10 
THE THANATOPHIDIA OF INDIA. 
yellow-coloured viscid fluid exuded. I collected a few drops 
of tliis and inoculated a drop of it into the thigh of a fowl. 
The bird sickened and died in about three hours; with 
much the same symptoms as in poisoning by the Cobra; the 
blood of the fowl coagulated firmly after death. It would 
appear from this, that although the snake be deprived of its 
fangs, the glands still retain the power of secreting poison, 
but that it was altered in appearance and properties I think 
very probable. 
On another occasion I received a living Opliophagus from 
Rangoon, nine feet six inches in length. It was of a light 
olive colour in front, but dark towards the tail, with the bands 
as above described. It seemed sluggish and indisposed to attack; 
when roused it hissed, and slightly expanded the hood, raising 
its head some inches from the ground. A living Passerita 
mycterizans was put in the cage, but it did not touch it; a dog 
was also placed in the cage with it, but it could not be made to 
strike. In short, it seemed disinclined to he troubled, and as 
though it wished to be let alone. It was very powerful, and the 
snake-man seemed disinclined to handle it without other pro¬ 
fessional aid, as he was alone ; he did so subsequently, however, 
without difficulty, making a man hold the tail, whilst he 
managed the head. I afterwards received another of the dusky 
variety nearly twelve feet long, and later, one caught near Cal¬ 
cutta, of more than ten feet in length ; it was of a lighter colour. 
The dilatable neck is not altogether peculiar to the Najidce. 
I have observed that, in Compsosoma radiatum, an innocent snake, 
the neck and much of the whole body dilates vertically when it 
is excited and about to strike, presenting a very remarkable 
appearance, but the power of dilating the neck is better marked 
in the Najidce than in any other snake. The Tropidonotm macroph- 
thalmus, an innocuous colubrine snake, which attains a length of 
39 inches according to Gunther, and is found in Khasya and 
Sikkim up to 4000 feet, has this anatomical peculiarity. It is 
known by its large eye and dilatable neck ; the scales, Gunther 
says, “show an arrangement very similar to that of the Cobra, 
for which it is frequently taken. All the specimens I have seen 
show unmistakable signs that their captors considered it best to 
kill them from a distance, and to inflict a death wound as near to 
the head as possible.” 
T. macrophthalmus is, “brown or blackish-brown above, uni¬ 
form or with a dorsal series of reddish-brown spots ; neck with 
an indistinct arrow-shaped mark. Anterior part of the belly 
with large quadrangular blackish-brown spots, posterior part 
and lower side of the tail more or less clouded with brown. 
“ Young specimens have indistinct square, dark spots on the 
back, arranged in quincunx, and a bright yellow collar broadly 
edged with black.” 
The natives say almost every snake is poisonous, and they 
give this character to the Lizards as well. The fabulous 
Biscopra, Varanus, is believed to be as deadly as Cleopatra’s 
asp ; whilst the Tookai, Platydactylus, Gecko of Burmah, has 
got an equally evil repute among the Burmese, and with as 
little reason. The fact is, that though some of the Saurians 
may be able to bite hard, they are all perfectly innocent as to 
venom. There is no such thing as a Lizard of any kind with 
a poison gland connected with a fang, and however positively 
it may be affirmed, it may be as positively denied that any 
Lizard is venomous. 
BUNGARUS. 
In this genus there are only two Indian species to be de¬ 
scribed. They are both common, and one of them, the Bung arm 
cceruleus or “ Krait,” is probably next to the Cobra the most 
destructive snake to human life in India, though not actually 
so venomous as some others. The name is of vernacular origin, 
O 3 
“ Bungarum Pamali ” being the native term for the typical 
species, B. fasciatus on the Coromandel coast. 
Gunther says of this genus, that “All the species occur on 
the continent of India; they are extremely closely allied to one 
another, so that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish species 
from varieties.” I only know of two species that occur in the 
Peninsula of Hindostan, the B. fasciatus and B. cceruleus, and 
these are so extremely unlike, that it is impossible to conceive 
how they could ever be mistaken for each other. 
Gunther certainly describes two other species : B. ceylonicus, 
which somewhat resembles B. fasciatus , and B. semifasciatus, 
which somewhat resembles B. cceruleus; but as they are not 
found in India, the first being Cingalese and the second 
Chinese, I do not include them in my description. The large 
black or deep blue and yellow-banded Bungarus or Sankni, is to 
an ordinary observer totally different from the smaller and dark- 
coloured one, or Krait, however much they may be alike in more 
essential characters. Another species of some naturalists, 
“ Bungarus flavicepsf is placed by Gunther in another genus, 
of which it is the only representative, MegceropJds. This is 
placed by some authorities among the Bungarums, and is very 
nearly allied to them. It is not found in India, but in Borneo, 
Java, Sumatra, and Penang, where it attains the length of six 
feet or more. 
Gunther gives the following general description of the genus 
Bungarus :— 
Body rather elongate; tail comparatively short ; head more 
or less dilated, depressed, with broad, rounded muzzle, scarcely 
distinct from neck, which is net dilatable. Eye small, with 
round pupil. Rostral shield broader than high, reaching to 
upper surface of snout; anterior frontals half the size of pos¬ 
terior; vertical five-sided ; occipitals tapering behind. Nostril 
rather wide between two nasals. Loreal none; one prse-, two 
post-oculars. Seven upper labials, the third and fourth entering 
the orbit. Scales smooth, moderately imbricate, disposed in 
oblique rows, forming fifteen longitudinal series round the 
body; those of the vertebral series are very broad hexagonal. 
Yentrals between 200 and 250 ; anal and sub-caudals entire. 
Scales without apical groove. Maxillarybonewith a fang in front; 
a second small simple tooth at some distance behind the fang. 
The Bungarums are diurnal terrestrial snakes, but like others, 
they generally prefer the shade to the sunshine. They are 
found in the open country, in grass and low jungle, and in 
fields. They live in holes in the ground, sometimes down 
among the roots of trees at a considerable depth. They are not 
frequently seen in inhabited places, though they do at times 
find their way into native huts and houses. I killed a very large 
one in Rangoon many years ago, that got into a hut full of 
dlioolie-bearers at the field hospital during the last Burmese war. 
They feed on small animals, snakes, frogs, toads, lizards, and 
they are very poisonous ; but owing to the shortness of the fang, 
which is much smaller than that of the Cobra, their bite is less 
dangerous, and excision being more practicable, treatment may 
be useful and recoveries more numerous. Bites from the B. 
fasciatus are comparatively rare ; those of the Krait, B. cceruleus, 
are very common, and the police returns show a large mortality 
among the rural population therefrom. 
These snakes are not particularly aggressive, and try to 
escape when discovered, but if attacked they retaliate fiercely, 
and their bite is very dangerous. The B. fasciatus lies coiled in 
curves, and when disturbed jerks itself out like a spring, but 
without extending its whole length of body. 
Bungarus fasciatus. 
The first species to be described is the Bungarus fasciatus, 
or “ Sankni,” “ Bungarum Pamah ” according to Russell of the 
Coromandel coast, “ Rajsamp ” of some natives. 
Bungarus annularis, Schleg.; Baud. 
„ fasciatus, Cantor. 
Pseudoboa fasciata, Bchneid. 
