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ESSAY

ON THE

PHYSIOGNOMY OE SERPENTS.

BY

H. SCHLEeEL,

DOCTOR IN PHILOSOPHY, CONSERVATOR OF THE MUSEUM OF THE NETHER-
LANDS, MEMBER OF SEVERAL LEARNED SOCIETIES.

TRANSLATED BY

THOS. STEWART TRAILL, M.D., F.

REGIUS PROFESSOR OF MEDICAL JURTSPRUDENCE IN THE UNIVERSITY
EDINBURGH, &C. &C.

EDINBURGH:

MACLACHLAN, STEWART, AND COMPANY.

1843

PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH,

0653^13

PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR.

After having read or consulted most of the published
works on Ophiology, the Translator never met with
any satisfactory system of that branch of Natural His-
tory, until he perused the Essay” of M. Schlegel.
In the English language certainly there exists nothing
of the kind ; and scarcely even any descriptions of in-
dividuals, worthy of consultation, except the admirable
‘‘ Indian Serpents” of Dr Patrick Russel, the obser-
vations of Dr John Davy, in his ‘‘ Account of Ceylon,”
and the remarks in Mr A. Smith’s splendid Zoology
of Southern Africa.”

A desire to add to the literature of his country the
researches of so accomplished and philosophical an
ophiologist as M. Schlegel, and a wish to afford a
safe guide to the British Student of Natural History
in this department, have produced the present volume.

He would willingly have published a translation of
the complete work of M. Schlegel; but the low
state of Ophiology in this country deters any book-
seller from undertaking so large a work on Serpents,

IV

PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR.

with such costly illustrations as 421 figures, three se-
parate charts, and two tabular views of their distribu-
tion and affinities.

The Translator has therefore restricted himself to
the General portion of the work ; and has selected from
the excellent plates of his Author 24 figures, each
illustrative of one of the genera ; to which he has added
two figures, for explaining the modern terminology
of the scuta that defend the heads of Serpents ; and like-
wise two others, of a remarkable species of Elaps, first
described by him in J ameson’s Edinburgh Philosophical
Journal for 1843, The specimen of this Elaps in his
own collection, the Translator believed to be unique
— as his correspondence with M, Schlegel shews that
it was unknown to that great ophiologist : but on
lately visiting the large, and now well preserved,
zoological collection in the British Museum, he found
one other specimen, though mutilated, and without any
indication of its native country.

The fear of too much enhancing the price of this
volume has prevented the republication of more than
one of the Charts — that which shews the Geographical
Distribution of the Venomous Snakes.

The Translator has also added, in different parts of
the book, a few notes ; which are distinguished from
those of his Author by brackets — -thus [ ].

The Synoptical Eeview of Species, in the present
publication, will in some measure supply to the Student
the want of the more ample Descriptive Fart of the
Original. References are occasionally made, in differ-
ent parts of this volume, to the Descriptive Fart of

PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR.

V

M. Schlegel’s work, and to illustrations which are not
contained in the present publication ; but these can
produce no ambiguity.

The Translator has added, what he trusts will be
found useful, an outline of M. Schlegel’s Arrange-
ment of the Species, with the principal habitat of each
individual affixed.

Edinburgh University, December 1843.

Vll

CONTENTS.

1. Introductory — Letter to M. Temminck,

Page 1

2. Ophidians in Greneral,

21

3. Bones of the Trunk,

. 27

4. Bones of the Head,

30

5. Muscles, .....

. 35

6. Rudiments of the Posterior Extremities,

38

7. Movements of Serpents,

. 39

8. Their Teeth, . .

41

9. Their Olands, ....

. 45

10. Their Poison Gland,

47

11. Their Tongue, ....

. 52

12. Their Intestines,

53

13. Their Pancreas and Spleen,

. 55

14. Their Liver and Kidneys,

56

15. Their Organs of Generation,

. 57

10, — — _ of Deglutition,

59

17. of Digestion, .

. 60

18. of Circulation,

60

19, — of Respiration,

. 63

20. Brain and Nerves,

65

21. Sense of Smell, ; ....

, 66

22. The Eye, . . . . '

67

23. The Ear, .....

. 68

24. Integuments of the Body,

69

25. of the Head,

. 73

26. Their Colours, ....

82

27. Varieties of Serpents,

. 85

28. Monstrous Serpents,

, 86

29. Their Enemies, ....

. 87

30. Propagation,

90

31, Development,

. 93

32. Habitudes,

96

33. Fables and Prejudices on this subject,

. 101

34. History of Ophiology,

126

35. Innocuous Species,

from 127 to 172

36. Venomous Species, . . .

from 173 to 193

37. Geographical Distribution, .

from 195 to 243

38, View of Schlegel’s Arrangement,

,

245

39 . Explanation of the Plates, .

. 253

LETTER

TO

MONSIEFE E. J. TEIMINGK,

CHEVALIEE OF THE LIOK OF THE IfETHEELAKDS ; DIEECTOE
f THE MUSEUM OF THE LOW COUNTEIES ; MEMBEE OF
VAEIOUS ACADEMIES AND LEAENED SOCIETIES*

The origin of the work which I now publish, goes back
to the first period of my studies ; I therefore may regard
it as my first effort in natural history. You have granted
me the favour of placing your name at the head of my book :
this distinguished honour offers me the most suitable op-
portunity of publicly testifying to you my gratitude, and of
shewing to the scientific world how much you have contri-
buted to facilitate my researches, or rather how it is to you
that the publication is due. After the departure of our
unfortunate friend Boie for India, you had the goodness
to confide to my care the extensive collections which in-
clude the vertebrate animals, comparative anatomy, and
the fossils,- — collections forming the finest part of the Mu-
seum of the Netherlands. Incited by the example of my
learned predecessor, and hoping to be useful to science, by
cultivating a branch of zoology hitherto neglected, I di-
A

2

INTRODUCTORY LETTER.

rected my researches to the class of Eeptiles. I commenced
by representing in accurate designs the most interesting
species of this little understood class of beings, and it is
thus that by degrees was formed a series of anatomical
and zoological drawings, one part of which I now publish,
and shall cause the rest to follow when the numerous dif-
ficulties that at present impede the publication of my re-
searches shall have been wholly removed.

I have abridged in my book all the observations which
I have been able to make in Ophiology. Yet, the state in
which this part of science exists has constrained me to de-
viate in many respects from my original plan, and to defer
the publication of the anatomical researches, which are
the basis of my labours. How could my readers, for in-
stance, have comprehended me if I had spoken to them of
the numerous new species, the discovery of which is due
to our travellers ? How could they explore the way through
systems containing such a vast number of species, often
purely nominal or more than once introduced ? What
work could we recommend to serve as a guide through this
labyrinth ? I do not know any such.

These reasons, joined to several others, have decided
me on giving to my book the form under which it now ap-
pears. In the mean time, in conceiving this new plan, it
presented diificulties similar to those to which I have al-
luded. To what figures could I refer to complete my de-
scriptions ; and how few naturalists can even consult those
expensive works in which they are contained ? Besides,
110 study offers more difficulties than the comparison of
different species of serpents, — animals which so nearly re-
semble each other in the form of their bodies, that one is
often obliged to have recourse to the structure of the head,
to obtain for them distinctive characters.

These motives have induced me to delineate on the same
plate the figures of all the species of each genus, or, at least,
those of the most remarkable. On comparing these por-
traits, one will readily be able to seize the peculiar phy-
siognomy of each, and thus to distinguish nearly allied
species.

The word Physiognomy is here used in its ordinary ac-

INTRODUCTORY LETTER.

3

ceptation ; it also signifies the total impression which the
whole of any being makes on us, — an impression which we
may feel, but which it is impossible to express in words :
it is the result of the harmony of all the isolated parts, and
their mutual relations, which is comprehended at a glance.
We retain it as a whole, without being able to give an ac-
count of the properties of each of them taken singly. All
the existences of Nature, be they animals, plants, or even
inanimate objects, make on us this impression ; but it is
the more difficult to be analyzed, as the beings we examine
are more complicated, for the more their nature is elevated,
the more do the different characters lose themselves in the
harmony of the whole. One of the most essential points
of the mark at which the zoologist aims, appears to me to
analyze this harmony, and to indicate each characteristic
trait in relation to the whole. Yet, our modern methods
conduct us in a path precisely opposed to that which I
point out. The example of the illustrious author of the
Systema Naturce^ falsely interpreted, has even sanctioned
the practice of circumscribing the knowledge of beings in
general, to such characteristics as are obvious on the first
aspect.

In examining a series of living animals, the attentive
observer will remark, that, in their features, in their looks,
and even in their forms, he may trace the expression of
certain dispositions, habits, and passions, which are still
more directly than in man the result of organization.
On reiterating his observations, he will not fail to recognise
by their features the different species of animals ; he will
seize the relations which link the species to each other ; he
will bring them together, and in this synthetic process,
he will arrive at a natural method. A series of beings
thus grouped, will produce an impression of the whole si-
milar to what he would receive from a single individual,
—an impression which it is necessary to depict as a whole,
to obtain a knowledge of its principal features.

This manner of examining nature is, indeed, diametri-
cally opposed to that which sets out to distinguish indi-
viduals from some isolated characters ; but, as it offers the
only means of tracing a faithful picture of nature, as it sets

4

INTEODUCTOKY LETTER.

free the intellect chained in the narrow bounds of artifi-
cial methods, we should early fix the attention of the young
naturalist on the universality of these views, and accustom
him to seize, at a single glance, all the features which, by
their union, form the peculiar character of each indivi-
dual.

My own attempts, and the example of my predecessors,
have proved to me that the artificial method can be em-
ployed with less success in the reptiles than in other classes
of animals ; and that, in following such principles, we shall
never be able to give this science that clearness so essential
to the beginner. In the publication of my labours, then,
I lay down as a rule, to trace, in a few words, a faithful
portrait of each species, considered in its different relations
to allied species, to indicate the passage of one imaginary
group to another, and to reduce the science to its most
simple objects: such is the object of my classification. To
attain this end, without introducing innovations, I have
availed myself, as respects the nomenclature, of the materials
which I have found in the works of my predecessors. I hope
that philosophers will agree with me in this ; for what me-
mory is capable of mastering the nomenclature of even a
single class of the animal kingdom, and of making it avail-
able in the study of Nature ? In what confusion have not
modern naturalists plunged the most beautiful of the
sciences, by erecting those unintelligible systems, the sole
merit of which often resolves itself into a mere parade of
words, which dazzle instead of enlightening. Such systems
appear to me made only for their authors, and miss their aim,
which should be to guide the student, until he be tempted
to persuade himself that systems do not exist in nature.
Yet these modern artificial methods are not themselves
proof against a rigorous examination ; they are far from
having established what is meant by species and genus.
Slight differences of form in some isolated part, due often
either to accident or to the influence of different climates,
have often induced naturalists to divide a species into sub-
species, and to designate each by a special epithet ; some
of these imaginary species united, form sections which they
are pleased to denominate sub-genera, although they are

INTRODUCTORY LETTER.

5

in fact merely species, &c. To what results must such
views lead !

The critical examination of the works of my predeces-
sors has cost me much labour : it was necessarily severe.
I have been so ; but I have also been impartial. I pro-
fess not to understand how several of these works, so dif-
ficult to consult, could be useful to the traveller, who, in
his quality of general describer, should be able rapidly to
familiarize himself with the nature of existences, as a guide
to his observations. A book is usually, for the philoso-
pher living in a country town, his sole means of studying
the exotic productions of nature ; in a word, books also
stand him in the stead of collections. My book is only
intended to answer this end, or that of communicating my
observations to the public, or to those who have not the
power of making such for themselves.

You can conceive, sir, that I have encountered great
difficulties in the course of my work— difficulties which
have their origin either in the nature of the subject, or in
the mode in which the science has hitherto been cultivated.
The first object of my researches was the rigorous deter-
mination of species. To attain this end, I was obliged to
frame a history of each of them, to, study chronologically
its synonymy, to make commentaries on iconographic
works, in order to prove, by means of the comparison of
figures and descriptions, the identity of innumerable no-
minal species, with some of those which I know to exist.
It was principally in devoting myself to this ungracious
and fastidious labour, that it was necessary to employ the
most rigid criticism. I shall not now enter into further
details to discuss the question, whether there exist certain
species in nature or not, or if it be necessary to acknow-
ledge the existence of races, &c. ; I shall confine myself
to a justification of my ideas, when they contradict those
of my predecessors.

I purpose to admit into my work no species but what
is known in a precise manner. In submitting the species
received into the methodical catalogue of existences to a
rigorous examination, a great number will be found of
uncertain origin ; some are established from old specimens

6

INTEODUCTORY LETTER.

wliich have lost their colours ; others also have been in-
troduced after a superficial examination, and without
having been compared with allied species. A few words
would have sufficed to characterize them, but very often
these diagnostics, or even the detailed descriptions, con-
tain nothing but an enumeration of characters proper to
all the species of that genus ; so that, after having ana-
lyzed and rejected them individually, there does not remain
a single distinguishing mark for the species. We may say
the same of genera admitted often with similar negligence.
According to my opinion, a description which is not com-
parative, is of no utility. If it be true that a genus re-
presents the assemblage of all the species it includes, it
must be allowed, that we can never arrive at a knowledge
of the latter but by comparing them with each other, and
by stating what is peculiar to each, and common to them
all. Assuredly, there will result but little benefit to
science by the admission of species, of the whole peculia-
rities of which we know nothing but the name that has
been imposed on them — of species, the multitude of which,
continually increasing, confuses our systems. The study
of nature consists not in a superficial knowledge of exist-
ences, but it views them under the triple aspect of zoology,
anatomy, and physical geography. My principal object
in publishing my researches being to expose the relations
subsisting between animals and the places they inhabit, I
have judged it proper to adopt no species of which the
country is unknown, except when some conspicuous feature
in its structure might render it of real interest for zoology
and for physiology.

It is also necessary to use circumspection in consulting
the intimations of the native place of animals, as they are
given in most works. Few naturalists have the oppor-
tunity of obtaining these objects at the first hand ; and we
can rarely trust to the veracity of mariners, who, often
deceived themselves, bring back in their voyages objects of
natural history from distant countries which they have
visited. The specimens of one colony are sometimes car-
ried to another ; they pass through several hands ; their
origin is forgotten, or they are sent to Europe under the

INTRODUCTOEY LETTEE.

designation of productions of a country which they never
inhabited. I have often had ocular demonstration of
mistakes of this nature. Some years ago, one of my
friends received a small collection of Javan reptiles from
a young planter of Surinam, who pretended to have col-
lected them himself in the vicinity of Paramaribo. I was
ready to demonstrate to the new possessor, that Javanese
animals, such as the Gecko guttatus, the Elaps furcatus,
the Galeotes furcatus, and others, could never at the
same time inhabit countries so remote from each other ;
no faith was attached to my demonstrations. We often
have reptiles of the islands of Ceylon and Java addressed
to us from the Gape of Good Hope. M. Klinkenbeeg^ of
Utrecht possesses a beautiful variety of the Boa Cenchria,
which the mariners brought to him as if caught in Java ;
and this error led the late Boie to establish a new species
of Boa, belonging to the Old World. One of my friends,
accepting the offer of an emigrant to the United States
to make collections of natural history, furnished him with
the means of making the first consignment. This consign-
ment arrived ; it contained a collection of the reptiles of
the Cape of Good Hope. Among the reptiles brought by
M. Blomhoee, and described by the late M. Boie as all
natives of Japan, are found species evidently from Java or
the adjacent islands, as has been long ago demonstrated
by MM. SiEBOLD and Bueger. The late M. Spix has
figured among the animals discovered in Brazil, several
species collected during his sojourn at Gibraltar, and he
has even added notes on their manners, and on the places
which they inhabit, &c. I shall say nothing of the work
of Seba, in which most of the indications of the country
are inaccurate.

Other difficulties, not less considerable, present them-
selves, in criticising monographic works. It would seem
that their authors have not been always impressed with
the aim which a figure should fulfil. According to my
views, it should not simply serve to make the animal it
represents recognisable, but it should be a substitute for
the animal to him who cannot procure it for himself.
Now, to answer this end, it is necessary that the figure

8

INTRODUCTOEY LETTER.

should have, in all its parts, a mathematical exactness, so
that one could study the relative proportions of the organs
it is for the same reason necessary to avoid fore-shorten-
ings as much as possible, and not to confuse the figure by
projected shadows. The choice of objects demands equal
circumspection : the agony of a violent death often leaves
traces in the convulsed features of the face ; some parts
sustain accidental injuries in putting up the specimens ;
in others, the organs change their relative positions. This
is especially the case with Ophidians, of which the bones
of the head are susceptible of very considerable movements.
In tracing my figures, I have aimed at avoiding all these
obstacles : I have always made use of individuals in a
perfect state of preservation, and I have never copied, ex-
cept from nature. I have followed the same rules in my
descriptions ; or, when I have not been able to do so, I have
expressly indicated it.

The comparative examination of the writings of my
predecessors, presented far more difiicult obstacles to be
surmounted. The principal cause, to which I have fre-
quently alluded, and which appears to have engendered
the numerous errors that disfigure our systems, is the
multiplication of species and of genera instituted and in-
troduced into systems upon isolated characters. The
instances that would justify these remarks are innumer-
able. Let any one consult my articles Eryx, Naja por-
phyritica. Boa Cenchria, Python Peronii and P. bivittatus,
Acrochordus, Tropidonotus bipunctatus, and T. fasciatus,
Crotalus horridus, Vipera Berus, and several others, and
he will be convinced that the same species often bears a
dozen of names ; that it often has been divided into several
different genera; that it has even formed the types of
different families ; that it figures sometimes among the
venomous serpents, sometimes among those that are in-
nocuous ! Let any one examine the heterogeneous elements
out of which some authors have composed their genera
Boa, Hurria, Scytale, Elaps, Trimeresurus, and Vipera !
In following out such views, it was necessary, in adhering
to this principle of classification, to separate the Pythons
from the Boas, and to place them in another family ; it

IlSrTRODUCTORY LETTER.

9

was necessary to separate the Hydrophis Colubrina from
its congenersj and to arrange the Acrochordus among the
Sea Snakes, &c.

You will perceive, in the sequel of my work, that it is
absolutely impossible to class Ophidians from such divided
and isolated characters. This subject, however, is of too
much importance to be thus passed over. I must satisfy
myself, by quoting some more examples calculated to defend
my ideas against the objections of my adversaries, although
I fear that I have already exhausted your patience. All
the world allows, that the genus Dryiophis is one of the
most natural of the whole order : it may be indicated by
distinctive features, taken either from its muzzle drawn
out into a tube, or from the superior length of its middle
and posterior maxillar teeth ; either from the transversely
elongated pupil of its eye, or from its green colour, or,
lastly, from its smooth scales. But none of these features
are, at the same time, applicable to all the species. The
fixed essential character of the Najas is an extensible neck ;
but, in the different species that compose this genus, the
faculty of dilating the neck is possessed in all degrees, so
that those which recede most from the type, scarcely ex-
hibit traces of this character. Almost all the venomous
serpents, properly so called, have carinated scales ; but no
person would remove from that family the Trigonocephalus
Bhodostoma and Tr. nigro-marginatus, because their scales
are smooth ; no one would reject from the family of Co-
lubriform venomous snakes, of which the scales are gene-
rally smooth, the Naja Haemachates and N. rhombeata, in
which the reverse is the case. We observe in the first
family a small number of species, the head of which,
covered with plates, approximates them to the second fa-
mily, although in all the other characters they resemble
the first. Could one mistake the affinity that exists be-
tween the Boa and Acrochordus, although the latter has a
compressed tail, and wants the anal hooks ? What confu-
sion has arisen from the innumerable individual differences
in the disposition of the plates of the head in the Boas and
the Pythons ! Neither the position of the nostrils, nor
the configuration of the frontal plates, nor the presence

10

IlSTTEODUCTOEY LETTEE.

nor absence of a grooved tooth, are constant characters in
the genus Homalopsis. The late M. Boie has assigned to
the Tropidonotus three posterior ocular plates ; yet some
species among the best characterized depart from the rest,
by the absence of this distinctive mark, while it exists
among the true Colubri, that present the characteristic
indicated by M. Boie. A great number of genera in the
division of innocuous serpents, comprising many species,
have grooved teeth ; whilst the dentary system of the other
species is often very uniform.

The order in which I have arranged the species is not
arbitrary. On comparing the species of a generic group,
we may remark that the characters of the genus may be
particularly decided in one of them ; which may be termed
the typical species of that generic group ; but all the rest,
though formed on the same type, present modifications
more or less conspicuous ; some of them may depart from
that type, to approximate to a neighbouring group, to which
they serve as the transition. I have, in the descriptive
part of my work, treated of species in the order I have
just indicated. A Synoptic Table, which I have added to
my work, will facilitate the review of the species ; it will in-
dicate the mutual resemblances that connect them with each
other ; in a word, it will point out their natural afiinities.

I have also added to my work several charts, and a
table intended to indicate the distribution of the species
of Ophidians over the surface of the globe. The object
which I proposed to myself in making them public, is
solely to give a general sketch of the geographic distri-
bution of Ophidians ; those who wish to be more minutely
informed whether such or such a species exist in a parti-
cular description, have only to consult the second part of
my work, in which they will find the necessary information.
I have also treated of this subject in a dissertation, entitled,
An Essay on the Geographic Distribution of Serpents^
which is printed as a sequel to my work. It is unneces-
sary, Sir, to say to you, that this work has cost me some
precious moments. Almost entirely limited to my own
researches, from the total deficiency of works furnishing
an enumeration of the species of Ophidians of certain

INTEODUCTOEY LETTEE.

11

countries, I have been able to find useful notices only in
the works of the Prince of Neuwied, of Spix, of Russel,
and in that published by the Eg3rptian Commission. W e
possess, it is true, works, already quoted, that embrace a
description of the serpents of certain places ; but besides
that these works are very few, they are drawn up for the
most part in a manner little conformable to the actual
state of the science. Some of them offer simply an enu-
meration of species characterized by a short phrase, or at
best are merely a compilation of existing works on ophi-
ology. To make known the productions of a country, it
is, in the first place, necessary to amass an ample collec-
tion of them, composed of individuals of every age and
sex. In disposing of those numerous materials, without
troubling one’s self about what has been done before, we
arrive at a knowledge of the species under all their rela-
tions. Before writing the descriptions, it is necessary to
compare the species with their congeners, natives of other
countries. And, in consulting works already existing, we
shall then be enabled easily to unravel the synonymes, and
to reject the reduplication of descriptions. It is true, that
the composition of such a work is a labour at least of se-
veral years, especially when we wish to add notices on the
manners and habits — a circumstance, as it appears to me,
of prime importance ; but should a philosopher take into
his consideration the time, when the question regards the
utility to science ?

