744 Marvels of the Untverse 
in this fish, as in all its allies, the fins were supported in front by large spines. And if the 
theory of the origin of the limbs of vertebrates from lateral fins of fishes be true, the condition of 
things found in the ancient fish Climatius is exactly what one might expect. Thus the study of 
the fishes of the Old Red Sandstone helps to solve many difficulties connected with the structure 
and origin of the higher vertebrated animals. 
THE EGG-EATING SNAKE 
BY R. LYDEKKER. 
Many kinds of snakes, like the larger kinds of lizards, are exceedingly fond of a breakfast or dinner 
of birds’-eggs whenever they have the good fortune to come across a nest. But these tasty 
banquets are, as a rule, few and far between, and the eggs devoured not too large for the capacity 
of the mouths of the reptiles by which they are eaten. There is, however, a certain South African 
THE EGG-EATING SNAKE. 
The upper portion of the skeleton of the neck, showing (towards the right of the photo) the spines projecting from the under 
surface of the vertebrae. The tips are capped with a hard, enamel-like substance and protrude into the gullet for the purpose 
of crushing the egg’s shell. 
snake which may be said to have made a profession of egg-eating, and beats any sword-swallower or 
other juggler in respect of the size of its boluses. 
For although this Egg-eating Snake apparently never exceeds a yard in length, and is generally 
a good deal smaller, with a body of which the calibre is in no wise in excess of that of other 
members of the tribe of the same approximate length, yet, nevertheless, an individual considerably 
short of the maximum dimensions can swallow a hen’s egg, while smaller ones will devour the egg 
of a pigeon. 
Unlike most other snakes and lizards, the Egg-eating Snake does not break the eggs in its mouth, 
but gets them well into its gullet before cracking the shell, in order that not a drop of the savoury 
contents may be lost. But how, it may be asked, does a snake with a gullet-capacity suited under 
normal circumstances to swallow substances about the size of an acorn, manage to get a hen’s egg 
into its gullet, and when it has succeeded in this, how does it crack the shell ? Owing to the fact 
that the bones composing the upper and lower jaws remain separate from one another in front, 
all snakes are able to extend their mouths to an almost inconceivable degree, as anyone 
may see for himself who watches an ordinary English grass-snake devour a frog. It is merely 
an excessive development of their stretching capacity that enables an Egg-eating Snake to get the 
egg of a pigeon or a fowl safely ensconced in its gullet. But, to judge from the struggles and 
