bury its fangs in 
his trembling body. In utter despair he bethought himself of 
his turban, and in a moment dashed it upon the serpent, which 
darted upon it like lightning, and for some moments wreaked 
its vengeance in furious bites ; after which it returned quietly 
to its former haunts. Karens from Pegu describe a species of 
Hamadryad (the belted Hamadryad) with black and whitish 
transverse bands. It is often seen twelve feet long by a foot 
in circumference; and one of my informants tells me he has 
seen them nearly three fathoms long, and proportionately large. 
It does not appear to be known in these Provinces, but the 
Burmese and Karens have well established names for the 
species; and it must be, I think, Cantor’s.” 
The Bengali name is Sunkerchor, breaker of shells. It is 
found in the forest and grass jungle; it is said to live in hollow 
trees, and to climb them readily, being frequently found resting 
on the branches. 
As its name implies, it feeds upon other snakes, though pro¬ 
bably when its usual food is not forthcoming, it is contented 
with birds, mammals, fish, frogs, &c. 
It resembles the Cobra, except that it is longer in proportion 
to its size, and its hood is relatively smaller; it is, however, 
more graceful in its movements, and turns more rapidly. It is 
occasionally seen with the snake-charmers, who prize it highly 
as a show; but they say it is exceedingly dangerous to catch, 
and difficult to handle before its fangs are removed. 
In September, 1868, a living specimen of about eight or nine 
feet long was brought to me by some snake-men, but its fangs had 
long been extracted, cicatrices indicating their former presence. 
It was of a light olive green, with arrow-head shaped transverse 
bars. It was very much under the control of the snake-man 
who exhibited it, and it sat up, erecting its hood and following 
the motions of his hand exactly like a Cobra. On two different 
occasions it ate snakes in my presence, two specimens of 
Passerita myderizans, that had been killed by a Cobra. The 
snake-man put the head of the Passerita into the Hamadryad’s 
mouth, and in about a quarter of an hour it gradually swallowed 
it; during the process it moved slowly about with the head, 
neck, and hood dilated, and it looked very odd with the smaller 
snake hanging out of its mouth. The fangs had been, as I 
have said, extracted, but on pressing the poison gland, a deep 
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