I think it necessary to say a few words on the choice of
the French language in the composition of my book.
The motives which have induced me to this choice are
simple, and easy to be guessed ; therefore I should have
passed over in silence this subject, if grave accusations had
not been raised against some of my countrymen, who have
acted as I have done. In our days, when all the world
is in search of instruction, when the sciences have every-
where acquired popularity, and have so many enlightened
amateurs, the man of the world, or well-informed, though
not learned persons, to whom the Latin is not familiar,
have contributed to the progress of the sciences ; assured-
ly, in these fortunate times, it would be unseasonable to

12

INTRODUCTORY LETTER.

use a dead language. It then becomes necessary to make
choice among the living tongues. The safest course to
take was certainly to have written in my mother tongue,
the sole language which we can perfectly possess ; hut of
European languages, how few are so universally spread
as to be generally understood % I therefore hold myself
sufficiently justified, for the reason just assigned, in pre-
ferring the French to any other modern tongue ; the same
reasons make me hope, that my readers will be indulgent
in examining my work in a literary point of view.

It only remains for me to indicate the means which
have been at my disposal for the composition of my book.
It does not belong to me to eulogize our government, the
liberal protector of the arts and sciences ; every one knows
that His Excellency the Minister of the Interior omits no
opportunity of promoting the sciences, and that M. Van
Rappart also shews himself full of zeal, when there is a
question of favouring learning. All Europe knows, by
your numerous writings, that the natural sciences have
received a no less favourable reception from the govern-
ment of our Indies, I shall, therefore, say no more, un-
less to mention the name of His Excellency M. Van
Ewyck, governor of the province of Drenthe ; a name so
dear to science, to all who have witnessed the commence-
ment of our national establishments, and especially to me.
It is superfluous to say, that the rich collections depo-
sited in the galleries of the museum of the Netherlands,
have served as the basis of my researches ; but it is pro-
per to state the origin of those collections, which have
enabled me to assign with certainty to each species its
true country, and, consequently, to assign constant laws
for the geographic distribution of Ophidians. When, in
1820, you conceived. Sir, the project of erecting a Nation-
al Monument worthy of your country, the collection of
serpents consisted of about an hundred specimens, with-
out any indication of their origin, and chiefly brought
from the old Academical Cabinet. The numerous con-
tributions sent to the Museum of the Netherlands by MM.
Reinwardt, Kuhl, and Van Hasselt — contributions con-
taining the greatest part of the productions of our Colonies

INTRODUCTORY LETTER.

13

in the East Indies — offered the means of exchanges with the
most celebrated collections, and procured for our establish-
ment other objects from countries on which the feet of the
Dutch traveller had never yet trodden. Such was the
state of the Museum when the late M. Boie quitted
Europe in 1825, after having terminated his great work
on the Beptiles of Java. This collection, since confided
to my care, has extended equally with the other depart-
ments of the Museum : it has now tripled its former ex-
tent. The great number of travellers, almost simulta-
neously despatched to various countries of our globe, have
especially contributed to procure for us a vast number of
objects, perfectly preserved, of which the native region is
stated in the most precise terms. Some of our country-
men, established in foreign parts, have been useful to
science, by transmitting to our establishment collections
containing the productions of their adopted country.
Other recent travellers have presented us with duplicates
of the produce of their researches, — a circumstance which
has no less contributed to render our collections complete,
than the purchases made in Paris, in London, and several
other capitals. Private individuals also have exerted them-
selves to communicate to us all objects which could be of
any utility for my work.

The small series of Ophidians from New Holland,
which makes part of the Museum of the Netherlands, was
acquired in London. The voyage of discovery to New
Guinea, undertaken in the years 1827 and 1828, by order
of our colonial government, has furnished us with a great
number of objects of natural history, interesting, and for
the most part new. Timor, Amboina, and the other ad-
jacent isles, have been explored at different times by our
navigators. A continual residence of those indefatiga-
ble naturalists at Java, for nearly twenty years, has con-
tributed to render the productions of the western part of
that island almost as well known as those of Europe. My
friend Dr Strauss brought me a small collection of rep-
tiles, formed during his sojourn at Manado, at the eastern
extremity of Celebes. MM. Von Siebold and Burger
have collected, during their voyage to Japan, a great

14

IKTHOBUCTOEY LETTEE.

number of Ophidians, which, belonging always to similar
species, have shewn how well this empire has been ex-
plored, as far as regards its natural history. We possess
but few serpents from China, Sumatra, Malacca, and in
general from the eastern part of Asia. Dr De Witt, es-
tablished at Bedford, has presented several to us ; others
have been acquired by our Indian travellers. A package
sent in 1827 to the Museum of the Netherlands, con-
tained the spoils of a considerable number of the species
described by Bussel. The productions of Ceylon are
only known to us by the original specimens in several
collections in Holland, and a small collection which we
owe to the obliging care of Dr Smith, Director of the
South- African Museum. M. Lichtenstein has present-
ed to us some species of Ophidians, obtained during the
expedition of M. Eversman in Tartary.

The serpents of Europe have been partly communicated
by some of our friends, partly by several travellers, or by
the Museum of Vienna : we owe to that establishment
the serpents of Austria and Hungary; the unfortunate
Michaelles sent to us some specimens collected in Spain,
and the principal part of those that live in Dalmatia, a
country since visited by our traveller M. Francis Can-
traine, who, in afterwards exploring Italy, Sardinia, and
Sicily, has sent us their productions ; M. Eoux has pre-
sented us with the reptiles of the south of France, and
M. Len2 those of central Germany, &c. &c.

The voyage of M. Buppell has furnished to our
Museum most of the productions of Egypt. Colonel
Thembert has brought us several snakes taken in the
Barbary States, especially in the neighbourhood of Tunis.
An intelligent amateur, M. Clifford, the consul of the
Netherlands at Tripoli, has investigated, as a naturalist,
the environs of that city, — not very rich, it is true, in the
productions of natural history. An insalubrious climate,
destructive to most Europeans who visit the coast of
Guinea, is the cause why so small a number of objects of
natural history are brought to us from our colony, estab-
lished on that land of promise ; and it is to Professor
Eschricht of Copenhagen that we are indebted for about

INTEOBUCTOEY LETTEE*

15

thirty serpents, collected in the vicinity of the Danish
Fort on the same coast. The southern extremity of
Africa has been explored by Dutch naturalists, during a
long series of years. MM. Kuhl, Van Hasselt, Boie,
and Macklot, touching at Cape Town on their voyage
to India, there formed collections. Dr Van Horstok,
during his long residence in that town, employed himself
in procuring the rarest objects, and has furnished succes-
sively to our Museum the materials for a Fauna of that
flourishing colony ; Drs Smuts and Smith also have
equally contributed to enrich our galleries with many little-
known African serpents.

There are, properly speaking, but two countries of the
vast continent of South America which have been zoolo-
gically explored ; Brazil and Guyana. A part of the speci-
mens procured in the travels of M. Natterer, in several
provinces of the former country, which are deposited in
the Museum of Vienna, have been communicated to ours.
The Prince of Neuwied, who visited the eastern coast of
Brazil, situated between the 13° and 23° of south lati-
tude, has kindly presented to us duplicates of the reptiles
collected by him. These examples were followed by the
late M. Spix, whose travels extended farther to the north,
along the banks of the Maragnon, to Bahia. A small
series of the ophidians of Brazil, collected by MM.
Olfers, Freireiss, and Beske, also form part of the
Museum of the Netherlands. Several packages of rep-
tiles from the province of St Paul, have been sent to us
from Paris by M. Beske of Hamburg, and by M. Boie
of Kiel. The beautiful and numerous collections which
our establishment owes to the disinterested care of M.
Dieperink, residing in Paramaribo, have furnished us
with the means of making an enumeration of the greatest
part of the productions of our colony at Surinam. We
are indebted to the Prince of Musignano, and to Profes-
sor Troost of Nashville, for the reptiles of North Ame-
rica, that form part of our Museum. The first has
brought us a considerable number of specimens, natives
of the northern provinces of the United States ; the lat-
ter, settled in the state of Tennessee, has exerted much

16

INTROBUCTORY LETTER.

zeal in procuring for us the productions of the middle
regions of North America.

In my enumeration of the means at my disposal, I
have not mentioned the individuals who have furnished
me with rare specimens, which it would have been very
difficult for me to obtain, or who have generally contri-
buted to render my work as complete as possible. I shall
content myself with citing Professors Van Swinberen of
Groningen, Vrolik of Amsterdam, Van ber Hoeven,
and Van ber Boon-Mesch of Leyden, and Dr Hoorn.
M. Klinkenbero of Utrecht placed in my power the nu-
merous rarities of his Museum. The Director of the
Cabinet of Natural History at Vienna gave me permission
to publish the inedited species contained in that Estab-
lishment. Dr Thienemann of Dresden gave me about
twenty figures of serpents, di^awn from the life at Suri-
nam, by Dr Hering. Above all, I ought to acknowledge
the liberality of Professors Fremery and Lith be Jeube
of Utrecht : these philosophers were so obliging as to per-
mit me to select specimens from the valuable collection
of Beptiles confided to their care, most of which are na-
tives of Ceylon, the coast of Guinea, North America, &c.

I was about to terminate my work, when, at the end of
a long illness, I had the honour, Sir, to accompany you
in a journey to Paris, and across a part of Germany. The
great number of objects which I saw during this journey,
have obliged me to make several additions to my work ;
additions, however, which would not have been very im-
portant, if I had not been permitted to examine, at my
leisure, objects in themselves rare, or partly new. I owe
this privilege to the extreme politeness of various philo-
sophers who are at the head of scientific establishments :
MM. Duvernoy at Strasburg, and Cretzschmar at Franc-
fort, were anxious to afford me a free use of the collections
confided to their care. M. Buppell, whom I have the
advantage of acknowledging among my friends, has fur-
nished me with observations on the various reptiles which
he had an opportunity of examining in his two voyages ;
and, lastly, the observations of several amateurs of Paris,
among whom I especially mention Dr Cocteau and M.

INTEODUCTORY LETTER.

17

Al. Lefebre, rendered me important services. It is almost
useless to say, that the Museum of Paris offered me the
most ample collection. This establishment, during many
years the seat of the natural sciences, rivals still, in the
number of its specimens, most other collections. All the
world flocks to be there instructed ; because the friends of
science there experience the most liberal reception. I
should not speak of this liberality, so often and so justly
vaunted, if personal obligations did not demand it as a
duty. I had the happiness to be connected for several
years with Professors Blainville and Valenciennes ; on
my arrival in Paris M. Dumeril also honoured me by his
kindness ; and I found a frank and sincere friend in
M. Bibron, a zealous and accomplished naturalist, and a
rival of my Herpetological labours. All these gentlemen
concurred to render my stay in Paris in the highest degree
useful ; the numerous materials which the Museum of the
Jardin des Plantes affords were put at my disposal, and
they readily lent me, and allowed me to take to Holland,
all the unpublished specimens, or those which I was de-
sirous of submitting to a new examination. I have reviewed,
in conjunction with M. Bibron, at the Jardin des Plantes, the
whole of that collection of reptiles ; and this inspection led
to propositions of exchange, which cannot fail to be very
useful to both establishments. Ours has been enriched,
by this exchange, with objects from countries with which
we have no communication, but which have been visited
by French travellers, as Pennsylvania, Carolina, and New
Orleans, countries from which MM. Lesueur Milbert,
Bose, Leconte, Barabino, and others, have brought their
productions to the Museum of Paris. The Antilles have
been explored by MM. Plee, L’Herminier, Ricord, Poey,
&c. ; Cayenne, by Leschenault ; Brazil, by Langsdorf,
Vauthier, Lalande, Aug. St Hilaire; Paraguay, by
D’Orbigny : this last traveller has also made a fine collec-
tion of the reptiles of Chile, a country also visited by MM.
Lesson and Garnot, and by Gay. New Holland has
afforded several new species, discovered by Peron, Lesson,
and especially by Quoy and Gaimard ; others have been
collected, in the last expeditions round the world, in New-
Guinea, in Waigiou, the Philippines, the Mariannes, and

18

INTEODtJCTORY LETTER.

particularly in the vicinity of Manado in Celebes. The
late M. Duvaucel had sent to the Museum of Paris
collections from Sumatra; Leschenault, from Java;
Diard, from Cochin-China, from Siam, and Bengal. India
has been explored by a great many French travellers,
among whom we shall only mention MM. Leschenault,
Reynaud, and especially M. Dussumier, who has visited
almost every point on the coast of Asia, from the Seychelles
and Malabar, to the peninsula of Malacca. MM. Goudot
and Sganzin discovered several curious Ophidians in
Madagascar, a virgin island in respect to natural history.
The stay of the late M. Lalande at the Cape, has furnished
to the Museum of Paris most of the reptiles peculiar to
that colony; M. Perrotet has collected some of those of
Senegal ; and it is continually receiving them from Barbary
since the establishment of a French colony on that coast.
The same takes place with the reptiles of Egypt, a coun-
try which shares, with Brazil, the first place among those
that attract a great number of travellers. The reptiles
collected by Olivier in the Levant are still the only known
species from Western Asia. M. Bory de St Vincent
has very recently made known those of the Morea, and
M. Bibron those of Sicily.

The literary means which were at my disposal have
greatly aided my researches. Your rich and beautiful
collection of books, Sir, has been always open to me ; so
that I have used it as if my own. Professor Geel, libra-
rian of the University, has kindly put in my power all
the books which I required for my work.

The favours with which I have been loaded by M.
Reinwardt, demand my most grateful acknowledgments.
This venerable philosopher, formerly my most valued pre-
ceptor, has communicated to me his manuscripts, and the
numerous drawings of animals which he had made in
India : ^ without the aid of his choice library I never could
have brought my work to a conclusion. He has aided me
by his advice ; and I have been fortunate enough, thanks
to the friendship with which he has honoured me, to profit
often by his knowledge.

* I have commenced the publication of some of them in my Mhil-
dungen^ of which the first number is about to appear.

INTKODUCTOEY LETTER*

19

I shall not here repeat what I owe to the late H. Boie ;
my feeble words would not suffice to express the senti-
ments which I feel in retracing in my memory the
moments which the company of this unfortunate philo-
sopher rendered so precious. His mildness, his kindness,
and all the qualities of a noble and elevated spirit, made
him to be beloved by all who knew him ; a philanthropist
as zealous as enlightened, he employed his vast erudition
only to make it profitable to his friends, and his discoveries
were the secret of the whole world. I had the good for-
tune to enjoy daily intercourse with this excellent man,
and I only regret that this intercourse was but of too short
duration. Boie wished to confide to me, at his departure,
the vast number of observations which have been pub-
lished by his brother ; on arriving in the Indies, he did not
cease to communicate to me his notes on the manners and
mode of life of Ophidians, which I have taken care to
embody in my book. His young pupil and friend, M.
MiiLLER, a worthy successor in his labours, has followed
so bright an example in communicating to us a great
number of drawings executed from the life by our de-
ceased friend, the young Van Oort. Several other
friends, among whom I especially reckon MM. St Clair
Massiah, Professor Cantraine, and M. Susanna, ad-
ministrator of the Museum, have sought to assist me
by their talents. I offer them my sincere thanks. Lastly,
I cannot terminate these pages without returning thanks
to the preceptors of my early youth, MM. He Winkler
and Professor Schmid of Altenburg in Saxony : if
there be any merit in my works, as regards the art of
writing, it should be attributed to the second : the first
inspired me with that profound taste for the study of Na-
tural History, which decided me afterwards to devote
myself wholly to this beautiful science,

I believe I have said all that is necessary for the
understanding of my book. Its end will be gained if it
obtain your approbation. Sir, and if it be favourably re-
ceived by that part of the public which prefers simplicity
to innovations.

H. SCHLEGEL.

OE THE OPHIDIANS IN GENERAL.

It is usual to comprehend under the denomination of
Serpents, all those reptiles which, along with a total want
of extremities, have a very elongated form of body. A
more rigorous examination, however, demonstrates, that
among animals which on such principles it would be ne-
cessary to class with serpents, some present, in their general
organization, peculiarities that separate them in every re-
spect from serpents, to which they bear no resemblance,
except in their lengthened forms. It was reserved for our
times — thanks to the researches of the anatomist ! — to ar-
range among Batrachians some of those anomalous beings,
the greatest part of which have been jumbled together in our
systems. In casting a rapid glance over the great series
of reptiles whose bodies are covered with scales, we dis-
cover that these animals, with the exception of the tortoises,
are modelled on two types, familiarly known by the desig-
nation of Saurians and Ophidians. But in comparing
these animals with each other, we perceive that the more
or less elongated body exists in them in every degree
that the development of the extremities diminishes in pro-
portion as the species to the second type ; that the function
of the ribs, as organs of locomotion, augments in the same
degree ; that species much allied present sometimes great
disparities in the arrangement of the extremities, or even
are only distinguishable from each other by the want or
presence of extremities ; t in a word, that the function

^ The Scinks, the Seps, the Pygodactylus, the Monodactylus, the
Pygopus, the Chalcis, the Tetradac(ylus, the Ophisaurus, the Pseudo-
pus, &c.

t The Amphisbaena and the Chirotes.

22

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OE SEEPENTS.

performed in the Saurians by the general form and organs
of locomotion, are wholly subordinate to their general
organization.^ It is thus evident that the characters
formed on these parts, must always lead to an artificial
system ; and it is equally clear, from what we shall state,
that the two types on which Saurians and Ophidians are
modelled, are connected by numerous intermediate forms.
Hence many naturalists have refused to adopt the two
foregoing divisions, which they have combined into one
whole. This mode of viewing the question is equally
susceptible of defence or attack; and it is not out of
deference to any system that I propose to follow either
view. However, as I propose to treat in my book of ser-
pents properly so called, it is necessary to give a definition
of the beings I mean to include in this category. It is
easy to conceive the idea of a serpent, when we take for
the type one of the species in which all the characters of
the order are united ; but it is difiicult to assign the dis-
tinctive marks which separate, in a precise manner, the
Ophidians from the Saurians.

The characteristics of the animals we denominate Ser-
pents, appear to me to consist in a very elongated body,
furnished with a tail, and covered by a defensive armour
of hard scales, which moves, supported on its ribs, by
means of lateral undulations, which has a form concen-
trated, in its transverse dimensions, into the smallest

* A comparative examination of specimens has convinced me that the
anomalous Saurians, that is, those with elongated forms and rudimentary
extremities, always pertain, by their general structure, to some one fa-
mily of that order, among which they ought to be arranged. It cannot,
for example, be denied, that there is a gradual passage from the Scinks
to the Anguis and Acontias, through the medium of Scinkus hrachypus,
S. decreenis, S. serpens, and the Seps, the Pygodactylus, and the Bipes,
animals differing from each other less in their structure than in their
forms, and composing a single family the Scinkoideans, from which we
ought to exclude neither the Ablepharus nor the Gymnophthalmus.
The same gradation exists in the family of the Lizards, through the
genera Lacerta and Tachydromus to the Monodactylus, and, we may add,
as an anomalous species, the Pygopus. We may connect in the classi-
fication the Tetradactylus, the Chalcis, the Pseudopus, and Ophisaurus.
We come at length to thefamilyofAmphisbsenae, comprehending Chirotes,
Leptosternon, Amphisbsena ; and that of Typhlops, including Typhlops,
Rhinopis, and Uropeltis.

OF THE OPHIDIAl^S m GENEKAL.

23

possible volume, but of which the parts are susceptible of
an extraordinary enlargement, so as to permit serpents to
swallow the large animals intended by nature for their
sustenance. Now, to answer this end, the bony case of
the heads of serpents does not form, as in the greatest
number of the other vertebrata, an immoveable mass ; but
the component parts are so united together, that all of
them, except those enclosing the brain, are susceptible of
a greater or less movement, and generally in different
directions. This is particularly the case with the bones
which, entering into the formation of the lower jaw, give
configuration to the head. The development of the
panites^ their mode of attachment, their mobility, which
depend; on not being fixed to the cranium by their inferior
extremities ; in short, the structure of the lower jaw, the
two branches of which, instead of being united by a sym-
physis, are banded together by elastic ligaments, and are
thus susceptible of considerable separation ; these are the
circumstances which principally contribute to the enormous
enlargement of the mouths of serpents. The total want
of feet necessarily implies the absence ’ of certain solid
parts, such as the sternum, the pelvis, &c., which unite
the limbs to the trunk ; the ribs free, and hence enjoying
an uniform mobility, contribute to the enlargement of the
intestinal cavity, and to that change of the form of the
trunk so visible in the different positions of the serpent in
running, in swimming, or in climbing. To obey these
various movements, the general integuments are divided
into numerous compartments, which form so many articu-
lations, parallel to the parts they cover ; the scales which
form the articulations, on the lower part of the animal,
are usually, larger than the rest, and perform the office of
feet ; the ribs are attached to the lateral margin of the
internal face of these plates. The naked space of skin
between the scales is more considerable than in all other
reptiles ; and at the throat, this naked skin, in order to
accommodate itself to the separation of the jawbones,
occurs in the form of a longitudinal fosse, called the gular
fissure. By this structure of the general integuments,
these tunics, contracted in a state of repose, accommodate

24

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SERPENTS.

themselves to the extraordinary enlargement of the internal
parts.

It results from what we have stated on the nature of
serpents, that we might exclude from this order the Am-
phibasna and the Typhlops, although these last are con-
nected in many respects with the Ophidians, and form
the transition to these reptiles. It is this approximation
which renders it difficult, if not impossible, to establish
distinctive characters for the two neighbouring orders of
Saurians and Ophidians. Let us illustrate this by some
examples. The gular fissure, proper to all Ophidians,
except the Acrochordus, is equally seen in several Saurians,
such as lizards, &c. Some species of Ophidians shew
vestiges of posterior extremities, analogous to those we
find in the Apodal saurians, although their structure
leads to the belief, that, though the animals last mentioned
represent the pelvis, while those of the Ophidians corre-
spond to the posterior extremities. The structure of the
tongue in the Varanus {Monitor^ Cuv.) and Teius {Saure-
garde, Cuv.), is scarcely distinguishable from those of
Ophidians. The want of eyelids does not afford any
distinctive character ; for these organs occur in every de-
gree of development in the different species of Saurians.
Some species, as the Ablepharus and Gymnophthalmus,
are totally without them ; the minute eyes of the Amphis-
baena, the Typhlops, and the Acontias coecus, are covered
by the general integument, in such a manner that these
animals have so low a degree of vision as to be almost
blind ; the Acontias Meleagris, on the other hand, has its
eyes provided with a lower lid ; the Pygopus presents a
rudiment of a circular eyelid round the whole circumfer
ence of the eye, without the power of closing that organ ;
in several of the Geckos, the eyelids appear as prolonga-
tions of the skin, too little developed to serve as a protec-
tion to the eyes. One of the most characteristic parts of
the cranium of Saurians, is the columella, a small pair of
linear bones which unite the parietals to the pteregoids.
This bone is wanting, however, in the Typhlops, the Am-
phisbaena, and even in the Acontias. The development of
the external ear is found in every shade from the Saurians

OF THE OPHIDIAI^S IN OEKERAIi.

25

to the Ophidians ; the last traces appear in the Anguis
and Acontias, and totally disappear in the Amphisbaena
and the Typhlops. The simple suspensory hones of the
jaw, the tympanites of serpents, replaced in most of the
Saurians by two pieces, are found in the Acontias, although
they are wanting in the Amphisbaena and the Typhlops.

The whole bones of the cranium would perhaps furnish
better marks of distinction between the two allied orders,
if some species of the family of Typhlops, the Uropeltis, did
not, in this respect, approach the Ophidians. It is well,
however, to obtain an idea of the principal differences which
distinguish the skulls of Saurians from those of Serpents.
The bones of the face of the latter never form an immove-
able mass, perforated by the nostrils, and composed of
pieces let into each other ; as we observe in Saurians. In
Ophidians, the intermaxillary bone of a compressed trian-
gular form, is always free, mobile, and never united to the
maxillaries by means of sutures ; the latter bones, when
they are intimately united to the anterior frontals, present
only a narrow attachment, and always possess some degree
of mobility ; and the lateral edges of the nasal bones are
always free through their whole extent. The Pterygoids
constantly present themselves in the form of thin, slender
bones, rather broad, and joined to the cranium by liga-
ments, which readily yield to the movements, more or less
extensive, which these parts are capable of performing.
No Ophidian has a mouth armed with large conical teeth,
perpendicularly implanted ; the organs in serpents, on the
contrary, resemble hooks bent backw ards, with sharp points ;
besides, serpents, with the single exception of the Oligodon,
have the palate furnished with teeth like those of the jaws,
whilst we find among the Saurians only traces of palatal
teeth, in the form of minute irregular asperities.

It may be seen, from all we have said on the structure
of Ophidians, that these reptiles are especially remarkable
for their mode of locomotion, and the manner of swallow-
ing their prey. These are the circumstances which modify
their whole structure : the first determines the general form
of their bodies ; the second, that of their internal parts.
We observe, on examining the general position of their in-

c

26

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OE SEEPENTS.

testine, that the same organs which in other vertebrata
occupy one or more spacious cavities, are packed in Ophi-
dians, on account of the elongated shape of their trunks,
in a long, narrow cylinder. It is obvious that this dispo-
sition could not have taken place without great changes in
the formation of the viscera, and without disturbing bila-
teral symmetry. On this account, the heart is sometimes
far removed from, at other times approximated to, the
head, according to the greater or less capacity of the sto-
mach ; for the same reason, we often find but a single lung,
sometimes before the heart, but generally placed behind
that organ. This lung almost always terminates in a sort
of sac, of greater or less size, serving as a reservoir for air.
The form of the liver, for the same reason, is modified into
a narrow riband, extending from the heart to the pylorus.
The gaU-bladder, that it might not be impeded in its func-
tions when the stomach is full, is removed from the liver,
and is placed in the same curvature of the duodenum which
receives the pancreas and the spleen. The stomach re-
sembles a long, not very wide, cylinder. The intestines
succeed, the numerous inflections of which are filled with
fat, and, after descending in a straight line, terminate in the
cloaca. The inferior part of the abdomen, not being suf-
ficiently capacious to receive the other organs, is the cause
of the anomalous position of the kidneys, the testicles, and
the ovaries ; hence, the penis and the secreting organs are
lodged in the tail.

It is evident from what we have said, that the form of
the greatest part of the internal organs of serpents has
no influence on the exercise of their functions ; we shall
afterwards even see that the position of these organs not
only differs in different species, but sometimes varies among
individuals of the same species.

The disposition of the external organs, on the contrary,
presents more constant forms ; but these parts are modified
according as the species inhabit trees, the ground, or the
water. Locomotion, however, is exercised very uniformly :
the same movements make the snake glide on the ground
which impel it through the depths of the humid element,
or which serve to entwine it around the branches of trees.

OP THE BOKES OP THE TRUNK.

27

The lateral undulations of the body suffice for this sort of
locomotion, and it is only the sea-serpents which make use
of their tail, expressly fashioned for the purpose, as an
oar and a rudder. When the locomotion is performed on
a solid body, the ribs, putting in motion the abdominal
plates, thus form a series of levers, which maintain the
impulsion produced by the undulations of the trunk, in
alternately rising and falling, and touching with their an-
terior extremities the plane of position. The degree of
celerity of the locomotion depends, in a great measure, on
the nature of the body on which the serpent moves : it draws
itself with difficulty over a mirror, or a table with an uni-
form and polished surface ; but it escapes with celerity on
sandy ground, or a surface covered with a dry vegetation,
as a heath. To climb up perpendicular objects, it knows
how to avail itself of every little protuberance which offers
a fulcrum to the articulations of its abdomen.

To exercise these functions, it is requisite that the bones
composing the trunk of serpents, as well as their muscles,
should be properly arranged. Every one,, at the first glance,
will be struck with the multiplicity and uniformity of these
parts. All the vertebrse, all the ribs, are similar to each
other, with some exceptions, as regards their shape, and it
is only towards the extremities of the animal that these
bones diminish in size.

OE THE BONES OF THE TRUNK.

As the vertebrae of the trunk support all the ribs, the
usual distinction between cervical, dorsal, and lumbar ver-
tebrae does not hold in serpents ; and it follows, that the
number of the ribs on each side should always equal that
of the vertebrae ; and also, that as the scaly abdominal
articulations of the skin always correspond to the ribs
which are their levers, the number of the plates on the
lower surface of the trunk of serpents should equal that of
the ribs and vertebrae. Every one knows that their number
differs, not only according to the species, but also in indi-
viduals, so that sometimes we find in serpents of the same
species a difference of 30 or 40 vertebrae, more or less.
The number of vertebrae of the trunk, and consequently

28

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SEEPENTS.

that of the pairs of ribs, rarely exceed 300, and are never
below 100 ; the vertebrae of the tail, on the other hand,
are sometimes reduced to 5, whilst, in other serpents, they
are from 150 to 200.

The conformation of the vertebrae varies equally in the
different species, though all are modelled on the same
type. We can always distinguish a central part, the
body, which is armed with apophyses more or less de-
veloped, and more or less numerous, according to the
region of the body, or the species. The body of the
vertebra is generally compact ; but in most tree-serpents
the longitudinal diameter of that part considerably ex-
ceeds its thickness, so that the bones of the trunk, relatively
to the length of these animals, are less numerous than in
other Ophidians. The vertebras play pretty freely on
each other, by means of articulations, well defined, and
more numerous than in most other animals. The prin-
cipal junction, which is almost perpendicular to the axis of
the vertebra, is composed of a perfectly spherical condyle,
divided from the body of the vertebra by a stricture in the
form of a neck; this condyle is secured in a hollow,
scooped out in the anterior part of the body of the next
vertebra ; hence results a species of articulation which
deserves the name of JEnarthrosis in its most extensive
sense, if these movements were not restrained by the arti-
culations of the Apophyses of the vertebrae. The spinous
processes, very broad and voluminous at their base,
unite behind with the articular apophyses which most
generally also replace the transverse processes ; at their
anterior face, on the contrary, the base of the spinous pro-
cesses is prolonged in a wide projection, which is lodged
in the cavity at the base of the preceding apophyses : the
points of union consist of two pairs of lateral articular
facets, inclined to the axis of the vertebra, and this is the
origin of the supernumerary articular planes in the Ophi-
dians. The planes of the articulating apophyses present
a flat surface, in a perfectly horizontal direction. It
follows from this description, that the movements of the
bodies of serpents can only be freely exercised in the
lateral and vertical directions, and yet the movements in

OF THE BONES OF THE TEUNK.

20'

this latter direction are modified by the formation of the
spinous processes. It is evident that this mobility must
diminish, as the latter have acquired a greater develop-
ment. In the Boa, the Tortrix, and in several of the genus
Coluber, Ophidians which possess the power of strongly
rolling up the body, the superior spinous processes are but
little developed, and the inferior are only found on the an-
terior part of the trunk. Other Ophidians, on the contrary,
and particularly the serpents properly called venomous, have
all the vertebrse bristling with spinous apophyses, both
above and below, extremely large, and of which the su-
perior are very broad and locked together. The develop-
ment of those parts varies even in species of the same
genus ; but we must defer the particulars to the de-
scriptive part of our book ; and I have here only to state
that, when the inferior spinous processes exist, generally
they are only found on the vertebrae composing the
anterior parts of the trunk, reckoning from the heart.

We have stated above that the vertebrae of Ophidians,
with a few exceptions, are without transverse processes :
the analogous parts occur only in the. Bungarus, where
they consist of two very slender lamellae on each side ; the
superior one little developed, and slightly oblique, the
anterior one rather considerable and wide at its extremity.

A bony projection, placed on each side of the anterior
part of the body of the vertebrae, and directed a little
downwards, supports the articular facet of the ribs. These
bones, broad and compressed at their base, where they
present a small, blunt, apophysis, are almost cylindrical,
directed backwards, always arched, but in different degrees
in different species ; they vary in length according to the
circumference of the trunk which they are destined to em-
brace. The sternal extremity terminates in a cartilage,
which is continued on the edges of the abdominal plates.

The external form of serpents indicates that the develop-
ment of the vertebrae, of their processes, and of the ribs,
should diminish towards the two ends of the trunk ;
and hence the ribs of the first vertebra are very small,
or even entirely wanting. The Atlas, often unpro-
vided with a spinous process, has its body perforated by

30

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SBEPENTS.

tlie odontoid process, which appears in the form of a
conical protuberance, surrounded by the three articular
planes, which form the glenoid cavity destined to receive
the occipital condyle. The small size of the first vertebras^
and the little development of their processes, occasion some
obliteration of their articulating surfaces, and even the
confounding of one with the other. The vertebrae of the
tsiil exhibit in the arrangement of their apophyses an
analogous conformation to those of the trunk ; but their
size diminishes gradually as they approach the extremity
of that member. They are constantly provided with trans-
verse processes directed downwards, which augment in
length as they approach the base of the tail, where they are
often cleft in two, as are also the last ribs ; so that five, six,
or more ranges of them may be found. The development of
the superior spinous processes of the tail is regulated by
that of the apophyses of the vertebra of the trunk ; but in
sea-serpents they have an uncommon length ; the inferior,
on the contrary, are always longitudinally cleft, or rather
may be considered as a double range. In some Ophidians,
as in the Eryx, where the tail is obtuse and thick, the
number of the apophyses of the tail is very great ; and
we see, for the reasons already advanced, in the Bungarus
three ranges of transverse processes.

OF THE BONES OF THE HEAD.

The real cranium of Ophidians, or that assemblage of
bones which encloses the brain and most of the organs
of sense, is the smallest part of the bony frame which serves
as a basis for the whole head. On the other hand, the
solid organs of mastication, with their appendices and their
levers, all fully developed, and all possessing a greater or
less degree of movement, compose a larger portion of the
head than the former ; and on them almost entirely de-
pends the shape of the head. The true cranium is always
elongated, and is widest just behind the eyes ; from thence
the lateral borders most generally converge towards the
point of the muzzle ; the posterior part of the cranium
is suddenly narrowed, and forms a cylindric cavity more

OF THE BONES OF THE HEAD.

31

or less drawn out, opened out at the base, dilated in the
middle, and thickest towards the extremity. The sides
of this part serve for the attachment of the temporal
muscles, the action of which, in old animals, produces a
projecting crest on the summit of the cranium. The
temporal fosse, thus formed, is behind indistinctly bound-
ed by the tympanites; before are the posterior frontal
bones, which, when they exist, indicate the limits between
that cavity and that containing the eye. It is apparent
that this cavity will be more or less complete, according
to the degree of development of these bones ; but this
cavity is never entirely closed, except at its anterior part.
The nasal cavity too, always open to the front, and with
its internal apertures very near the end of the snout,
occupies the anterior part of the cranium, and is very im-
perfectly covered by the nasal bones.

The osseous pieces, composing the walls of the cavity of
the cranium, are all firmly united, and consist of the fol-
lowing : —

1. The sphenoid^ a pairless bone of a lengthened form,
occupying the base of the cranium, and provided on each
side, in many serpents not venomous, especially in the
Boa, with a small protuberance or projection, which serves
for the attachment of the internal pterygoid bone ; on the
other hand, in venomous snakes, properly so called, its
posterior part is contracted to a crest, which is often pro-
longed backwards, to form, in conjunction with the infe-
rior occipital, that long hook analogous to the inferior
spinous processes of the vertebrse, and which presents a
powerful lever, acting as a point of insertion for the flexor
muscles of the head.

2. The parietal, also a pairless bone, which chiefly de-
termines the form of the posterior part of the head, of
which we have, therefore, already mentioned the form.

3. The frontals, properly called, bones always in pairs,
which terminate the cranial cavity in front, and descend
in the orbits to unite with the sphenoid.

4. The oceipitals, divided into inferior and superior, in-
dented at the posterior part of the cranium, and fortified by
several protuberances, of which those surrounding the oc

32

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEKPENTS.

cipital foramen are the largest. The entrance to that
cavity is protected above by an osseous plate like a scale,
salient and vaulted ; below projects the occipital condyle,
supported by a neck, and composed of three pieces, which
become one by age, forming a single plane, sometimes in
the form of a trefoil, sometimes of a heart.

5. We come, finally, to the temporals^ all around im-
bedded between the occipitals and the parietals, and con-
taining in their cavities the organs of hearing ; the back
part contains the pars petrosa.

The assemblage of the bones of the face are in the same
plane with those that form the bony case of the true cra-
nium ; and we shall now describe them. We observe, first,
the anterior frontals, a pair of bones usually triangular,
which determine the lateral portions of the face, and by
their posterior portions assist in forming the anterior part
of the orbit ; the inferior surface of this bone extends to the
maxillary, with which it is articulated in the true venom-
ous snakes ; its form and its direction vary exceedingly,
according to the functions it has to perform, and its volume
is reduced in the latter class of animals to a very small
size. Finally, the internal surface composes the back part
of the nasal cavity, of which, however, the principal part
is formed by several bones attached by ligaments to the
cranium, and allowing a certain degree of motion in a ver-
tical direction. The pieces which also form the base of
the snout, receive at this anterior end the intermaxillary :
They are, 1st, the vomer, composed of two symmetrical
pieces, united by their internal faces, broad and triangular
before, slender towards the extremity which unites them to
the sphenoid ; 2d, the nasals, almost always triangular, and
with an anterior plate descending to form the septum which
divides the nostrils ; they cover the nasal cavity ; 3d, a
small bone analogous to the turbinated bones.

We perceive, moreover, in the skull of Ophidians several
supernumerary pieces, which, however, by ho means occur
in every species. The first are the posterior frontals, bones
which descend from the summit of the front to defend the
posterior border of the eye. In the Trigonocephalus, the
Crotalus, and in some serpents not venomous, we find only

OF THE BONES OF THE HEAD.

33

vestiges of these bones ; they disappear in the Tortrix and
the Elaps, while they are highly developed in the Boa,
in many Vipers, &c. ; but in the Acrochordus they extend
to the anterior frontals, and thus replace the supraorbitars,
another pair of supernumerary osseous pieces, peculiar to
the Pythons, and wedged between the frontals.

All the other bones of the head belong more or less di-
rectly to the great apparatus destined for mastication, if
such a term may be employed in describing the animals of
which we now treat. This apparatus is naturally divided
into two parts : the first consists of the upper jaw and its
appendages ; the second is formed by the lower jaw, and
the pieces which suspend it from the cranium. It is first
necessary to describe the intermaxillary^ a little bone placed
transversely at the end of the snout, rarely armed with
teeth, the handle of which is lodged between the nasals and
the vomer ; being in other points free, it follows the move-
ments of these bones. The maxillaries^ equally free at
their anterior extremity, are united to the cranium, through
the medium of the anterior frontals ; their posterior extre-
mity is bound to the external pterygoids ; but it by no
means follows that their form and their mode of attach-
ment should always be the same in the different genera of
Ophidians. In non- venomous serpents, this bone is pretty
long, horizontally placed, armed with a row of numerous
teeth, and always united by a bridge more or less wide to
the palatal bones, or even to the internal pterygoids. In
the poisonous snakes, on the contrary, it is reduced to a
very short piece, and always smaller according as the
serpent is more poisonous. We observe in the venom-
ous snakes, that this bone only supports the fangs, is arti-
culated only to the anterior frontals, and is free in all the
rest of its extent. It is evident, that the development of
the external pterygoids, real levers of the upper jaw, should
be in the inverse ratio to that of the maxillaries. This
piece, intermediate between the maxillaries and the internal
pterygoids, is always without teeth, and becomes more
slender as it increases in length ; it consequently shews
itself in the shape of a linear and very slender stylet in
venomous snakes. The internal pterygoids, which unite

34

OK THE PHYSIOOKOMY OF SEEPEKTS.

anteriorly with the palatals, form with the latter two
branches, most frequently in the form of an S, extending
almost the whole length of the cranium. Their anterior
extremity is either free or united to the vomer by ligaments,
the posterior end is attached to the internal edge of the
tympanite near its base. These bony slips, except in the
Oligodon alone, are armed with teeth. Besides its union
with the external pterygoid, the internal pterygoid is con-
nected in many non- venomous serpents with the sphenoid.
The same is the case with the palatals, which in all that
tribe, and in all the true venomous snakes, are attached,
by means of a small apophysis, to the base of the cranium.

It remains that I describe the lower jaw. Everybody
knows that its two branches are joined by a ligament at
their anterior extremity, instead of being ankylosed. Each
branch is composed of two principal parts, the dentiferous
and the articular portions, of which the sutures are covered,
on the internal face, by three little supernumerary bones ;
the superior piece has been compared to the coronoid pro-
cess in the skeleton of the mammifera ; but in many Ophi-
dians, especially in the non- venomous serpents, the portion
of which we now speak is almost reduced to nothing, and
is placed under the dentiferous part ; whilst the true coro-
noid process is well developed, and occupies the posterior
part of the articular portion near its junction with the
tympanites. The dentiferous part alone supporting the
teeth is always bristled with them throughout its length ;
it varies considerably in the different species, has acquired
the greatest development in the Boa, and is least in the
venomous snakes. It is superfluous to remark, that the
development of the two principal portions of the lower jaw
have an inverse ratio to each other, and that the extent of
the whole of that jaw naturally augments with the size of
its suspensory bones. These supporting bones occur as a
pair on each side : Ist, The mastoid bone, attached to the
cranium above the pars petrosa ; and, 2d, The drumsticks
or tympanitic bones, ^ attached to the mastoids by ligaments,

The bones are denominated in French les Caisses, or les Tympaniques.
They have no analogy in the skeletons of mammifera, unless we consider
them representing the upright angular portion of the lower jaw.]

OF THE MUSCLES.

35

and having on their inferior extremity an articulating sur-
face more or less grooved, which produces a hinged junc-
ture with the condyle of the lower jaw. The mastoids
are rarely firmly united to the skull, as in the Tortrix ;
more frequently appearing in the form of a scale, are always
placed in the same plane with the surface of the cranium,
and yield in size to the tympanites ; the form and direction of
which vary much in the different species ; the last-mentioned
bones are stout, and suspended nearly perpendicularly in
the Elaps, the Boa, the Tortrix, and several other non-
venomous serpents ; they are slender, filiform, directed
outward, and in a position more or less vertical in many
Ophidians, especially in the division of the venomous
snakes properly so called.

It results from the conformation of these parts, that the
mouth of the Ophidians is more susceptible of enlargement,
according as the bones which suspend the lower jaw have
acquired a greater development, and as those composing
the upper jaw are more free. If, on the contrary, as in
many Ophidians, these last are bound together and to the
skull, if their tympanites are small, the bones acquire a
greater solidity or diameter, and the mouth is capable of
a less degree of dilatation.

OF THE MUSCLES.

Several naturalists have applied themselves to describe
the muscles of Ophidians. Sir Everarh Home ^ has fur-
nished some interesting observations on this subject. Yfe
owe to M. HuBNERjf a physician of Berlin, a dissertation
in which the author describes the organs of motion in the
Boa Canina ; but this academic tract is rarely met with
in libraries. MM. DugesJ and DuvER]sroY§ have pub-
lished descriptions and good figures of the muscles of the
head. The researches of Meckel || on the muscles of

Phil, Tvs. 1810 ; and Lect. on Comparative Anatomy,

I Pe organis motor Us Boi^e Canines,

t AnnaUs de Sc. Nat. tom. xii.

§ Ibid, t. xxvi., pi. 10.

II Vergl, Anat. vol. iii. p. 130.

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEKPENTS.

the Ophidians, are by far the most complete which have
ever appeared on this difficult branch of science. I have
dissected the muscles of serpents of many different genera ;
but these organs have presented in the different species
such distinct modifications, that it would require very ex-
tensive and comparative researches to reduce all these dif-
ferences to a common type. Such a labour, more interest-
ing to physiology, would be foreign to the end which I
proposed to myself in this work. I shall, therefore, con-
tent myself with presenting a superficial view of the muscles
of Ophidians in general.

The muscles, especially those of the trunk, are remark-
able for the considerable volume observed in some, and the
extraordinary size of the tendons, which acquire, in some
species, especially in the true venomous snakes, an uncom-
mon development. This organization is requisite to give
that force and activity, with which the undulatory move-
ments of the body, the principal means of locomotion in
Ophidians, is executed. The muscles of Ophidians being
frequently interlaced with each other, it becomes very dif-
ficult to give an exact description of each individual muscle ;
and it is not less difficult to compare those organs with
those of animals of a more elevated scale, and to state the
modifications they present in departing from their type.

The upper part of the spine, or, if you will, the posterior
part, presents a great number of muscles which take their
origin from the lateral part of the spinous processes, and
which are united to long tendons inserted into the articu^
lar apophyses : they form a compound muscle, which cor-
responds to the spinalis and semi-spinalis muscles of mam-
mifera, and which sends, through its whole length, tendons
to the ends of the spinous apophyses ; it divides on the
neck in two parts, of which the interior is attached to the
atlas, while the exterior is prolonged* on the occiput, in
order to fulfil the functions of levator of the head. The
muscles which we are describing unite themselves inti-
mately with the transverse spinous processes which they
cover ; and this anterior attaches itself to the posterior
surface of the occiput. The extensor of the spine is
another very considerable muscle, composed of a great

OF THE MUSCLES.

37

number of bundles of fibres interlacing with each other,
and terminating in tendons. These fasciculi proceed
from the transverse apophyses, and often send tendons to
the spinous apophyses ; they are strictly connected with
other muscular bundles, which unite the ribs by tens, and
are carried forward to the sides of the head. The spaces
between the vertebral processes are filled by the spinales
and inter-transversales muscles. The muscles of the ribs
are numerous and complicated : some are intended to ad-
just the levers, uniting them in fours ; others in a perpen-
dicular direction, are also intended as levators of the ribs ;
others are seen proceeding equally from the ribs, and de-
scending on the skin of the flanks, even to the abdomen ^
they cover the fasciculi which are directed obliquely back-
wards to unite the ribs by twos, and which form posteri-
orly the flexor of the tail. We distinguish, besides, two or
three pairs of intercostal muscles, the external layers of
which unite the ribs, sometimes by two and two, at other
times by four and four. The interior surface of the ribs,
and the inferior surface of the vertebrae, present several
well developed muscles, arising partly from the sides of
the vertebrae, partly from the ribs themselves, and inserted
into the ribs, either at their middle, or at their sternal ex-
tremity : these muscles are intended to depress the ribs,
and to draw them backwards ; they stretch under the
tail, forming the flexor of that member ; but they are
replaced below the neck by the depressors of the head,
which have the form of an acute triangle, and are accom-
panied by the muscles producing the lateral movements of
the head.

The head itself has many other muscles which take their
origin from the posterior spinous processes of the vertebrae
of the neck ; one of them extends along the lower jaw,
another shorter one passes from the cervical vertebra to the
articulation of the jaw. The costo-maxillary muscle ex-
tends from the anterior ribs under the throat, to be at-
tached to the branches of the lower jaw, the ends of which
are bound together by a little transverse muscle. The
muscles of mastication are well developed ; the temporal
is constantly divided into two parts, of which the anterior

38

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OP SERPENTS.

passes below the salivary glands, to be attached, as a broad
riband, on the lower jaw ; the fibres which are prolonged
over the poison gland, and which serve to compress it in
the act of biting, proceed also from this muscle. The
muscle which stretches from the upper surface of the tym-
panites has been compared to the Digastric. The muscle
passing from the articulation of the lower jaw to the ex-
ternal pterygoids has got its name from this last bone ; in
venomous snakes it sends off two tendons, one destined for
the maxillary bone, the other for the capsule of the fangs.
Besides the muscles just described, two others exist, which
take their origin near the articulation of the lower jaw :
1st, The internal pterygoids; and, 2d, The muscle which
is fixed to the base of the occiput. A third long muscle
unites the internal pterygoid to the sphenoid bone, to which
it is often attached by two heads. Lastly, there exists a
small muscle between the sphenoid and the palatal bones.

OP THE RUDIMENTS OP POSTERIOR EXTREMITIES.

Many serpents have a little hook or spur at each side
of the anus, half concealed by the scales, which has been
long since recognised ; but we owe to Professor Mayer
of Bonn, the first accurate account of it. This philosopher
has demonstrated, that these organs should be considered
as vestiges of Posterior Extremities, In the order of
Ophidians, these bones have hitherto been detected only
in the true Tortrix, the Boas, and the Pythons ; all other
serpents, according to my observations, are wholly de-
prived of them. These organs are strongly developed in
the Boas ; and the size of those animals being favourable
to the examination of parts so delicate, the type of the
description of these organs is taken from this genus.
These vestiges of inferior extremities consist, on each side,
of an assemblage of three principal bones, and two small
accessory pieces, attached to the articulation of a tibia and
a tarsus. The terminal bone, the only one that is exter-
nally visible, has the form of a crooked nail, covered with
a hard scaly skin. We discover, by means of a longitu-
dinal incision in the muscles at the side of the anus, that

OF THE RUDIMENTS OF POSTERIOR EXTREMITIES. 39

the internal piece, the most developed of all, has more or
less the figure of S, may be compared to the tibia, and
extends with a free end just within the abdominal cavity.
The middle piece, on the other hand, which represents the
tarsus, is thick, short, a little arched, and is completely
concealed in the flesh. The muscles vfhich move this ap-
paratus we are describing, have a very simple structure :
the principal are an extensor, with its antagonist a flexor :
both are inserted near the upper end of the tibia, and are
attached to the tarsus ; the extensor on the anterior face
near the nail, the flexor at an apophysis placed in the
middle of the posterior face of that bone. Two other
muscles less marked, suspended from the flesh, and at-
tached to the two little accessory pieces of the tarsus,
produce the lateral movement : the adductor, which is
directed towards the abdomen, is a good deal less than
the abductor, the fibres of which are prolonged on the
sides of the back. We find in the Boa, besides these
muscles, a second very small flexor, placed at the internal
surface of the tibia and tarsus, and contributing to the
movements of these two pieces. The apparatus represent-
ing the posterior extremities in other serpents provided
with them, with some modifications excepted, are precisely
on the model of that in the Boa.

We are still ignorant of the use of these vestiges of ex-
tremities. Their small size forbids us to suppose that
they can contribute to locomotion. It has been stated
that they might aid copulation : an opinion to which we
can only oppose the fact, that the two sexes are equally
provided with them. Other naturalists have maintained
that they serve to cling more closely to objects which the
wreaths of the tail or of the trunk embrace ; and this, per-
haps, is the most probable opinion.

OF THE MOVEMENTS.

After having described the organs of locomotion, we
shall speak of the divers movements which serpents per-
form. In complete repose, these reptiles love to roll the
bodies in a spiral, in such a manner that the head alone,

40

03Sr THE PHYSIOaNOMY OF SERPENTS.

which is in the centre, is slightly elevated above the other
parts ; hut having the faculty of bending the body in a
thousand different positions, they are often found simply
extended on the ground with the body undulated in si-
nuous contours. To produce progression, the serpent
has merely to unrol his spires ; resting himself afterwards
on his tail, rebending his body in successive lateral undu-
lations, and, applying to the ground the numerous points
of contact which the anterior extremities of the ribs pre-
sent, the reptile is pushed forward and transported with a
celerity proportional to the efforts or power of the instru-
ments of locomotion. We have already remarked on this
head, that the progressive movements of Ophidians are
almost all executed in the same manner, and that the tail
but aids the locomotion differently, according to the mo-
dification which its form undergoes in the different tribes.
Very often, in order to observe what passes around them,
serpents raise themselves perpendicularly, supporting
themselves solely on the tail, or on a part of the abdo-
men ; their trunk is then rigid, and perfectly straight ;
and most frequently the head is then bent and directed
forwards : at other times they bend their bodies as an S,
inflating their necks in this position. Suspended perpen-
dicularly from the branch of a tree, the Boa resembles a
stiff body without life. In descending from a tree or other
tall object, serpents let themselves simply fall to the
ground, — their form, and the elasticity of their parts, pre-
venting any dangerous consequences from this fall ; on
attaining the ground, the shock they sustain, instead of
proving hurtful, impels them forward, and serves as a
stimulus to their subsequent movements.

Serpents have been repeatedly described, that can per-
form perfectly a retrograde movement. This peculiarity
has been especially attributed to those burrowing snakes
that have cylindric bodies, terminated by a tail very thick
and obtuse at the extremity ; but as this has neither been
certified by well-informed travellers, nor by professed na-
turalists, there is room for doubt on this point ; perhaps
it owes its origin to the prejudices^ of the ancients, who

* Plin. VIII. 35. ^LiAN, IX. 23.

OF THE MOVEMEIS'TS.

41

describe, under the name of Amphisbaana, a serpent fur-
nished with a head at each extremity, and having the fa-
culty of moving in opposite directions. A designation ap-
plied to an Ophidian of the Old World, probably the Eryx,
is given by modern naturalists, after the example of the
Portuguese, to some serpents of America.

The greatest number of non- venomous snakes, and the
colubriform venomous serpents, defend themselves against
the attacks of their enemies, by darting at them with an
elevated head, in order to bite with more effect ; some,
as the ISTajas, straighten the front of their bodies, and
take a very peculiar position. Most of them hiss strong-
ly, as a prelude to the attack ; sometimes also is heard a
noise from the air, which they forcibly eject from their
nostrils. Several species throw themselves on their prey
with huge bounds, seize it generally with the mouth ;
others secure it by twisting the tail around it ; and the
Boas also embrace it with the convolutions of their
trunk.

The venomous snakes, properly so called, employ the
same means to procure the animals on which they sub-
sist, and to rid themselves of their enemies. Indolently
extended on the ground, they attack indiscriminately
every animal which disturbs them by too near an ap-
proach ; but knowing the power of their weapons, they
are contented to inflict the mortal blow, which but rarely
misses its aim. To execute this blow, they generally
straighten the head, carry back the anterior part of the
trunk, and at a single effort uncoil the folds of their body,
and support themselves on the tail ; the leap which this
movement produces may be compared to the recoil of a
spring, and it directs the wound inflicted by the fangs, by
a sudden, extremely rapid, downward movement of the
head.

OF THE TEETH.

Ophidians swallow the animals on which they live whole,
their teeth not serving to chew, nor to break their aliment :
they are simple dental organs, destined to inflict wounds,

D

42

01^ THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

to detain their prey^ and to assist deglutition. Inde-
pendently of these functions, the teeth often conduct into
the wounds, which they make a liquor, secreted by glands
lodged in the head. These glands are of two kinds : the
one, like the salivary glands of mammals and birds, is
composed of numerous small grains, which secrete a fluid
similar to saliva, intended to prepare nutritious substances
for digestion ; the others have a different structure : they
form a thick sac, the interior of which is divided into
numerous compartments : they distil a liquor which,
by the deadly effects it can produce in the animal body,
becomes the fatal implement, by means of which ser-
pents kill the animals which serve for their support. The
salivary glands are the property of all Ophidians ; but
scarcely a fourth part of the known species are also pro-
vided with the poison glands. The teeth, which conduct
the poison into the wounds, are always hollow, and, per-
forated at both ends, are called fangs : these are al-
ways placed at the anterior end of the maxillary bone,
where they are fixed, and often are its only occupants :
concealed in the gums, which here form a sort of sheath,
they are recumbent, while the snake is in a state of re-
pose, but are elevated when he intends to bite. The rest
of the teeth, and all those of non-venomous serpents, are
solid, with the exception of the cavity that contains the nu-
tritive organs of the tooth. It is observed, however, that
a considerable number of non-venomous serpents of differ-
ent genera have jaws provided with one or two teeth
larger than the rest, and generally grooved by a canal, ex-
tending along their anterior face. These channelled teeth
always are found at the posterior part of the maxiUary
bone ; and we but rarely find a second iii the middle of
the jaws : they have no other function than pouring into
the wounds they make a more copious saliva, secreted by
the posterior salivary glands, which are most voluminous
in the region occupied by those channelled teeth.^

* It is erroneous to class with venomous serpents those snakes which
have long and channelled jpostmor teeth. Vague and contradictory ac-
counts of the qualities of Ophidians, furnished by the natives of Java,
have probably caused this mistake. In the Indies^ as in Brazil, in

OF THE TEETH.

43

In studying the structure of the teeth of Ophidians, we
find an insensible passage from solid teeth to fangs. Each
tooth consists, in its first stages of development, of a
lamella turned up at the sides, so as to be open on its
anterior face. In the solid teeth, this fissure is soldered
up at a very early age of the animal; it remains open
a little longer in the fangs of venomous snakes, properly
so called, but at the time of maturity, these fangs only ex-
hibit the two apertures destined for the entrance and emis-
sion of the poison, the lower of which always appears as a
longitudinal fissure. The other venomous serpents have
analogous fangs, but we can always perceive traces of the
groove which unite the two orifices for the poison; the
channel, then, of the posterior and longest teeth of certain
harmless Ophidians, is merely that fissure remaining open

Africa, as in Europe, the inhabitants indiscriminately consider a&
venomous a great many snakes, especially if their aspect has any thing
hideous. M. Reinwardt, during his residence in Java, discovered
the existence of grooved teeth in several species of the ancient genus
Coluber ; when published by the late M. Lichtenault and other tra^
vellers, and accompanied by the accounts of the nature of serpents cur-
rent in that isle, this discovery attracted the attention of European
naturalists. Boie has detailed similar observations of Professor
Reinwardt on many other Ophidians. I published, in 1827, in a me-
moir inserted in the Acta Curios. Naturae of Bonn, my own researches
relative to this fact. Since that period, the question has often been dis-
cussed, and it has even been concluded on anatomical investigation, that
we ought to consider all serpents as dangerous, whose posterior teeth were
long or grooved. I have arrived by analogous researches, and by a
rigorous examination of the accounts which are detailed on the suspi-
cious characters of certain snakes, at a very opposite conclusion. The
structure of the supposed posterior venomous gland, so absolutely like
the other salivary glands, cannot permit a doubt to remain that it se-
cretes a fluid similar to the ordinary saliva : besides, the recent obser-
vations of travellers serve to shew, that the bites, neither of the Drio-
phis nor of the Dipsas, serpents with grooved teeth, produce any fatal
effects on man.

The glands of the head of serpents have furnished materials for nu-
merous dissertations, published by Ranby (Phil. Trans. N. 401, p.
377, — by Russel, by Seifert, by Tiedemann, Mem. de VAcad. de
Munich, 1813, p. 25, — by Cloqdet, Mem. du Mus,, Vol. VII. p. 62, —
by Demoulins, ap Magendie, Journ. de Physique, IV. p. 274, — by
Meckel, Archiv. I., — and by Duvernoy, Ann. de Sci. Nat. XXVI. and
XXX. We find also remarks relative to this subject in the works of
Redi, Mead, Fontana, and Charas.

44

Q-E THE PHTSIOa:N^OMT OF SEEPENTS.

during the existence of the animal.^ Every tooth, before
its appearance j is covered by a membrane, which contains
also nutritive matter. In ossifying, the tooth fixes its base
in the hollow representing the alveoli, and roots itself, as
the ossification advances, very often, especially in the fangs ;
a small orifice at their base remains behind, for the entrance
of the vessels and the nerves : thus the fangs are more in-
timately connected with the bones than the other teeth.
We often perceive the germs of new teeth concealed in the
germs near the older teeth, and intended to replace the
latter when they are accidentally destroyed ; soon the new
tooth moves to occupy the empty alveolus, where it fixes
itself by the development described. t The fangs being
more exposed than the other teeth, nature has watched
over their reproduction, in placing behind them several
germs of new fangs, of which the number is sometimes as
high as six, and they succeed in every degree of develop-
ment; it is not known whether the old fangs are shed
spontaneously at certain epochs, and whether this replacing
of the fangs is a gradual process. The internal structure
of these organs is remarkable, in having the conduit for
the poison separated by a partition from the hollow con-
taining the nutrient apparatus of the tooth. J

The solid teeth are found equally in all Ophidians ; but
their number, their form, and their arrangement, present
considerable differences in their various species. With
the exception of the Oligodon, which is without palatal teeth,
we always reckon four rows of teeth in the upper, and two
in the lower jaw. Intermaxillary teeth are only found in
the Pythons, and occasionally iri the Tortrix scytale : their
number is rarely more than four. The solid teeth of
Ophidians are most usually all of equal length ; but in the
Boa they augment in size towards the end of the muzzle ;
and the reverse occurs in some species of Coluber, Tropi-
donotus, &c. ; the Lycodons exhibit, at the anterior

^ See Fig. 1, 2, S, and 4, PL 16, of my Memoir already quoted.

t See the Memoir on the Reproduction of the Fangs, published by
Rosa, a memoir which I only know by the extract given by Meckel.
Trad. Allem. de VAnat. Comp, de Cuvier, t. iii. p. 126.

See the figures of the fangs in the work of Fontana.

OF THE GLANDS.

4:5

extremity of the maxillary bone^ several teeth longer than
the rest ; the teeth of the Dryiophis and Psammophis are
very unequal, and we find several very long at the middle
of the jaws and at the posterior part of the maxillaries ;
those teeth, as also the posterior teeth of certain species of
the genera Dipsas, Homalopsis, &c., are often grooved,
whilst other Ophidians, as the Xenodon, the Coronella,
several Homalopsis, &c., have the posterior part of the
maxillary furnished with a very large but solid tooth. It
is evident that the number of teeth must vary according
to the development of the maxillary and the dental bone
of the lower jaw. In most of the genus Coluber, each of
these branches contain from twenty to twenty-five teeth ;
those teeth are less numerous in the Homalopsis, the Tor-
trix, the Calamaria, and are reduced to a very few in the
venomous serpents. We have stated above, that the
maxillary bone of venomous serpents, properly so called,
is only armed with the fangs ; but this bone, having a
larger development in the colubriform venomous snakes^
most frequently carries one or more solid teeth behind
the fangs.^

OF THE GLANDS.

The salivary glands of serpents present sensible modi-
fications in size, situation, and form, not only in the
different genera of this order, but also in different species.
Their volume is invariably greater in innocuous species than
in those also furnished with a poison gland. The glands
are denominated from their position ; as nasal, lachrymal,
&c, ; and we subdivide those about the jaws into maxillary
and mandibular. All these salivary glands, although of

* The Tropidonotus rudis presents a very singular anomaly in the
presence of points of enamel in the guise of teeth, placed on the extre-
mities of the inferior spinous processes of the seven or eight last verte-
bras towards the head. These teeth are directed backwards, and recall
those of the fjyprinus and of certain Crustacea ; but their use, to judge
by their direction, is perhaps analogous to that of the conical appendages
of the (Esophagus in marine Tortoises. They perforate the tunics of the
(Esophagus, and shew themselves distinctly in the interior of the canal,
even in very young subjects.

46

Q-N THE PHYSIOraOMY OF SERPENTS.

one structure, present differences among themselves in
aspect and figure. The nasal, for example, is more hard
to the touch than those of the jaws ; the lachrymal gene-
rally exhibits a smooth surface of a paler colour and softer
consistence than the rest ; and the maxillary glands, when
they have a very large posterior lobe, have sometimes
that portion subdivided into other lobes, smaller but co-
herent.

The lachrymal gland sends, according to the observation
of M. J. Cloquet,^ a part of the fluid it secretes into the
cavity before the ball of the eye. In this respect it is a
true lachrymal gland ; but its large size, in some serpents
with very small eyes, and the circumstance that the super-
fluous secretion is poured by several small excretory canals
into the mouth, leads to the supposition, that it performs
the double office of a lachrymal and salivary gland, and
that in some Ophidians it probably merits the latter de-
signation more especially. It is constantly found in all
Ophidians ; it is placed behind the eye-ball, protected by
the posterior frontals when they exist, and is often covered
by the temporal muscle ; while, in other serpents, it is more
or less completely buried in the orbit surrounding the pos-
terior border of the eye.

A nasal gland is found in most Ophidians. “f" When
it exists, it occupies the frenal region, and reaches the
back of the nostrils. M. Muller has found that it pours
its secretion into the mouth by an excretory duct joining
that of the lachrymal gland. This gland is very large in
the Xenopeltis, in some of the Colubri, and in the Trigo-
nocephalus Rhodostoma.

The salivary glands of the jaws are much less developed
in venomous than in innocuous snakes. There are but
few species of the latter tribe which have them small, but
the Eryx is totally without maxillary glands. The species,
on the contrary, with grooved or long posterior maxil-
lary teeth, have always a large gland in that region, which
is sometimes more or less separated from the rest of the

^ Mem. du Mus.^ vol. vii. p. 62.

t The learned Professor Muller was the first to discover its exist-
ence in Ophidians. See Meckel, Archiv., Am, 1829, p. 70.

OF THE GLANDS,

47

maxillary gland. In those serpents in which is founds
besides the posterior teethj a long one in the middle of the
jaws, the gland, at this point, has also a more considerable
volume, in order to supply this large tooth with a more
abundant liquor. In many other snakes, the maxillary
glands extend under the rostral plate, and unite from both
sides, but very often the rostral is divided from the maxil-
laries. The maxillary and mandibular glands, ranged
above the jaws, send into the mouth their secretions by
small excretory ducts, opening in the gums at the base of
the teeth. The duct of the large gland in serpents with
posterior grooved teeth, is very visible, and corresponds
exactly with the groove which conducts the saliva into the
wound. Very often the maxillary gland is suspended by
a tendinous band to the articulation of the lower jaw.

Besides this complicated salivary apparatus, common to
all serpents, we find in others a peculiar gland destined to
secrete a liquid, which, when introduced into the animal
frame, produces effects more or less deadly. This gland,
called poisonous, because it is the characteristic of venom-
ous snakes, is shut up in very dense tendinous covering,
strong and firm to the touch, and ending posteriorly in a
narrow slip, which attaches it to the articulation of the lower
jaw. Anteriorly, this covering becomes narrow, and ends
in a pretty wide duct, extending along the maxillary bone,
and descending to terminate in the orifice situate on the
anterior face of the base of the fang. In the real venom-
ous snakes, this duct is in folds when the long fangs are
recumbent, and has the capability of distension, and of ac-
commodating itself easily to the movements of the maxillary
bone. The interior of the venom-gland is divided into a
great number of minute compartments or cells, produced
by the meeting of their very thin walls at different angles."^
It is to this structure alone, totally different from that of
the salivary glands, that the secretion of the fluid called
poison is due, which has got its name from the deleterious
effects it is capable of producing in the animal economy.
It is true that the bite of the most harmless animals may

^ See MiiLLER, De penitiori Glandularum Structura,

48

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEKPENTS.

have dangerous consequences from a concurrence of circum-
stances, such as the heat of the climate, the mental and
pathological state of the animal bitten, the fury which
animates the biter, &c. ; for the same reason, the bite of
serpents not venomous, may become dangerous even to
man, when the nature of their saliva has been altered by
such circumstances. But the poison of venomous snakes
has peculiar deleterious qualities naturally, although the
circumstances to which we have alluded may contribute to
render it more active.

The poison, in its fresh state, is a transparent, limpid
fluid, of a greenish-yellow tint, slightly glutinous, though
less so than the saliva, to which it has much resemblance ;
dried, it becomes viscid, and sticks firmly to substances ;
heated, it evaporates without inflaming ; it is diffusible in
water, which it renders turbid and whitish when shaken
with it. Its properties have considerable affinity to those
of mucus; the action of reagents shew it to be neither
acid nor alkaline ; it has no peculiar smell ; applied to
the tongue, it produces the same sensation as grease : it
may be taken, according to Fontana,^ internally, without
the slightest inconvenience being excited ; but this obser-
vation has been recently contradicted by the experiments
of Dr HERiNG,“f- made in Surinam, on the nature of the
venom of the Crotalus mutus. This traveller, on taking
at different times diverse doses of this poison, mingled
with water, felt the effects for eight days and more ; they
manifested themselves by pains in the larynx, and other
parts of the body, by a copious secretion of mucus from
the nose and oesophagus, by a frequent diarrhoea, accom-
panied by pains in the rectum, &c. ; to these were joined
other very remarkable effects, owing to the influence which
this poison exercised, according to Dr Hering, on the
moral faculties.

It follows from what we have stated, that the venom of
snakes produces its deleterious effects only, when, intro-
duced into a wound, it mingles with the blood: these
morbid symptoms manifest themselves more terribly and
^ This fact was known to the ancients,
t See Staff, ArcMv, x. cap. 2. See Lenz, p. 460.

OF THE OLANDS.

49

more speedily according as the quantity of the poison has
been considerable, and has been introduced into a part of
the body abounding in sanguiferous vessels. Hence the
reason why the bite of a large species is more dangerous
than that of the small, and why a deep puncture, or one
in a vein, is almost always mortal, whilst it is often not
followed by any bad consequence, where it only reaches
hard and callous parts of the body.^ We must, however,
attribute the greater or less activity of the poison to seve-
ral other causes than those already cited. Sometimes it
is but a single tooth which enters the flesh, at other times
both instil their venom ; the fangs penetrate with more
facility in a slender part of the body, as a finger, than in
the thigh or the trunk. Serpents, also, in biting several
times, expend their venom, so that the last wounds are
less dangerous than the first. We must also take into
account the size of the animal bitten, as compared to that
of the serpent ; in Europe, man rarely perishes from the
bite of our viper ; it requires from three to four vipers to
kill a horse or an ox, whilst a single bite is sufficient to
kill in a short time one of the small mammifera. It is not
so in tropical countries, where a bite from a large venom-
ous snake has generally fatal efiects in man and in other
animals. Thus, it may be considered as a law, that the
activity of the poison augments with the warmth of the
climate ; that the bite is more dangerous according to the
quantity of the poison instilled into the wound, and ac-
cording as the animal that inflicted the wound, and its
victim, were agitated by violent emotions. Innumerable
experiments have been instituted to determine the degree
of activity of the poison in different species of serpents, and

^ The poison has much less effect on cold-blooded animals than on
mammals or on birds ; on most of the invertebrata it produces no effect
whatever. These facts shew that the term poison is not always used in
its primitive sense, hut rather in a relative sense, and more particularly
with relation to the effects which this fluid produces on man or on animals
with red blood. This circumstance appears to have given rise to the
opinion advanced by some naturalists, that the viper itself, and other
animals, as the Anguis fragilis or slow-worm, the buzzard, were proof
against the bites of venomous snakes : the alleged facts have never been
proved by any positive experiments.

E

50

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OP SERPENTS.

the surest means of arresting their effects. Laurentius
acquired celebrity by experiments of this sort; all the
world has heard of the six thousand experiments made by
Fontana. The observations of Eussel have been intro-
duced into all works of herpetology ; Dr Davy has recently
added many new facts, the results of experiments made in
the island of Ceylon ; M. Lenz has made a great number
with the common viper ; and a crowd of other naturalists,
of physicians, and of chemists, have reported detached
facts, serving to elucidate this obscure branch of human
knowledge. But notwithstanding the vast number of ob-
servations, the results which may be deduced from them
are little satisfactory. All tend to demonstrate what we
have stated above, viz. that the symptoms following the
bites of venomous serpents are infinitely modified by pre-
valent circumstances. To obtain certain results, it would
be requisite to make a vast number of experiments with
snakes of the same size, in the same places, at the same
temperature, and to cause them to bite animals of the
same race, and even of the same constitution ; repeating
afterwards similar experiments with other species of
serpents, we might probably discover, on taking as the
result the mean term of the observations, if the nature of
the poison differs in the different species of snakes. With-
out calling in question this hypothesis, propounded by
several authors, I have reason to believe, that the bite of
venomous serpents, properly so called, is more dangerous
than that of the colubriform venomous serpents, and of
sea-snakes, because of the power of the weapons with
which the first are provided.

The poison of Ophidians affects much less the white-blood-
ed animals than the Vertebrata. In most of the latter, the
effects of the bite manifest themselves immediately after
they are bitten. Man speedily perceives an acute pain in
the limb wounded by the fangs, which only make two
minute punctures hardly visible, from which a few drops
of blood flow : the wounded part afterwards swells, and
inflammation declares itself with more or less rapidity ;
the absorption of the poison is announced by general de-
bility, walking becomes painful, the respiration impeded

OF THE OLANDS.

51

and laborious ; the patient experiences a burning thirst ;
nausea and vomiting quickly succeed, often followed by
great distress and faintings, which, joined to the most
violent pain, deprives the sufferer of his intellectual facul-
ties. Livid spots surrounding the wound are the precur-
sors of gangrene, which spreads to other parts of the body,
and causes death after a longer or shorter interval. It is
fortunate that the bite of serpents, even in tropical coun-
tries, is not always mortal ; yet the individuals who have
been bitten perceive after their recovery, even through
their lives, periodic sufferings, or are affected with
partial or complete palsy of the affected parts, or even
experience a continual disturbance of their intellectual
faculties.

We shall recollect to enumerate, when treating of the
errors in which the history of serpents is enveloped, some of
the pretended antidotes against the bites of snakes : a num-
ber of other remedies have been tried, of which the efficacy
has been vaunted by some, denied by others, and finally
shewn to be useless by subsequent experiments. Every
country produces persons who pretend to possess the art
of curing the bites of serpents ; but we should distrust su-
perstitious persons, most frequently impostors, whose whole
knowledge is founded on empiricism. Every tribe of the nume-
rous races of men of both Americas have a different mode of
treating maladies of this nature ; but the plants of which
the one tribe vaunts the virtues, are unknown or rejected
by the rest. In the villages of central Europe it is chiefly
herdsmen and shepherds who, professing the healing art,
consider it nothing above their skill to cure the bites of
vipers. In India and in Egypt this art is the special occu-
pation of one caste, at this day as ignorant as were their
ancestors in classic times. Instead of transcribing here
what has been written on this subject, I shall confine my-
self to point out the remedies which have been most suc-
cessfully employed and generally recognised.

The first precaution to use^ when one has been bitten by
a venomous serpent, is to clean the bitten part, in order
to prevent the poison adhering to the skin from entering
the scarifications, which it is judicious to make immediately :

52

0'S THE PHYSIOaONOMY OF SEEPENTS.

we may either employ caustic or the cautery to destroy
the flesh in that part. After having again washed the
wound, let it he pressed, and strive to prevent the absorp-
tion of the poison, by sucking the part, or, what is prefer-
able, employing the cupping-glass. A ligature over the
wound itself, and another tied above the wound, if its form
will permit, to prevent the communication of the poison to
other parts of the system, has been acknowledged to be of
essential service, provided they be not too tightly drawn.
We need not mention the various internal remedies that
have been administered, except sudorifics, which have been
stated to have good effects. M. Lenz"^ has successfully
employed chlorine, and recommended both its internal and
external use ; one may take daily, without inconvenience,
an ounce or more of this chemical preparation. Frictions
made with good olive oil have been recognised as effica-
cious in several instances. Some naturalists ascribe
to ammonia qualities which others deny to it : it is the
same with arsenic, and many other remedies, which
should only be employed with caution, and after having
administered ineffectually those which we have already
mentioned.!

OP THE TOXaUE.

The tongue of Ophidians is peculiarly remarkable,
from its great extensibility. Covered by very firm tunics,
weak, slender, and divided at its point into two filaments
more or less fine, it can be retracted within a sheath, the
mouth of which opens at a short distance before the glottis.
The position of this organ differs in each species. In
the Hydrophis, for example, they lie near the point of the
snout, whilst they are placed farther back in terrestrial
and tree snakes. The tongue of Ophidians, although
perfectly similar to that of certain Saurians, as the Moni-
tors and the Tejus, &c. is distinguished by the great sim-
plicity of the hard parts which support it ; in fact, in-

^ P. 246.

T Consult, besides, the dissertations already cited, the Toxicology of
Orfila.

OF THE INTESTINES.

53

stead of an os hyoides^ composed of several pieces, we
find a simple cartilaginons film attached to the internal
surface of the general integuments of the gular region, of
which the two ends are prolonged far hack. This carti-
lage is sometimes, as in the Boa, intimately united to the
muscles of the throat, the fibres of which it divides, its
posterior extremity being attached afterwards to the skin
on the sides of the neck ; hut in the greatest number of
other Ophidians, the horns of the hyoid bone are free,
very approximate, and prolonged into the cavity of the
chest, sometimes even to the heart itself. Each of these
horns is accompanied by a cylindrical muscle of the same
extent united to their posterior ends ; these muscles, the
antagonists of the genio-hyoids, retract the tongue within
the sheath. The tongue, by its construction, is a true organ
of touch, and can neither serve as an organ of taste, nor
participate in deglutition, since it remains within its sheath
during that operation. A small aperture at the point of
the muzzle with which most serpents, except the water-
snakes, are provided, serves as an opening by which these
animals can dart out the tongue without opening their
mouths ; this is generally performed slowly, and it is only
when they are enraged that they dart out the tongue with
velocity.*

OF THE INTESTINES.

The alimentary canal of Ophidians t is remarkable for
its great simplicity. The oesophagus and the stomach,
forming but one continuous canal, it is impossible to as^
sign precise limits to each of these organs. The canal
descends quite straight behind the heart, and insensibly
enlarging it terminates in a pouch more or less capa-
cious ; turning afterwards to the right, it abruptly con-
tracts to form, as it narrows, a little sac, at the termination
of which is the valve of the pylorus, more or less distinct ac-
cording to the species. The intestinal canal usually oc-

^ See Helm ANN Ueher den Tastsinn der Sehlangen.

t For a description of the organs of digestion, see the Memoirs of
Duvernoy, Ann, de Sciences Nat. ,* and Meckel, Vergl. Afiatom.

54

ON THE EHYSIOONOMY OF SEKPENTS.

cupies the other half of the length of the trunk ; plaited
throughout almost its whole extent, and generally of equal
width, and rather narrow, the intestinal canal merits
in its greatest part, the name of small intestine; it is
only near the posterior region of the trunk that it en-
larges into a capacious cylinder of varying length, which
represents the rectum. The separation of those two por-
tions of the intestine is either by a contraction, or by a
transverse fold, or by a valve more or less distinct, fol-
lowed at some distance by one or more similar divisions.
Some species of the genera Tortrix, Homalopsis, and
others, have a small coecum near the entrance of the small
intestine into the rectum. Another well-developed valve
is formed at a little distance from the anus, and separates
the rectum from the cloaca. This latter cavity is very
spacious, and is often prolonged as a pouch below the
valve ; it is always in this that we find the ducts of the
urinary and generative organs terminate. As carnivor-
ous animals the Ophidians have a short intestinal canal,
relatively to the dimensions of their bodies ; we find, how-
ever, in the different genera, very distinct modifications in
this respect. The Boa, for example, has very capacious
small intestines, but they are very short, and consequently
convoluted. This canal becomes more developed in its
longitudinal dimensions in the Elaps, in several of the
genus Coluber, &c. In the greatest number of other Ophi-
dians, especially in the Homalopsis, the convolutions are
very numerous.

The muscular tunic of the sides of the alimentary canal
is in general little distinct : below the oesophagus it be-
comes more sensible as we approach the spacious sac re-
presenting the stomach: it is the same with the true
intestines, in which the muscular tunic becomes stronger
towards the rectum than in the small guts. The interior
tunics of the alimentary canal are longitudinally convoluted.
These folds become more numerous in the stomach where
they are less regular, crossing each other in different direc-
tions, and presenting very distinct ridges ; they disappear
when those parts are distended with aliment. Similar
folds or ridges are seen in the rectum. The mucous coat

OF THE PANCREAS AND SPLEEN.

55

of the small intestine presents a different structure : it
always seems like velvet, from the infinite number of deli-
cate fringes with which its inner surface is invested ; some-
times, as in the Python bivittatus, these villosities are so
marked that they hang in the form of small bunches ; in
the Eryx also they form fiat papillae, very closely set, and
in the form of leaves. All these appendices disappear,
however, towards the end of the small intestine, where the
longitudinal folds are observed of considerable size : the
Pythons alone have this part of the intestine provided with
transverse folds, analogous to the valvules which separate
the small intestine from the rectum.

OF THE PANCREAS.

The Pancreas^ constantly placed in the first curvature
which the intestine makes below the pylorus, has a form
and size very variable in different Ophidians, and presents
in this respect accidental differences. This organ is divided
into a greater or less number of lobules, each of which is
sometimes provided with a distinct excretory duct. These
canals are generally united to each other in accompanying
the biliary duct, and pour the pancreatic juice into the in-
testine, at a little distance from the pylorus.

OF THE SPLEEN.

All Ophidians have a Spleen of a globular or oval form, of
a pretty firm consistence, and usually concealed behind the
lobes of the pancreas, with which it is sometimes inti-
mately united ; and hence some have mistaken this organ,
or denied its existence. Its position varies in several
species, so as sometimes to occur at a distance from the
pancreas, and isolated at the posterior surface of the
stomach. Having even observed individual variations in
this respect, I am led to believe that the place which this
occupies is of smaU consequence in the exercise of its func-
tions.

56

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTS.

OF THE LIVER.

The Liver in all Ophidians presents the form of a long
riband, diminishing towards its extremities, sometimes
imperfectly divided into two lobes, extending along the
oesophagus and stomach, from the heart almost to the py-
lorus. The conformation of this organ depending in a
great measure on the general figure of the serpent, it will
be superfluous to describe the innumerable modifications it
undergoes in the different species ; it is sufficient to state,
relatively to its length, that the posterior extremity of the
liver sometimes touches the pancreas, while in other serpents
it remains at a considerable distance. The hepatic duct
proceeding from the interior surface of the liver, descends
towards the pancreas, to conduct the bile into the small in-
testine. It is in this region, and generally covered by the
pancreas, that the reservoir is situated, destined to receive
the bile, which, as has been very well remarked by Duver-
NOY,^ can only arrive there by a sort of regurgitation.
Constantly filled with an abundant fluid, the gall bladder
discharges it in digestion by a short duct, which unites,
under an angle more or less acute to the hepatic duct ;
the ductus choledocus, so formed, is lodged between the
lobules of the pancreas to penetrate the small intestine ;
its orifice is recognised by a small border very indistinctly
marked.

OF THE KIDNEYS.

The kidneys of Ophidians, remarkable by their unsym-
metrical position, and by their lengthened form, are di-
vided into a great number of little lobes adhering to each
other by cellular tissue ; they are usually preceded by ex-
tremely small bodies, which probably represent the renal
capsules : placed most generally at a short distance from
the anus, the kidneys extend a good way up the abdomi-
nal cavity. The ureters, canals of greater or less length,

^ Annales des Sciences NaturelleSf xxx. p. 125.

OF THE OEOAKS OF OENEEATION.

57

according to the distance of the kidneys from the anns, are
of considerable size, longitudinally plaited on their inner
surface, sometimes enlarged at their inferior extremity into
a canal of varying size, originating from the superior end of
the kidneys, and extending along the external border of
these organs : they discharge the urine into the cloaca :
their mouths are marked by two prominences, sometimes
very distinctly salient, and prolonged into a cylindrical pro-
tuberance. These same prominences perform the office of
a penis, for it is by them that the sperm is discharged :
the vasa deferentia open into the ureters. This being
established, we must consider the two bodies which the
male introduces into the cloaca of the female during copu-
lation, and which afterwards are drawn within the tail, as
simple holders^ by means of which these animals join or
stimulate each other during that act.

OF THE OEOAXS OF OEXEEATIOX.

The dimensions of the bodies of which we have spoken
in many species, the prickles with which they are often
bristled throughout all their length, and, above all, the
circumstance that they convey no liquid, are sufficient
proofs to establish the assertion above stated, and to show
the analogy between the arrangement of the true genera-
tive organs in Birds and Ophidians. This false penis ^
which is found also among Saurians, is always a com-
pound of two symmetrical bodies, exactly alike, which occupy
the space at each side of the tail left by the transverse and
inferior spinous processes. Each of these bodies is formed
of a prolongation of the skin of the anus, which, descend-
ing under the tail, forms a cylinder more or less long, and
closed at every point. Exteriorly enveloped by tendinous
membrane and by a distinct muscle, the inner surface of
this cylinder is furnished with numerous appendages, some
of which are soft, others hard ; some close set, little de-
veloped, and not conspicuous ; while some are large, scat-
tered about as prickles. This cylinder afterwards contracts,
the prickles take the form of rugosities, their sides aug-
ment in thickness, and their structure assumes an analogy

58

OK THE PHYSIOOKOMY OF SERPENTS.

to the corpora cavernosa of the penis of the superior
classes of the animal kingdom. Finally, at the distance
of one or two inches from the anus, this body terminates
in a conical muscle, so much elongated that it sometimes
extends to the end of the tail. The apparatus we have
described, on projection during copulation, inverts itself
like the finger of a glove, and it is in this state that its
inner surface, now become the outer, is observed to be
bristled with prickles. The form of these organs differs in
different species of Ophidians, both in volume and in
length ; but no species presents so singular a conformation
of them as the Coluber canus of the Cape, the false penis of
which is very long, garnished with numerous, thickly-
planted, small prickles, each one completely divided, so
that there are two false penes on each side, or four in all.

In the same region, in female Ophidians, is found a
pouch called the anal pouch. It is formed of a white, elas-
tic, and very tenacious membrane, of which the interior
surface secretes a foetid liquid, smelling strongly of garlic ;
when attacked, serpents squirt this liquid through the ori-
fices of these pouches at the side of the anus. I have dis-
covered organs extremely similar in the males of several
species ; they are, in those instances, less developed, and
are situated below the false penis ; but in a great number
of Ophidians, the male sex is unprovided with these pouches,
or they are replaced by a pouch lodged in each side of the
base of the tail, in the anal cavity itself.

The organs of generation, properly so called, in Ophi-
dians, are always found within the abdominal cavity,
occupying the hypochondric regions in front of the kid-
neys : the testicles and the ovaries are equally remark-
able by their slender form, compressed by their position,
and as wanting the symmetry observed in other animals.
They are shut up, with the kidneys and the lower part of
the intestine, in the envelopes of the peritoneum, a mem-
brane which is often stained of a black colour in the lum-
bar region, as takes place in various other reptiles, and in
many fishes.

The ovaries contain a great many eggs, of varying size,
and disposed in two rows. The oviduct, in order to re-

OF THE DEOLUTITIOK.

59

ceive the eggs, is enlarged and terminated by a fringed
border at its anterior end ; this canal descends straight
towards the anus, and terminates by a wide opening in the
bottom of the cloaca, below the valve which separates that
cavity from the rectum.

The testicles^ of a variable form in different species of
Ophidians, are of a deeper colour than the kidneys. The
vasa deferentia go out from the internal surface of the tes-
ticles ; in making numerous little turns, they descend along
the external edge of the kidneys, and are adherent through
their whole extent to the ureters ; approximating on the
back of the cloaca, they perforate the walls common to this
cavity and the ureters, and open into the mouths of these
last, which are indicated, as we have already stated, by a
conical elevation. The mouths of the vasa deferentia are
so delicate that they are only perceptible in serpents of a
large size, — a circumstance which renders anatomical re-
searches very difficult, because we can neither inflate the
organs, nor pass a probe, on account of their convoluted
structure,

or THE BEOLUTITIOX.

The manner in which snakes swallow their food is very
simple. They always commence at the head of their prey,
which they receive into their mouth ; while the teeth fasten
themselves on one side of their prey to hold it fast, the op-
posite jaw advances, and the teeth engage themselves in
the victim, and draw it inwards. By this alternate play of
the jaws, during which the principal part is performed by
the lower jaw, the deglutition is effected, after efforts more
or less great according to the volume of the prey. It is
also for the same object that the jaws dilate, in order to
render the swallow more capacious : during this act, the
serpent discharges an abundant saliva on its prey, which it
renders more slippery, and more easy to be swallowed.
When the animal they attempt to swallow is too large, they
are unable to introduce it into their maw until a consider-
able time has elapsed. Serpents found in this state offer
a hideous spectacle ; the disgust which they thus inspire,

60

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTS.

augmented by the mephitic odour which the prey, already
attacked by putrefaction, exhales, has given rise to nume-
rous fables of which the poets have taken advantage. De-
glutition takes place in the same manner in all serpents,
not excepting the venomous snakes, who, in this operation,
depress their fangs, and conceal them in the sheath of the
gums, in order to defend them from injury.

OF THE DIGESTION.

The digestion goes on but slowly, notwithstanding the
activity of the gastric juice of serpents. It appears, how-
ever, that this fluid is only secreted in abundance by that
portion of the stomach near the pylorus ; for the animals
which are taken out of the stomach of snakes are always
decomposed at the lower portions, whilst the parts near the
CESophagus do not exhibit the slightest trace of putrefaction.
I have verified this fact, discovered by M. Lenz,^ in a great
number of exotic species. In captivity, serpents reject by
the mouth indigestible substances, such as feathers, hairs,
&c. This faculty is common to them with most birds.

When a serpent is pursued that has swallowed its food,
it often disgorges it, in order to escape more quickly.t
This fact is also observed in many birds. |

OF THE ORGANS OF CIRCULATION.

The heart of Ophidians has generally an elongated form,
and is noted for its being placed far from the head. It is
sometimes found at the distance of the first third of the
length of the trunk. We find it with large auricles sepa-
rated from each other by a membranous septum : the ven-
tricle, on the other hand, is imperfectly divided into two
narrow cavities, by a partition derived from the base of the

^ See for the deglutition of snakes, Researches of M. Duass, inserted
in the Ann. de Sciences Nat,, 1827, xii. p. 362.

^ P. 48.

t Note communicated by M. Dieperink at Paramaribo. See also
Lenz, 1. c.

X The Stercorea, the Grull, and the Sea-swallow, &c.

OF THE ORGANS OF CIRCULATION.

61

heart, and losing itself in the fleshy fibres of that organ.
The walls of the auricle, although fleshy, are thin ; those
of the ventricle are of considerable thickness, especially on
the left side of the portion which extends, in the form of a
conical appendage, under the left auricle. Each auricle
communicates with the ventricle by an opening of some
width, but capable of being closed by a valve. The right
auricle receives all the veins of the body, with the exception
of the left jugular ; which, before it perforates the walls of
the auricle, forms a sac of variable length, and has, besides
the ordinary tunics, a well-defined muscular coat : two great
valves serve to close the common entrance of the veins into
this auricle. The blood delivered into the right chamber
of the ventricle is propelled into the pulmonary artery, the
entrance to which is shut by two valves, included, at its
origin, in the common aortal trunk ; this artery bends below
the left aorta, and receding from it, approaches the lungs,
passing along their posterior surface, before penetrating into
that organ. A single pulmonary vein, proceeding from
the lung behind the artery of the same name, carries the
oxygenated blood into the left auricle, which is of a conical
form, and less capacious than the right auricle. The oxy-
genated blood, after having passed into the left cavity, is
propelled towards the right side, where it encounters the
orifices of the two aortse, each provided with two semicir-
cular valves, even when these two openings are united into
one ; as I have repeatedly observed. We have already
stated that all the arteries arise from the same trunk, the
interior of which they may be said to penetrate ; the arte-
ries, however, are most frequently separated from each
other by partitions, which, although each at the same time
serves for the walls of two adjacent vessels, prevent the
blood they carry from mingling before it enters the heart.
The right artery is considerably less capacious than the
left, and is divided within a short distance of its exit from
the common arterial trunk into several branches, which are
the sole arteries of the neck and head ; it then bends back-
wards and descends behind the heart to unite with the left
aorta, which has followed a similar course on the other side.
This great artery then descends along the body, and only

62

OK THE PHYSIOOKOMY OF SEEPEKTS.

disappears at the extremity of the tail, supplying in its
course the neighbouring organs. After giving off the in-
tercostal arteries, it sends branches to the stomach, the liver,
the organs of generation, and to the kidneys. The mesen-
teric artery arises opposite to the pylorus, and several other
branches are distributed on the intestines. The right aorta,
before descending behind the heart, sends a considerable
branch to the head, which is named by Cuvier the artery
of the neck,^ This branch, after furnishing the intercostal
arteries to the neck, perforates the flexor muscles of the
head, where it is lost. The carotids arise from the trunk
of the right aorta near its base ; they extend along the
oesophagus, towards the head, into which they penetrate,
after being divided into numerous branches, which supply
blood to the organs within the head. This disposition of
the carotids, described from the Boa constrictor, is by no
means the same in all other serpents, which, in general,
have only one carotid, I that on the left side : this artery
alone furnishes the whole blood to the head. The carotids
send a small branch to the thyroid gland, and other branches
to other organs inclosed in the cavity of the neck. Two
jugular veins, adherent to the carotids, descend along the
oesophagus, carrying back the blood from the head to the
heart. I have observed in a Boa constrictor three unequal
veins preceding the vertebral column ; the first, near the
head ; the second, about the middle of the neck ; the third,
in the abdominal region. It is evident that to reach the
heart, the latter rises up, whilst the others descend. The
vein, which carries back the blood from the posterior parts
of the animal, divides to form the two renal veins, which
pass along the whole length of the interior surface of the
kidneys, from which they receive a great many branches :
after having given rise to a vena cava, the branch of the
right side unites to that of the left side to form a large
vein. This is the inferior cava, which penetrates among the
parenchymatous substance of the liver, to receive the blood
brought by the vena portae, in passing out of the superior

* Arteria Vertebralis, Schlemm, i. 1.

t The artere carotide commune of Cuvier ; arteria cephalica of

SCHLEMM.

OF THE EESPIKATION.

63

part of the liver, which projects as a point. This vena cava
runs a short distance, and enters as a principal part in the
formation of that venous sac described above, which com-
municates with the right auricle, and in which several other
veins terminate : a species of valvules are observed at the
mouth of each of these veins. ^

The heart of Ophidians has constantly on its upper sur-
face a conglomerate gland, more or less in size, and sur-
rounded by several other glands differing much, according
to the species, in form and number. This first gland has
been regarded by several naturalists as analogous to the
th3rm.us ; by others, and I am of this number, it has been
compared to the thyroid, t

OF THE RBSPIEATIOlSr.

To obtain an idea of the respiration of Ophidians, we
must examine with attention a serpent in the state of repose.
We then observe that the trunk contracts and dilates alter-
nately by the play of the ribs, and that the movements are
slowly repeated at regular intervals ; but we observe also,
that the nostrils remain closed during this operation, and
only open at considerable intervals, during which the body
often has contracted thirty times. It results from these
remarks, that the lungs of Ophidians, besides their ordinary
function, have to act as a reservoir for atmospheric air :
this reservoir, filled by a single inspiration, contains a suf-
ficient quantity of air, in order that the oxygenation of the
blood can take place by the contractions of the lungs, with-
out the necessity of a new inspiration, which only follows
the expulsion of the air contained in the lungs, from which
the oxygen has been totally absorbed.

The structure of the lungs of Ophidians clearly proves
what we advance ; it is chiefly remarkable for two circum-
stances, because the lung usually terminates in a blad-

- The description of the organs of circulation has been chiefly taken
from the Boa constrictor. For further details consult the labours of
Cuvier, Legons d’Anat, Comp., vol. iv. ; Schlemm, in Tiedemann Zeit-
schrift,Yo\. ii., p. l,pl. 7 ; Retzius’ Schwed Verhandl,, 1830, and the Isis,
1832, p. 524 ; Meckel, System, \o\. v, p. 218.

t Consult the excellent memoir of Haugstedt, entitled Thymi Dcr^
scriptio, p. 152.

64:

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTS.

der or sac without cells, simply formed by a prolongation
of the serous membrane enveloping the lung ; and, second,
because the most considerable branches of the air-tubes
open into this cavity of the lung. By this first arrange-
ment, the lung of the Ophidians becomes a reservoir so
spacious as to contain a volume of air, equivalent to a great
number of inspirations ; by the second, the air contained
in this reservoir can be forced into the cells by the con-
tractions of the thorax, without the necessity of a fresh in-
spiration.

The figure of the lung undergoes numerous modifications
in the different species of Ophidians. The form of that or-
gan is generally that of a simple sac, conical, and extend-
ing from the heart towards the lower region of the stomach,
where it terminates in a membranous pouch. The trachea,
consisting of a great number of semi-annular cartilages
united anteriorly by a membrane, ends in the upper part of
the lung by an oblique opening ; this organ divides into two
branches in the Boa, in most of the genus Tortrix, the
Dipsas, and several other Ophidians, where we find a vestige
of a second pulmonary lobule, sometimes about half the size
of that on the other side. The air-cells of the pulmonary cavity
of other Ophidians extend on the membrane which unites the
rings of the trachea, so that they sometimes occupy this mem-
brane through all its length. There are other species in which
that membrane is much dilated, and incloses a number of
air-cells, as considerable as the lung itself. In the Xenodon
severus, in the true poisonous snakes, and in some other
Ophidians, this membrane enlarges into a capacious sac,
which alone contains all the air-cells ; so that from this
peculiar disposition, we find the lung displaced completely
by this organ, which, contrary to what we observe in other
Ophidians, is situated in the fore-part of the neck, between
the glottis and the heart. The position of the organs of
respiration in sea-serpents is still more extraordinary. In the
Hydrophis colubrina the trachea is prolonged to the hypo-
chondria, where it terminates in a membranous sac, which
extends to within two inches of the anus ; but, instead of
a membrane uniting the tracheal rings, it is the lung which
invests it through its whole length. In the Hydrophis pe-
lamis, the trachea, dilated at its origin and contracted to-

OF THE BRAIN AND NERVES.

65

wards the heart, forms a very narrow canal, and descends
behind the stomach, where it again enlarges into a very ca-
pacious sac, the end of which extends to the anus, lodging
itself between the inferior spinous processes of the tail.
The air-cells in this are far less numerous than in the for-
mer species, although they accompany the trachea, from its
origin to the point where it forms that spacious appendage,
which probably also supplies the place of a swimming-
bladder.

This arrangement of the respiratory organs, varying in
the different species of Ophidians, demonstrates that the form
of the organs has an important influence on the exercise of
their functions ; and that it is erroneous to deduce characters
for the classification of serpents, from these anomalies of
form, or to regard the species in which the lung is divided
into two lobes, as consuming a larger volume of oxygen^
and consequently as possessed of a more perfect organiza-
tion.

The principal air-cells are sometimes supported by nar-
row cartilaginous slips, which are lost in the minute tubes
forming that part of the pulmonary tissue where oxygena^
tion goes forward. The upper end of the larynx is sur-
mounted by the two arytenoid cartilages, which leave
between them a simple longitudinal fissure, the glottis.
This simple apparatus, moved by two pairs of muscles,
represents in Ophidians the organ of voice, which, how-
ever, consists merely in hissing, more or less acute,
produced by the air forced from the lungs. The opening
corresponds to the interior aperture of the nostrils, and
is more or less approximated to the end of the snout,,
according as the species frequents the water or the land.

OF THE BRAIN AND NERVES.

The smallness of the brain of Ophidians is especially
conspicuous, when we compare the valume of that organ
with that of the head, in species in which the organs of
mastication have acquired their fullest development. In
front, the two hemispheres are prolonged as they contract
into the olfactory lobule,, so that this part is placed on a

F

66

OK THE PHYSIOOKOMY OF SEEPEKTS.

very long peduncle ; we observe on their posterior sur-
face the optic lobes, of considerable size, and passing below
the hemispheres to reach the eye, and to form the optic
nerve. The cerebellum is a small organ situated behind
the optic lobules, almost in a line with the spinal marrow,
and shews but a small protuberance.^^ The extreme deli-
cacy of the nerves of the head renders the examination of
those parts very difficult. Besides the olfactory, optic,
and auditory nerves, the fifth pair is to be traced sending
off its branches, as in man, to the eye and to the upper
and to the lower jaws. The great sympathetic nerve in-
terlaces, ifi so many points, with the par vagum, that it is
impossible to trace its origin with accuracy.

With respect to intellectual faculties. Ophidians are
evidently in the same list as the animals of the two first
orders of the class of Reptiles. The power of regeneration
of the organs, which exists in Ophidians, has often been
exaggerated ; but it is little probable that it should be
greater than in the Saurians, or in the Chelonians. This is
certain, that when such a member as the tail is cut off, it
is never reproduced.

OF THE SEKSE OF SMELL.

Serpents have not a very delicate sense of smell. The
extent of the mucous membrane of the nose is not consider-
able, on account of the simple form of the turbinated bones.
The cavity of the nose differs in extent in the different
species. The nostrils vary much from genus to genus,
both in position, shape, and size. It may be received as
an established rule, that purely aquatic species have small
nostrils, directed upwards, and most frequently capable of
being shut by a valve, while the nostrils of the terrestrial
species, or of those that inhabit trees, are generally lateral
and very open. In the burrowing serpents, those orifices
almost always have an orbicular form, and are very small ;
they have the same form, but are more open than the nos-

* See Serres, Anat. Comp, du Cerveau, Atlas, PI. 5. fig. 126 and 127 '
132 and 133 is the figure of the brain of Naja Haje, of the Aspic, and of
the Viper with parallel rays.

OF THE EYE.

67

trils of sea-serpents ; but in the Homalopsis, some have
them a transverse fissure in the form of a crescent.

We find in the Trigonocephalus and the Crotalus, on
the sides of the snout, behind the nostrils, a large cavity,
of which the use is unknown, but we may consider it, ac-
cording to all appearances, as an accessory to the nose.
This cavity, scooped out in the upper surface of the maxil-
lary bone, is lined with a species of mucous membrane ;
it has small holes for the passage of nerves, and probably
receives a portion of the fluid secreted by the adjacent
glands. Home,^ who has treated of this subject in a
special memoir, supposes these cavities to be analogous to
the lachrymal fossa of certain Ruminants.

OF THE EYE.

We have mentioned already the diversity in the position
of the eye in the different races of Ophidians, of the nature
of that organ, of the form of the pupil, &c. ; we have also
stated that the exterior integuments cover the whole
eye, but that these integuments are extremely thin over
this organ, diaphanous, presenting the form of a hemi-
spherical lamella, adherent to the plates which form the
orbit. It is obvious that this lamella, as an integrant part
of the skin, is renewed at the time of casting the skin, and
that the old one is thrown off with the epidermis. The
globe of the eye is generally orbicular, and is covered an-
teriorly by the conjunctiva, which, doubling on itself, forms
a cavity, into which the tears are poured, according to the
observations of Cloquet. t The cornea is very thick, and
presents a segment of nearly the same sphere as the sclerotic;
this last tunic, equally thick, and very tough, is not sup-
ported by any bone or cartilage. Its two surfaces are tinged
with a deep brown colour. We find at the bottom of the
orbit an orbicular hole for the passage of the optic nerve^
which perforates obliquely the sclerotic coat. On its ex-
ternal surface, the muscles of the eye, generally six in

^ See Russel’s Appendix.

t Mem. du Mus., vii. p. 62, See also Muller,, and TiedemanN;^
Zeitschr. iv. p. 19, fig. 15.

68

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SEEPENTS.

number, are attached. The choroid, of a more close tex-
ture, has its two surfaces covered by a dark pigment. The
membrana Ruyschiana is well developed. The iris has a
considerable breadth; the colour varies in the different
species. The retina, tolerably thick, has nothing peculiar.
The lamellar structure of the vitreous humour of serpents
has only lately been demonstrated.^ The crystalline lens,
of a spherical form, is more than half buried in the vitre-
ous humour, which is not large.

OE THE EAE.

The structure of the ear demonstrates that Ophidians
have the sense of hearing more dull than most of the
class Amphibia. The small bone of the ear being buried
in the flesh, implies the total want of a tympanum, and
hence it follows that the sounds can only penetrate to the
organ of hearing, when they cause vibration of that thick
cuirasse which forms the general integument of Ophidians.
This small bone, called by Cuvier the stapes, although in
fact it represents the three bones of the ear in animals of
a higher rank, is in the form of a thread, which usually is
prolonged from one side to the articulation of the lower
jaw, while the other end is enlarged into a disk, to shut
the fenestra ovalis. Immediately behind that entrance to
the exterior ear, another aperture is found, representing, as
has been stated by M. Windischmann, the fenestra orbi-
cularis. The same philosopher has observed, that the
structure of the internal ear of the Ophidians approaches
to that of all the Saurians which he has examined ; that
is to say, in them is formed an organ of an oval form,
called the cartilaginous ring, destined to receive the nerve
of hearing, which is distributed on its surface. This nerve
forms on one side a very considerable enlargement, called
Lagena, because the figure of this part resembles a bottle.
See WiNDiscHMANN, PI. 2, fig. 12, for the internal organs
of hearing in the Dipsas,

* See the excellent Anatomy of the Python ivith-two-Rays, published
by Retzius, Isis, 1832, p. 512. .

OF THE INTEOUMENTS.

G9

OF THE IlfTEOUMENTS.

The general integuments of Ophidians > intended to resist
the influence of the elements and of external mechanical
causes, form a very thick cuirasse, which invests the whole
body of the animal, and is fortified by an epidermis,, very
hard and corneous. That it may obey the movements of
the animal and the extension of parts by which the enlarge-
ment of the volume of the body is produced, it was neces-
sary for that skin to be divided into a great number of
compartments, separated by intervals, so that from this
construction should result as many articulations susceptible
of separation and approximation to each other. The pro-
jecting compartments, denominated scales when they are
small, 'plates or shields when they are large, are formed by
layers of integuments, much thicker than in the intervals,
which present a skin of a more delicate organization, much
contracted when the animal is in a state of repose, &c.,
covered with an epidermis extremely thin, a little trans-
parent, and soft. It is obvious that these interstices are
only apparent to the eye when the body of the animal is
dilated ; concealed almost constantly by the edges of the
scales, and deprived of light, they are always of a white
colour ; and it is only in some species of Tropidonotus that
the mucous tissue of those parts is tinted of a beautiful
vermilion on the region of the heart. It is not so with
that part of the mucous tissue which enters into the forma-
tion of the scales, which often shine with all the splendour
of the rainbow, a brilliancy more or less vivid according
to the nature of the horny and transparent epidermis with
which the scales are covered. This is the reason why some
serpents, and especially those of the genus Dendrophis,
present a very uniform system of colour, although their
mucous tissue be ornamented with the most beautiful tints.
It is equally evident, that the tints of serpents should
change about the time of casting their sloughs, when the
epidermis is tarnished as it insensibly detaches itself from
the inferior layers of the skin. Then only permitting the
rays of light to pass imperfectly, it reflects them in a man-

70

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SERPENTS.

ner different from its usual modes, and presents the colours of
the Ophidians under a light much less agreeable than just
after the casting of the skin.

It results from the principles just laid down, that the
form of the scales ought to depend on the direction of the
movements executed by the organs they protect. The
scales of the trunk are consequently disposed in lines paral-
lel to the contour of the ribs : the lines are intersected
by other lines at different angles, and thus the edges of the
scales are formed. The greater or less regularity in the
form of the scales depends on the respective direction of
those lines : if those lines cross each other at right angles,
the scales will be of a square form ; if, on the contrary,
one of those lines be more inclined than the other to the
axis of the trunk, the scales will be rhomboidal, and will
approach to the lanceolate, or even the linear form, accord-
ing as these lines are less or more divergent from each
other. It happens almost always that these lines deviate
from their original direction in curving themselves to join
the middle range of plates below the animal ; hence the
form of the scales becomes more irregular as they recede
from the back, although they increase in size. It is uni-
formly on the anterior part of the trunk that these lines,
particularly those passing backwards, are inclined to the
axis of the body ; hence the form of the scales, which
cover that part of the body, should be assumed as the type
in descriptions. Towards the tail, and on that member,
the lines cross at almost a right angle, and these scales
consequently become less irregular. The different form of
the scales, on the different parts of the same individual, is
very apparent on the Naja and the Xenodon, where the
ribs of the neck, less arched than the others, and suscep-
tible of a considerable movement from behind to the front,
produce an enlargement of the volume of the body later-
ally. In the state of repose, the scales of this part cover
each other by their lateral edges ; they are in form nar-
now or linear, while those of the tail, imbricated in the
usual manner, are of a square form.

The number of longitudinal ranges in which the scales
are disposed, vary not only according to the species ; these

OF THE INTEGUMENTS.

71

anomalies are frequently observed in different individuals
of the same species, and this number is even far from being
the same in different regions of the body : it is on the
neck, at a short distance from the head, that the ranges of
the scales are most numerous. Towards the middle of
the trunk they begin to diminish, the two scales next the
abdomen being replaced by one : these ranges disap-
pear one after another, and at the end of the tail they
are reduced to a single scaly plate. The number of longi-
tudinal ranges is almost always unequal ; Ophidians
having the middle line of the back furnished with a single
row of scales, sometimes larger and of a different form
from the rest. The only exception to this is the Herpeto-
dryas carinatus, which has two ranges of scales along the
curve of its back, and consequently has the number of
ranges equal, which is more remarkable, as it is unique
in the whole order of Serpents.

One is led to believe that the transverse ranges of scales
should always be equal to the number of the vertebrae, or
to that of the plates which defend the lower part of the
trunk ; but it is not so in the Ophidians whose bodies are
invested with a great number of small square scales, such
as the Boa, Eryx, Sea-Snakes, &c. On examining the
scales of those serpents, we find, on proceeding from the
abdomen, that the ranges of the scales, at first broad, be-
come narrow, and lose themselves among other ranges of
very small scales that descend from the back.

The modifications of form which the scales present in
the different species of serpents, are infinitely varied. Their
edges are sometimes rounded, sometimes truncated at the
end, at other times pointed more or less acutely. Their
epidermis is generally very hard, and the edges of the scales
salient, so that they cover each other like the tiles of a
roof : we designate these scales, proper to the greatest num-
ber of Ophidians, imbricated. Other Ophidians, on the
contrary, especially sea-serpents, with the exception of a
single species, have their scales covered with a very thin
epidermis, and these organs, usually very small, present an
hexagonal form. The skin in the intervals of the scales
in these Ophidians, is much less dilatable than in other

72

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

serpents, and this peculiarity is at its maximum in the
Acrochordus, in which the innumerable little compartments
of the skin are not at all susceptible of being separated
from each other.

The scales of Ophidians present most usually a smooth
unbroken surface ; but in many species they exhibit a
logitudinal projection more or less sharp ; sometimes
mucronated, sometimes rounded, and occasionally reduced
to a simple spherical protuberance, as in most sea-serpents :
these are what are named carinated scales. The keels,
sometimes nearly obliterated, as in many of the genus
Coluber, only exist in the upper ranges of scales near the
back. In other species all the ranges are roughened by them;
but their development diminishes toward the lower parts,
so that the two ranges nearest the abdomen most generally
are without them. Several other species of the genus
Dipsas, and more especially the Psammophis lacertina, pre-
sent, on the other hand, scales scooped out into a longi-
tudinal hollow more or less deep ; but the species with this
character are very few in number. We do not know the
use of these differences in the surface of the scales. It
has been supposed that the keels are peculiar to water-
snakes ; but it is not so, and we shall afterwards find that
species of the same genus, and very nearly allied, differ in
little else than the presence or absence of these keels : per-
haps they only serve to give a greater firmness to the tegu-
ments.

The mesial line of the lower surface of serpents is
generally furnished with scaly plates larger than the rest,
but those of the tail are generally of a different form from
those on the abdomen. These last are disposed in a single
range uniformly prolonged from the anus to beneath the
throat, where it disappears. These plates, of which the
terminal ones are always divided into two, are sometimes
very narrow, as in the Tprtrix, Boa, &c., and they have
some resemblance to the scales of the trunk. They are
more extended in some other serpents ; and in most of those
animals they are very broad, mount upwards on the flanks,
and surround a considerable part of the circumference of
the trunk : then it is that their shape, wholly dependent on

OF THE IlfTEGUMEHTS.

73

the form of the trunk, varies according to the kind of
locomotion which the animal performs, and that they are
sometimes convex, at other times angular at the sides and
plain below, and sometimes even sloping at the lateral
angles. Their surface, entire in most Ophidians, is pro-
vided with two protuberances in the Hydrophis properly
so called, which probably arises from each of them being
formed of two pieces soldered together. Several other
species of the same genus present this remarkable charac-
ter, that the middle line of the abdomen is indicated by
a suture produced by a range of scales with which each of
its sides is garnished ; lastly, the Acrochordus has a salient
crest running along the abdomen, which is bristled with
small mucronated scales : similar scales cover all parts of
the body of this genus.

The scaly plates below the tail form a single middle
range in the Boa, the Eryx, and some other Ophidians.
Most of the other animals of this order have that organ
furnished with a double row of plates ; and it is from this
circumstance that the term of Divided plates is derived, in
opposition to simple plates or bands.

The head of Ophidians is very rarely covered by scales
resembling those on their bodies ; we there find seve-
ral plates, larger than the rest, covering the different
organs placed in the cranium. Most serpents even have
the head fortified by plates of a more or less determinate
and symmetrical form, always with a smooth surface, but
the arrangement and form of which are subject to innu-
merable modifications. As the forms of these scaly plates
present characters easily comprehended, they have been
employed to afford distinctive characters ; and this has
given rise to a nomenclature, invented expressly to desig-
nate these organs, according to the regions they occupy.
The plates of the true Coluber being the most symmetrical
in their disposition, have been regarded as of a normal
form ; and all others appearing to be modelled on this type,
it is easy to describe the numerous modifications which
they undergo either by excess or default. The plates
which invest the immoveable parts of the cranium, as
those on the top of the headj possess a movement either

74

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OP SEEPENTS.

very limited or nnlL The skin which enters into their
composition is very thin, and most frequently glued to the
cranium. A pairless plate is very generally observed on
the summit of the head, called The Vertical^ which may
be said to present an immoveable centre, around which
the other scaly plates are arranged : it is generally pen-
tagonal, With the base toward the muzzle ; it is sometimes
very narrow, at other times very wide, according to
the general form of the head ; and it affects a trigonal,
an hexagonal, or a lanceolate form, according to the na-
ture of the surrounding plates ; it has an irregular shape
in several of the genus Boa, or is even divided into
two pieces by a longitudinal suture : in other Ophidians
its volume is so reduced, that it ceases to be distinguish-
able from the other scales.

That plate is often followed by a pair termed The Oc-
cipital^ plates of somewhat a trapezoidal form, but very
variable in the different species : these plates are always
in contact at their inner edges ; and it is only in the Tor-
trix scytale and the T. Xenopeltis that they occupy the
sides of the head, and receive between them a middle
supernumerary plate, which resembles the scales of the
trunk. The occipitals never exist without the vertical:
they are very small in several species of the genera Dipsas,
Xenodon, Homalopsis, Hydrophis, Tortrix, Boa, &c. ; we
merely find vestiges of them in the Trigonocephalus Cen-
chris, and they are replaced by some little plates of a very
irregular form in some of the Boas.

The Superciliary are a pair of plates placed at the sides
of the vertical, and protecting the eye from above ; they
almost always run along the orbit, forming a vault very
little moveable, under which the globe of the eye can
freely exercise the limited movements which it enjoys.
Their form and their extent vary infinitely : sometimes
convex, sometimes hollowed at their external edge, most
generally vaulted, and sometimes flat, they are raised
up in the Acanthophis, while their surface in the other
Ophidians is in the same plane as the top of the head.
They are placed far back in several of the genus Tortrix,
and are united firmly to the single ocular plate in the;

OF THE INTEGUMENTS.

75

Tortrix scytale. They exist even in many serpents whose
heads are deprived of plates, and are replaced in others by
a circle of little scales.

Two pairs of plates, the anterior and posterior Fron-
tals, cover, in the greatest number of Ophidians, the upper
part of the muzzle. Their form is, in a great measure, de-
termined by the lateral edges of that part, so as to be very
narrow in the Dryiophis, and wide in the Dipsas, &c.
The anterior are smaller than the posterior : they are
sometimes very small, as in many species of the genera
Lycodon, Dipsas, Elaps, Homalopsis, &c. ; in some of the
latter genus they are reduced to a single pair, wedged in
between or behind the nasals, which occupy their place ;
in the Hydrophis, the Tortrix, and the true Calamaria,
they totally disappear, and we then see but a single pair
of frontals. Their number, on the other hand, is in-
creased in other Ophidians, as in several Boas, the Trigo-
nocephalus hypnale, the Heterodon, and the Hydrophis
colubrina ; in other Boas, they are replaced by small
plates of an irregular figure, which are not distinguishable
from the scales. The modifications which these plates
undergo in the diverse races of Ophidians are numerous,
as may be seen in examining the figures in our plates.

The muzzle of serpents is always terminated by a plate
more or less large, and always grooved below, to receive
the extremity of the lower jaw. The form of this Rostral
plate varies according to its use. It is most usually
pentagonal ; the size is determined by that of the muzzle ;
it is broad and very convex in most Ophidians ; in others,
as the Heterodon, the Naja haemachates, the Eryx, many
Trigonocephali, &c., it is obliquely truncated down-
wards ; in the Dryiophis, it enters into the moveable ap-
pendix, with which the snout of that animal is pro-
vided.

The Labials are those plates which garnish the edges of
the lips ; they are most frequently disposed in a single
row, sometimes in two or more rows, or rather, we find
several supernumerary plates, inserted between the labial
plates : this takes place in the Hydrophis, in several Ho-

76

Olf THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

malopsis, &c. The number, configuration, and disposition,,
of these plates are extremely variable ; and the enumera-
tion of these discrepancies, therefore, enter into the special
part of my work ; we may, in the mean time, observe,
that those of the upper lip go on diminishing towards the
end of the muzzle in most serpents, and the reverse in
some measure takes place in the lower jaw. It most ge-
nerally happens that the superior labials form the lower
border of the eye.

This organ has its lateral borders furnished with small
plates, denominated the Oculars. Several Ophidians
have only a single anterior ocular, while the number
of the posterior oculars varies from two to four, according
to the species : sometimes they are prolonged below the
eye ; and in several serpents, whose heads are covered
with small scales, they are small, and form a range, sur-
rounding the whole periphery of the eye. In the Tortrix
scytale, all the marginal plates of the eye are joined in
one single piece, in the centre of which that organ is
placed.

It rarely happens that the nostrils perforate the Nasal
plate, without dividing it vertically into two ; this, how-
ever, takes place in the genera Tortrix, Boa, Elaps, and
in most of the true venomous snakes ; sometimes even,
as in the Elaps, the nostrils open just between two plates
of different forms, the posterior of which may be consi-
dered as a Frenal. The form of the nasals, and their po-
sition, undergo considerable modifications in different
species of Ophidians : in aquatic serpents, those plates
are usually near the summit of the muzzle, and some-
times serve the purpose of the superior frontals, as in the
Hydrophis ; but more usually they occupy the sides of
the muzzle, touching the rostral plate by their anterior
edges.

These are most commonly followed by another plate,
the Frenal, which extends to the anterior oculars : this
plate is, however, wanting in a great number of Ophidi-
ans, while its place is occupied in others by two, three, or
more plates, of very different extent and form.

OF THE INTEGUMENTS.

77

The Temporal plates exist only in conjunction with the
occipitals and superior labials, among which they are
placed, and on which their number and form depend.

We have stated above, that the border of the lower jaw
is almost constantly furnished with plates, of which the
central one is at the end of the muzzle, corresponding to the
rostral. The second pair are often prolonged below the
chin, to unite with one or two pairs of plates, enclosed
between the labials, and distinguished by the name of
Mentals or Geneials. Although of a very variable form,
they are rarely wanting; and their lower edge always
forms that deep fissure, which so materially contributes to
the enlargement of that part of the skin, and which is
known under the name of Gular Fissure.

A more extended terminology to indicate those plates
appears to me superfluous ; and I shall conclude this
section of the work by calling to recollection that it is
easy to recognise them, provided attention be given to
those terms which are invariably derived from the regions
which the organs occupy : it is thus that many of those
plates, which extend between the labials and the first ab-
dominal bands, and are often divided, bear the name of
Gular plates ; the last abdominal plate, equally divided, and
covering the orifice of the anus, is termed the Anal plate,
&c. &c.

[As these distinctions, though long employed in Ger-
many in the descriptions of Ophidians, are but little fa-
miliar to the English reader, the translator has introduced
two figures, A and B, PI. I., with references to the different
plates mentioned in the text.

A

B

a Vertical plate.
h Occipitals.
c Superciliars.
d Temporals.
e Posterior frontals.
/ Anterior frontals.
g Rostral.

Jh Posterior oculars.
i Anterior oculars,
k Frenal.

I Nasal.

n Middle labial,
o Accessory labials.
p Anterior geneials, or mentals.
q Posterior geneials.
r Marginal labials.
s Gular scales.
t Gular scuta.
ti Abdominal scuta.]

78

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OP SERPENTS.

PORMS.

Ophidians differ infinitely from each other relatively to
their size and their general form. This depends in a great
measure on their mode of life, the nature of the places,
or the element they inhabit, and also on the kind of loco-
motion which is natural to them. The species which
frequent trees are especially distinguished by their slender
forms ; while those which prefer plains, or retire into bur-
rows, are recognisable by their compact body, terminated
by a very short tail ; intermediate between these two tribes
as to development of parts, are a great many serpents that
prefer to remain on the ground always, but can climb, and
also swim, with greater or less facility ; others that delight
more in humid places, or never quit the water, present the
most varied forms, more or less suited to this species of
locomotion.

A Trunk laterally compressed, is observed in the greatest
number of Ophidians ; but no family presents this charac-
ter in so marked a degree as those Tree-snakes which we
have included in the genus Dipsas, and Sea-serpents which
have the belly more or less completely keeled^ in order
better to cut the waters. The serpents, on the other hand,
which merit more especially the name of terrestrial, such
as the Tortrix, the Calamaria, the Elaps, &c., are dis-
tinguished by bodies more or less cylindrical. Others,
such as the Tropidonotus, equally terrestrial, but excellent
swimmers, have a belly very broad, and rounded towards
the sides. Several Boas have the faculty of rendering
their trunk, when gliding or swimming, of the same form
as the Tropidonotus ; but their trunk becomes laterally
compressed by an opposite movement of the ribs, when
they prepare to climb or to roll themselves inwardly.
These changes in the size of the trunk which take place in
such movements are found in a greater or less degree in
all Ophidians, and render the exact determination of their
forms very difficult : for indicating that of the body we are
obliged to describe the figures which transverse sections
present, one of which is made in the middle of the trunk,

FORMS.

79

and a second near the base of the tail ; whence it results
that serpents with compressed bodies present an oval sec-
tion more or less elongated, which in the Hydrophis ap-
proaches to a lanceolate figure ; in serpents entirely ter-
restrial, or with a cylindrical body, the section is more or
less orbicular : in the swimmers, or those with large and
convex bellies, the back assuming somewhat of the keeled
shape, the section has a triangular form, or that of a penta-
gon, with the angles much rounded. This last figure is
observed in the most perfect degree in serpents in which
the lower part, more or less flattened, is separated at the
flanks by an obtuse angle : this is termed an angular ab-
domen. This form is particularly observed in many of the
climbing snakes ; several Dendrophis even have the lateral
edges of the belly furnished with a salient angle in the
form of a keel.

The form of the tail is still more various than that of
the trunk : this organ also has very different functions to
perform. The tail of burrowing snakes, excessively com-
pact and short, of equal thickness and conical at the point,
serves to second and direct the movements of the trunk,
and perhaps to dig into the earth. In the greatest num-
ber of terrestrial snakes it is a little longer, but very vigor-
ous and conical, offering a solid fulcrum for the body, of
which it sustains the whole weight, when the animal rears
itself erect and stiffens itself like a stick. To fulfil the
functions of an oar and a rudder, it is flattened in a verti-
cal direction, and is short and lanceolate, in sea-serpents ;
but this form is not absolutely necessary for locomotion
in water ; for several other aquatic Ophidians have their
tail of the ordinary form. When this member is long and
slender, as in tree- snakes, it acquires, besides its other pro-
perties, the faculty of entwining itself around branches, and
of capturing or twisting in its folds the animals on which
these serpents feed. Yet a prehensile tail, in the strict
meaning of the term, that is to say, one which possesses
the faculty of rolling itself completely inwards, is only
found in the Boas ; the shorter it becomes, the more fitted
it is to fix itself to any object, provided that it can embrace
it ; it is then sufficiently vigorous to support the whole

80

OK THE PHYSIOGKOMY OF SERPEKTS.

animal suspended from a single point. The swimming
Boas have not a different formation of the tail ; and it is
only in the Acrochordus that it becomes slightly com^
pressed. The end of the tail is most frequently fortified
by a simple conical scale, more or less pointed or hooked ;
this point is converted in the Crotalus mutus into a hard
spine ; but the other Crotali have the tail furnished with
a peculiar rattle^ often very large, although it is but a
simple production of the epidermis.

The Head does not always present any correspondence
in form with the other parts of the body. It is, for ex-
ample, very compact and thick in the Dipsas, which, how-
ever, has a very elongated body, as occurs also in the Den-
dr ophis, although the head of the latter is very long and
slender. Hence it may be perceived that the form of the head
is chiefly influenced by the kind of food which nourishes
the species. Those which swallow animals large in pro-
portion to their own size have necessarily a large head, the
parts of which can dilate, forming a contrast to what is
found in those which live on worms, insects, or animals of
small size or of slender forms. In such, the head is scarcely
distinguishable from the trunk ; it is generally short,
rounded, and thick at the muzzle, as in the Tortrix, the
Calamaria, the Elaps, &c. In the first kind of snake, on
the contrary, the head is very broad at the base, very dis-
tinguishable from the trunk, and consequently very suscep-
tible of an extraordinary degree of dilatation, as is especially
the case with the venomous serpents, properly so called,
and with several species of Dipsas, Xenodon, Boa, Coluber,
&c* The Muzzle determines the general form of the head ;
it is sometimes short and thick, sometimes rounded or
truncated, at other times slender and pointed ; in some it
terminates in a hard turned-up scale ; in others it is drawn
out into a fleshy and moveable appendage. Sometimes, as
in the Homalopsis Herpeton, we observe these appendages
on each side of the snout ; but those which some Vipers
have over the superciliary region are merely scales with
pointed prolongations, more or less developed. The point
of the muzzle always overlaps the lower jaw, the edges of
which are lodged within those of the upper jaw ; but the

FOEMS.

81

grooved passage of the rostral plate allows the tongue to
be projected, and prevents the mouth from being entirely
closed ; and it is only in aquatic serpents that the ends of
the jaws are so exactly shut up as to render the entrance
of water impossible.

The ^position of the Eyes and of the Nostrils depend on the
mode of life of the species. Aquatic snakes often have
these organs but little developed ; they are directed to the
sky, and consequently placed on the top of the head ; and
it is the same with the Tortrix and some terrestrial serpents ;
in others, especially in tree-snakes, they are large and more
or less lateral. Terrestrial venomous serpents often have
very wide nostrils ; and there is a whole family of the true
venomous serpents in which these organs are accompanied
by a second aperture in the maxillary region, which seems
to have the function of an accessory organ of smell. It
ought to be remarked, that the fossettes sunk in the lips
of several Boas have no communication with the interior of
the head, and therefore they present no analogy to those of
the Trigonocephalus and Crotalus.

The Mouth of Ophidians, more or less deeply cut ac-
cording to the degree of dilatation of which the parts of
the head are susceptible and the form of that organ, some-
times presents straight margins ; sometimes they are in the
form of an s ; and sometimes they mount at an angle more
or less obtuse towards the commissure of the lips. The
diversities of form and disposition of the parts of the head
of Ophidians which we have mentioned, give to each species
a peculiar physiognomy, the more characteristic as their
features are more prominent ; when imprinted on the
memory, it serves for the recognition of the numerous races
of these interesting animals. The circumstances which
chiefly contribute to render the physiognomy of serpents
characteristic, are a large broad head, high, angular, cordi-
form, and covered with small scales with unequal surfaces,
a wide mouth curved at its margins, thick lips, large fos-
settes on the sides of a muzzle truncated or turned up at
the end, small eyes, with an elongated pupil, and overhung
by salient superciliary plates — characters which are gene-
rally united in the species with clumsy forms, such as we

82.

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

see in the serpents properly named venomous, and in some
others. These pronounced features, however, do not
always constitute the distinctive characters of dangerous
Ophidians ; for many innocuous species, such as the genera
Heterodon, Homalopsis, Boa, and some others, join to a
farouche physiognomy, a natural gentleness ; while the
Elaps, the Naja, and the Bungarus, which are not distin-
guishable hy exterior signs from the Colubri, are provided
with the same redoubtable weapons as the Viper and the
Crotalus.

The Neck of Ophidians has often the same shape as their
trunk ; and it is only in the Naja and in some Xenodons
that the ribs, more straight than usual, and capable of a
considerable horizontal movement, give a more flattened
form to the neck. It must be remarked, however, that
most serpents have the faculty of flattening and enlarging
the neck, as is observed when they are enraged, and utter
those hissings which usually are the prelude to an attack.

THE COLOUKS.

It is not possible to lay down fixed principles on the
system of colours in Ophidians. Sometimes uniform and
dull, sometimes shining with a brilliancy equal to that of
precious stones, their tints are infinitely varied, and very
difierently disposed, not only in the various races, but often
also in species of the same genus. In others, on the con-
trary, we observe in allied species a certain uniformity in
the distribution of the colours, which are often analogous
to the surrounding objects in the places inhabited by these
animals. Many climbing serpents, for example, present a
livery of uniform green, absolutely resembling that of the
leaves ; while others, as many species of Dendrophis and
Dryiophis, in this respect resemble small naked branches ;
and, lastly, in the Dipsas, the system of colouring simulates
the old stem of a tree covered with fine and luxuriant
mosses. The serpents which frequent fresh water are
generally remarked for their sombre and uniform tints ;
the green, the yellow, and the blue colours which ornament
the bodies of sea-serpents confound them with the waves

THE COLOURS.

83

of the vast ocean. The inhabitants of the desert, as the
Eryx, the Egyptian Viper, &c., are scarcely distinguishable
from the sand, so uniformly spread over those dismal
wastes ; other snakes, the Burrow ers^ are recognisable by
their beautiful shining, strongly irridescent colours, among
which red is predominant on the lower parts. A multi-
tude of other Ophidians present colours which sometimes
imitate the dusky brown of a boggy soil, marshy, or shaded
by thick forests, sometimes the green of herbs, sometimes
the diversified tints of places clothed with mosses and
lichens ; and some have their livery adorned with the
most brilliant hues, in rivalry of the splendours of the
flowers of a tropical vegetation. The species included in
this latter category are chiefly found among terrestrial
snakes, and among those that climb. Thus, we might in-
stance, as the most beautiful Ophidians, the species whose
bodies are surrounded with alternate bands of vermilion
and black, white or yellow ; such are the Coronella ve-
nustissima and C. coccinea, the Lycodon formosus, many
snakes of the genera Tortrix and Heterodon, most of the
Elaps, the Naja lubrica, the Dendrophis ornata, and the
Dipsas macrorhina. Other Dendrophis, many Dryiophis,
certain Dipsas, &c., are equally remarkable for the splen-
dour and diversity of tints which adorn their livery.

The distribution of the colours is infinitely varied in ser-
pents ; some have the body longitudinally striped or rayed ;
others are surrounded by transverse bands ; sometimes they
are spotted, at other times sprinkled over with dots or
marblings ; sometimes there is a clear ground, which is re-
lieved by markings of every sort, at other times dark hues
are the prevalent colours, so that the ground colour is in-
distinctly visible ; hence the great difficulty of describing
the infinite shades of colour in the livery of serpents. This
difficulty is augmented by the changes which the tints un-
dergo from age in the different stages of life, &c. ; they are
still more frequently different in the two sexes, and the ac-
cidental varieties observed in this respect are very nume-
rous. The vivacity of the tints undergoes continual meta-
morphoses from the casting of the skin. It is a general

S4: ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTS.

law, that the younger the individual the more vivid are the
colours, and more distinct in their distribution ; and often
the tints which adorn the young are effaced in the old, or
they become absolutely uniform ; for instance, in the Colu-
ber canus, C. melanurus, the Homalopsis buccata, the
Xenodon severus, and others.

The faculty of spontaneous change of tint, — a faculty
which many Batrachians, a great number of Saurians, and
particularly Cameleons, possess, — is only observed in an
inferior degree among Ophidians, and that principally among
the climbing serpents distinguished by their green colour.

The differences which exist between the relative colours
of the male and female, and the changes produced in either
sex at the principal periods of life, have been little studied.
Sometimes, as in the Tropidonotus Matrix, the two sexes
perfectly resemble each other ; but this is not the case in
the Common Viper, in which the markings of the female un-
dergo successive changes before the individual attains the
term of its full growth ; whilst the males on coming out of
the egg, present tints analogous to those of the adult of the
same sex.

We have spoken above of the great influence exercised
by the casting of the skin on the beauty of the original tints.
The changes which it produces are so much more worthy
the attention of the naturalist, that the moiilt operates by
insensible degrees, and takes place several times in the
year.

It happens almost constantly that the tints of Ophidians
are effaced in a great measure after death, or that, when ex-
posed to the action of ardent spirits, they suffer changes
more or less marked. The black, the brown, the ochre-
yellow, and many other such colours, do not, however, al-
ways lose even the lustre reflected by the uniform surface
of the scales ; among the number of the species which re-
tain their colours after death, are the Calamaria arctiventris,
C. Brachyorrhos, the Tortrix maculata, the Xenopeltis, the
Coronella rufula, the Lycodon Hebe, and L. subcinctus,
the Coluber Constrictor, C..^sculapii, C. melanurus, several
species of Naja, Homalopsis, Vipera, and a great many

OF VARIETIES.

85

others. The green colour tarnishes after death, loses its
vividness, and passes to blue : it gives out its tint to alcohol,,
which thus becomes coloured. The white almost always
loses its purity, and becomes faded or yellow, while the
bright yellow passes to white. It is the same with the
beautiful red tints, with which the bodies of many snakes
are adorned ; this colour almost totally disappears after
death, passes to a yellowish white or to a brownish hue.
The blue, so rare among the order of Ophidians, is in most
of them effaced, and the same happens to the spots of bright
green. Almost all the other intermediate tints tarnish, or
lose, at least in part, their brilliancy, after being exposed
to the action of alcohol.

OF VARIETIES.

Among the varieties which are so often observed in the
reptiles of which we treat, we must regard many as due to
the influence of climate : others, generally very constant,
are only separated by discrepancies extremely slight, such
as difference of tint, &c., from the typical species inhabiting
the same places ; but the greatest part of the varieties are
purely accidental, and offer modifications as innumerable
as diversified. Every part of the animal is subject to these
accidental variations ; they principally consist in different
shades and distributions of the colours, in the form of the
scales of the head, in the length of the tail, in the number
of abdominal plates, sometimes it is the forms which are
subject to modification. Experience, and the constant en-
deavour to reduce as much as possible analogous individuals
to the architype, are the only means of smoothing the dif-
ficulties which beset the zoologist in the determination of
species. Setting out with these views, we must not regard
as species the varieties produced by climate, whatever be
their characters, even when they remain constantly the same
in the same place. The study of these local variations,
hitherto neglected, is of the utmost importance for an accu-
rate knowledge of the creatures which inhabit our globe.
We have, in consequence, taken care to introduce in the de-

86'

Olf THE PHYSIOaNOMY OE SEEPEKTS.

scriptive part of our work detached observations on this
subject.^

OE MOKSTKOUS SEEPEJfTS.

Monstrous serpents have been, though rarely, observed :
to this number pertain the Coluber with two heads taken
on the banks of the Arno, which E-edi kept alive during
several weeks, and of which he has furnished a description
in his works. t Lacepede has collected several other facts
relative to snakes with two heads, and gives a figure of a
similar individual preserved in the galleries of the Museum
of Paris. J The figure of a third serpent with two heads is
given by Edwards. § M. de Froriep possesses also a spe-
cimen, in which two heads and two tails are perfectly se-
parated. M. Mitchell|| makes mention of several monsters
of this sort, observed in North America ; the heads of
these subjects being, more or less, united together, so that
some of them had but three eyes, and a single lower jaw.
In the same country, a serpent was found of probably the
species called Coluber constrictor, of which all the parts
were so disfigured by disease that it was imagined they had
found, in that monster, the famous sea-snake of the north,
so celebrated for its vast size. See an extract of the dis-
sertation published at Boston on this subject, in the Journal
de Physique, volume Ixxxvi. p. 297* * * §

[The translator has a drawing of a small specimen of
Vivera berus with two distinct heads, found in Dumfries-
shire. The specimen was shewn to him by the young gen-
tleman who found it about 4 years ago. In Bancroft’s
Guiana is figured another snake with two heads.]

* [These, and many similar remarks, chiefly refer to the second part
of the author’s work on The Physiognomy of Serpents,’Vwhich, I fear
in the present low state of this branch of natural history in Britain,
will not readily find a publisher. — Tn]

t Ohservatio, iii. p. 1.

J Quadrup. ovipar.^ ii. pi. 20, fig. 2, p. 475.

§ Birds, pi. 207.

11 SilUmarh^s Journal, -s., p.48. See Jsw, p. 1046.

ENEMIES OF SEEPENTS.

87

ENEMIES OF SERPENTS.

Serpents have numerous enemies among animals. Uni-
versally detested, man kills them, indifferent whether they
be venomous or inoffensive, wherever he detects them. All
the countries of the globe produce certain mammifera, that
pursue serpents with persevering keenness. With us, it is
chiefly the badger, the hedge-hog, the weasel, the martin,
and the pole-cat, that contribute to the destruction of ser-
pents ; in the tropical countries of the ancient Continent,
they encounter terrible enemies in the civet, the ichneumon,
and other carnivora. Several birds wage on them a con-
tinual war, such especially is the serpent-eater of the Cape,
mounted on its long stilt -like legs, as it would seem on purpose
to render the bites of snakes ineffectual ; in South America,
the laughing falcon, and other birds of prey, pursue them
eagerly ; the large storks of India, such as the gigantic
Ciconia, destroy an immense number of serpents ; in Europe,
we should reckon among their enemies besides the storks,
ravens, kites, and several buzzards. In tropical seas, there
exist sharks that devour with avidity the sea-serpents ; and
lastly, many Ophidians make war on each other, not even
sparing their own species.

By transplanting animals, the enemies of serpents, into
countries infested by them, we might perhaps prevent the
too great multiplication of these dangerous reptiles. This
attempt has been made, by transporting the Snake-eater of
the Cape to the French West-Indian sugar-colonies per-
haps the mammifera which we have mentioned, or the storks
might render them as good or better services.

We can easily kill serpents by blows with a stick, and
breaking their vertebral column ; but besides that this method
could only be adopted with the smaller species, it has the
disadvantage that the specimens thus killed are of little
utility for the cabinet. To avoid this, it is better to fix
them to the earth with a stafp provided with a sort of
pincers on its end, by which their bodies may be seized

* Cuvier, Regne Animal^ tom, i. p. 339,

S8

OJf THE PHYSIOaNOMY OE SEEPEISTTS.

near the head. Large species, or those that inhabit trees,
we are often obliged to shoot with a gun. Aquatic snakes
sometimes are caught in the fisherman’s nets, and this is
probably the only method to obtain them, since in swimming
they never expose any part of their bodies above the water.
But the greater number of innocuous serpents are easily
taken with the hand, either in seizing them by the neck or by
the tail. Several, however, have the power of turning round
to bite, while others soil their assailant with a foetid fluid,
which they can eject to a considerable distance. It is
not within the scope of our work to explain the various
methods which may be employed to give chase to serpents :
for more complete information, the work of M. Lenz may
be consulted, who treats fully of this subject, and to whom
a long experience has taught the means of easily capturing
those dangerous animals, and how to shun, at the same
time, the numerous risks which they run who pursue that
occupation. In the same work will be found observations
relative to the best method of destroying these noxious rep-
tiles, or at least of preventing their too great multiplication.
The means enumerated by this philosopher, are chiefly
included under the following heads : — In the first place, to
destroy the animals which serve as food for snakes, as bats,
rats, frogs, and the like ; to favour the enemies of serpents
mentioned above, among which the stork occupies the first
rank, as doubly useful by the havoc it also makes among
frogs ; afterwards to burn the vegetation on the places in-
fested by numerous snakes, or when these are in plains, to
bring them into cultivation ; lastly, to offer a premium to
those who can produce certain parts of the snakes they had
killed, abolishing at the same time the premium paid for
the destruction of the birds of prey that feed on serpents,
such as buzzards, kites, and crows.

Several species of intestinal worms infest the viscera of
serpents. I have often found the stomach, near the
pylorus, so full of them, that their presence must have
caused continual obstructions, if not death ; these worms
formed a mass hanging on the internal walls of that intes-
tine. Some are confined to the intestinal canal, others to
the mesentery, and some exist even in the serous mem-

ElfEMIES OP SBRPEFTS.

80

branes, especially in those investing the heart and lungs.
The intestinal worms observed by M. Eudolphi/^ in dif-
ferent species of Ophidians, belong to the following genera :
— Ascaris, Distoma, Filaria, Echinorhynchus, Taenia,
Strongylus, Trichosoma, Pentastoma, and Cucullanus.

The Parasites which are exteriorly attached to the skins
of serpents, and suck their juices, are much less numerous
than those we have just mentioned. Only a single genus
is found, the Ixodes, and especially that with a gilded
thorax, which I have also observed on the Monitor Lizard,
on the Hog, the Pangolin, and some other East Indian
animals. M. MullerI has described this insect. Metaxa:J
has observed on several Ophidians of Italy, parasites which
he has recognised as forming two species of Acarus.
Daudin§ speaks of others found on the Boa Cenchria. I
have detached some of them from Pythons, from the Dipsas
dendrophila, and several other Javanese serpents.

Serpents are useful by the destruction of hurtful ani-
mals, such as the small Gnawers^ worms, insects, mollusca,
&c. which they pursue. Formerly snakes were employed
in medicine, and this practice is still retained by many
people, although it has been rejected by the more refined
nations. Very recently Dr Marikrosky,|| of Bosenau in
Hungary is said to have employed with success the bile of
serpents in cases of epilepsy.

[Snakes are still much employed in the pharmacy of
Spain and Southern Italy. The translator found living
snakes in the apothecaries shops in the former country as
regularly as sarsaparilla with us.]

The frejudice against serpents in many countries is
greatly superior to their utility. The venomous species
multiply so in certain intertropical countries, and particu-
larly in the Island of Martinique, that they are a real
plague, and annually cause the death of a great number
of men and domestic animals. The Aquatic snakes often
do much damage in lakes and rivers abounding with fish ;

^ Entozoorum Synopsis, p. 762,

t Ixodes OpMophilus, Aata Nov. xvi., part ii., p. 232. (PL Ixvi.)

X Monograph, § 7 and 9. § Rept. vol, v., p. 202.

11 Hufeland’s Journal, annee 1831, cah. 10.

H

90

ON THE PHYSIOaiS'OMY OE SERPEXTS.

the terrestrial species devour mammifera and birds useful
to man, and very often destroy the nests to devour the
eggs or the young.

PROPAOATIOH.

In our climates, where serpents only produced young once
a year, copulation takes place most frequently in the first fair
days of April or May. For this act the two sexes entwine
their bodies together, so as to seem only a single individual
with two heads looking face to face ; the male then intro-
duces into the female cloaca the two cylindric bodies
covered with spines, which on being turned inside out are
drawn from under the tail : the two sexes remain thus united
for several hours but we are unable precisely to fix the
duration of their copulation. It is, at least in our indigenous
species, a space of three or four months, before the eggs
are ready to be laid ; during this interval they undergo a
species of incubation in the belly of the mother ; for on
opening the eggs just after they are laid, we almost always
perceive a foetus more or less developed, and sometimes
even perfectly formed. In this latter case, the young are
shut up in a thin membrane, which they tear at the moment
of birth to commence their independent existence. In a
great number of serpents, on the other hand, the eggs are
enveloped in a very tenacious tunic of a coriaceous nature,
or rather resembling parchment ; the young, being only
imperfectly formed when the eggs are laid, they require
sometimes the space of a month more before the hatching
is accomplished. On this depends the distinction which
has been made between viviparous and oviparous serpents :
a distinction which, indeed, is not founded on any other
ground than a greater or less development of the foetus in
the egg at the time of laying, or on the nature of the ex-
terior covering of the egg. Ophidians are really always ovi-
parous, and it is wrong to compare this species of genera-
tion to that of the mammifera, where the young receives
its nutriment through the medium of the placenta.

^ Lenz, p. 52.

PROPAGATION.

91

The necessary conditions for the development of the
Emhryon in the egg are, according to M. Herholdt,^ the
humidity produced by a feeble vegetable fermentation con-
joined to a moderate temperature, amounting to between
+ 20 and + 6 R. (from 77° to 46 F.) ; and finally,
circumstances favourable to evaporation and absorption
through the exterior covering of the egg. Hence serpents
seek to deposit their eggs in places where these conditions
are combined, as in a dunghill, or a mass of leaves collected
in places exposed to the sun ; it is the same reason that
induces many oviparous species to establish themselves in
the vicinity of houses, or conservatories.

It has been erroneously advanced that venomous ser-
pents are always viviparous, and that serpents not venom-
ous alone lay eggs : it is not so ; for many of the latter are
viviparous, while certain species of the former tribe lay eggs,
like the majority of the Colubri. It even appears that this
diversity in the generation has no relation to the organiza-
tion of the animal itself ; for these two modes of reproduc-
tion are sometimes observed in nearly allied species of the
same genus ; the Coronella laevis, for example, producer
living young, as our common viper ; but several other Cor-
onellse lay eggs inclosed in a coriaceous envelop ; the same
is the case with the Python bivittatus, whilst the Boa
murina is completely viviparous : among the venomous
snakes, the Najas, and several others are oviparous.

During the laying, serpents keep themselves stretched
on the ground, and only lift the tail to permit the eggs to
escape ; this operation is neither long nor painful, j* The
eggs of Ophidians contain, before the development of the
embryon, a homogeneous fluid of a deep yellow colour, ana-
logous to the yolk of the eggs of birds. The white fluid
appears to be wholly wanting in the eggs of serpents : they
are also distinguished from those of birds by the total want
of the air vesicle. The yolk is covered by a proper tunic,,
provided with numerous bloodvessels, the principle trunks
of, which unite with the canal of the vitellus at the umbi-
licus of the embryon : this membrane, named Allantoid
^ Oversigty 183, p. 4. t Lei^z p. 498.

92

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTS.

by several physiologists, has been regarded by others
as analogous the Chorion.^ Probably this tunic is com-
posed, as in the eggs of Tortoises, of two lamellae, the ex-
terior of which, containing the bloodvessels, may perhaps be
compared to the chorion of the embryon in mammifera,
while the interior is the true allantois.! The embryon it-
self is shut up in a serous membrane, the amnion. The
canal of the vitellus enters the small intestine near the py-
lorus ; but the umbilical opening is not always found oppo-
site to that region: in the Trigonocephalus atrox, where it is
near the anus, the canal of the vitellus is obliged, in order
to enter the duodenum, to mount in the interior of the ab-
dominal cavity the whole length of the intestines.

The number of young which Ophidians produce at a
single deposition of eggs, differs considerably in the different
species. I have observed in several Calamarise not more
than ten ; some Colubri lay from twenty to twenty-five ;
I have found thirty and more in the Trigonocephalus atrox,
and it is said that our Ringed Snake lays as many as
forty. On opening the belly of a pregnant snake we see
the eggs, impacted one against the other, and arranged in
masses, occupying in all their length the oviducts, which
then resemble a necklace. The embryon has all its tegu-
ments colourless, and the eyes extremely developed and
salient ; the head is rounded, the muzzle short, sloping,
and resembling that of a dolphin or of a fowl. In pro-
portion as the foetus is developed, so much nearer does its
form approach to that of the perfect animal. To disengage
itself from its prison, the young snake, probably by the
power of its movements, ruptures the tunics which inclosed
it. This operation it can easily perform when the coats are
membranous, as in the viviparous species ; but it must require
great efforts to burst the coriaceous envelope of the true
egg : three or four longitudinal rents, near the end of the

^ It is for this reason that some deny the existence of the allantoid
in the eggs of the Ophidians, while others maintain the contrary : com-
pare DESMOULiN’sj^iUfm. de la Soc. Med. ; Rathke, ap. ; Burdach, F/i^s.
ii., p. 409 and 563 ; Herholdt, Oversigt, &c,

t TiEDEMANiX, Juhelfeievy p. 25.

DEVELOPMEIirT.

93

egg, indicate the place at which the young serpent is to
escape.*

DEVELOPMENT.

The young ^ on leaving the egg, usually differ from their
parents, besides their size, by a system of colouring more
vivid and more contrasted, by a head more blunt and more
rounded, by the largeness of the eyes, and by the less per-
fect state of the epidermis and its appendages. They are,
however, provided with teeth perfectly resembling those of
the adult, of which they are ready to make use ; and the
venomous kinds, instructed by instinct with the power of
their weapons, alternately elevate and lower their fangs,
and defend themselves against attacks, with that fury which
is innate in their race. It was long believed that the tail
of the young was shorter in proportion to the trunk than
in the adult, and that this member presented consequently
in them a smaller number of subcaudal plates. If this
were the case, we must suppose that new plates develope
themselves with age ; but as the number of plates corre-
sponds to the number of vertebrae, we must equally suppose
the production of new osseous pieces, as is seen in the Julus,
— a circumstance little probable in animals so high in the
scale of being as those of whom we treat. Besides, the
researches which I have made on this subject have proved
the contrary ; since among a great many individuals, the
young did not shew any difference from the adults in the
number of plates, but what might be considered as acci-
dental. To be sure of the fact, I have repeated these
observations on a great number of the most dissimilar
species, and have always obtained the same results.

Shortly after their birth, the young Ophidians undergo
their first moult. This operation is repeated in our climate,
according to the observations of Lenz, five times in the
year, viz., every month from the end of April, to the begin-
ing of September ; whence it results that there is no cast-

* See, on what relates to the development of the egg of serpents, the
excellent memoir of Professor Herholdt, illustrated hy fine plates.
Oversigtf 1829, p. 30, fig. 2.

94

ON" THE PHYSIOGIirOMY OF SERPENTS^

ing of the skin during the hybernation. It would be very
interesting to know how many moults serpents undergo in
warm climates, where the state of sleep does not take place.
A state of domesticity, a mode of life little natural to these
animals, remarkably influences the functions of the skin, the
epidermis of which does not renew itself in fixed and de-
terminate periods ; frequently this operation is very long,
and so painful that the animal suffers much, or it is some
times followed by death. In order to reject the old epi-
dermis, which begins to detach itself at the head, and espe-
cially along the borders of the lips, the serpent passes it-
self through mosses, grasses, or heaths, and contrives, by
means of slow and continued movements or frictions, to
disengage gradually the exterior layer of the skin, which
is already replaced below by a new epidermis. The spoils
thus removed are found inverted from one end to the other,
forming a sac with a reticulated surface more or less diapha-
nous, more wide than the body of the snake, because of the
dilatation of the membranous intervals, and presenting,
with the exception of those of the mouth and the nostrils,
no other orifice than the anus ; for it is well known that
the hemispherical membrane which protects exteriorly the
globe of the eye, is part of the integuments, and comes off
along with the rejected skin. This skin, at first soft, soon
dries, and is easily preserved in cabinets ; but it is rare to
find it entire, because it is often torn in the operation we
have described. We possess some specimens of several
foreign species, which prove that the moulting is produced
in the same manner in all serpents.

The changes which Ophidians undergo, before they iiave
acquired their full growth, have been as yet little studied.
Thus, sometimes, as we have stated above, the livery of
the two sexes presents considerable varieties at different
periods of life. The males have often a more thick and
longer tail than the females, probably because they have the
organs of generation lodged in a cavity at the base of that
member ; the females, on the other hand, acquire a size
greater than that of the male, and their trunk is then of a
more considerable volume. We are entirely ignorant of
the age to which the different races of snakes arrive,

DEVELOPMENT.

95

although it is generally supposed that they live long, as
do all other reptiles ; we are equally ignorant whether they
have a stated period of growth, or what may be its dura-
tion. It is probable that they grow during the whole term
of their lives, but my observations induce me to believe
that this augmentation of volume takes place differently
in the different periods of life, and that it is subject to the
same laws which regulate the development of the greatest
part of other vertebrate animals. The thick and rounded
forms which distinguish the young serpent, disappear in
the first months of its existence, and it becomes more
elongated as it approaches the age of puberty. This term
is fixed in our climate, according to M. Lenz, at the fourth
year. It appears that after this period serpents increase
less rapidly than in their earliest years, and that the de*^*
velopment of their parts has rather relation to volume
than to length ; this age is marked by distinct traits, and
the fulness of form. But before arriving at the close of
their existence, the dimensions of ordinary serpents are
sometimes doubled ; the thickness of the parts, the obtuse
and compact head, and the vigorous form, distinguish very
aged individuals, that are, however, rarely to be met with.

Many travellers, and especially those of a more remote
age, speak of serpents of a monstrous size, which they say
they have encountered in their travels in intertropical
countries, and which they state as reaching to forty feet
and upwards.^ In whichever country these great reptiles
are found, they apply to them the name of Boa Constric-
tor, familiar to all, although the true boa constrictor of
systems yields much in dimensions to other species of the
Boa and the Python. The numerous researches of modem,
well-informed, travelling naturalists, have belied many of
the fables which have been promulgated on the nature of
these Ophidians. We now know that the most gigantic
do not surpass twenty to twenty-five feet in total length ;
that their thickness is not above seven inches in diameter ;
and that the received notions on the great size of some
species, only repose on the vague surmises of the natives.

^ See the article Boa, in Part II.

98 ON* THE PHYSIOaKOMY OF SERPENTS.

We must reckon in the first rank of all known serpents, in
respect to its dimensions, the Boa murina, a native of the
equatorial regions of America. The Python bivittatus,
spread over intertropical Africa and Asia, is in the ancient
continent the representative of that Boa, and attains nearly
the same size. It is now found that the Python Schneideri,
inhabiting India, has an elongated shape, and rarely sur-
passes fifteen feet in total length ; the Boa Constrictor of
the New World joins to an inferior length a very consider-
able thickness ; as also do several other Boas, Colubri, &c.
In our climate, serpents are rarely more than five feet in
length, but in middle Europe there is one species of Colu-
ber which arrives at the length of eight feet.^

HABITUDES.

Ophidians are spread over every country where the
conditions necessary to the existence of reptiles in general
are found. Every person knows that these cold-blooded
animals love heat ; that their number diminishes for this
reason in proportion as we approach temperate or frigid
regions ; and that they prefer, on that same account, banks
exposed to the heat of the sun, to elevated situations, or
places covered with a thick and abundant vegetation. Yet
there are, even with us, species common in the plains, which
at the same time frequent the slopes of mountains, even at
the height of several thousand feet above the level of the
sea. Many Tropidonoti in Java abound on the solitary
peaks of the numerous extinct volcanoes, with which that
island is bristled. But by far the greatest number of
Ophidians inhabit low lands, either naked or bosky, dry or
humid, and marshy. Some are only seen in the vast sandy
plains of the old continent ; the analogous deserts of both
Americas, known under the names of Pampas, Llanos^ or
Savanas, are peopled by other species, often spread over
a vast extent of that continent. A great number of ser-
pents frequent shady places, and often even occur in the
thickest forests, sometimes concealedunder luxuriant herbage

Coluber quaterradiatus, the Boa of the ancient Romans.

HABITUDES.

97

or leaves, sometimes lost among mosses, lichens, or other
parasitic plants. Many species are pleased with swampy
places, because there they find an abundant subsistence
suitable to their wants. Others frequent the vicinity of
fresh waters, which afford them the means of subsistence,
and a protection against the pursuit of their enemies ; but
these same species are sometimes found far from humid
places, sometimes extended on a dry soil clothed with burnt
up vegetation, and sometimes suspended from the branches
of trees. The number of serpents wdiich pass all their life
in water is very small ; and this mode of existence is espe-
cially natural to sea-serpents, which in vast shoals inhabit
the most remote regions of our globe. Several species of
serpents dig for themselves holes, which they never quit
but to satisfy their wants ; others establish themselves in
the dens of small mammifera, which they sometimes drive
out ; some seek an asylum in the holes of trees, under
their roots, near habitations, or even in houses, where
sometimes a mass of dunghill or of dried leaves serves for
their refuge ; others make choice of fields or cultivated
places, to give chase to the insects or small mollusca that
abound in such places.

These observations demonstrate that many serpents
prefer certain places only because they afford them sub-
sistence, or because they unite all the conditions neces-
sary to their existence. Thus, serpents are seen to desert
their ordinary place of habitation when it ceases to fur-
nish the means of subsistence. It is true, that this may
perhaps be applied, with certain modifications, to all ani-
mals ; but with this difference, that reptiles attached to the
spot which gave them birth, do not understand how to
undertake those long migrations which astonish us in birds
and some mammifera. Most frequently land-snakes wander
but a little way from where they are located, and we
almost always find them so near their retreat, that they
can gain it on the first approach of danger.

Many snakes live in society, and it appears that they do
not mutually attack each other; such are most of the
aquatic species, some of the genus Coluber, and notably

I

98

ON THE PHYSIOOHOMT OE SEKPEHTS.

the sea-serpents, that shew themselves in immense shoals
on the surface of the ocean. The venomous land-snakes,
on the contrary, of which the number is infinitely more
confined, seek less frequently the society of their kind,
and keep themselves isolated in the midst of the solitudes
they inhabit.

Serpents have among themselves various relations in
their manners and habits. Almost all have a disposition
stupid, timid, and wild ; but when domesticated, they soon
contract very mild manners, the venomous species always
excepted, their intractable disposition preventing them from
changing their ferocious character. Yet there are serpents,
both venomous and innocuous, that scarcely ever make
use of their weapons, except to defend themselves against
aggressors ; such, among the former, are the Hydrophis
and the Elaps, among the latter, many Colubri, the Tropi-
donotus, and some others. This facility of being tamed is
particularly natural to the larger species of the family of
Boas, that after being captured never hurt any one.^ Other
species refuse to take any food, and become the victims of
their obstinacy ; but it would seem that by a treatment
conformable to their necessities, it is possible to render
captivity supportable to the majority of these reptiles.

The true venomous serpents, the burrowing snakes, and
many species of other genera, have a very sluggish and
tranquil disposition : thus their progressive movements are
executed with slowness ; but the majority of Ophidians are
alert, and all their movements announce a surprising force
and agility ; their celerity has been exaggerated, which is
never so considerable that a man cannot easily escape from
them.

M. Dieperkikk writes me from Paramaribo, that he constantly
keeps in his house several Boas of different species, that live in perfect
harmony with each other, and other domestic animals. Professor Rein-
WARDT, however, has witnessed at Java a spectacle which proves that it
is not always right to trust to these animals. A Javanese had carried
to the house of M. Van ber Capelle a large Python, and wishing to
make it come out of the basket in which it was, the serpent, by a single
stroke, gave him a very considerable wound, laying open his forearm
through all its length.

HABITUDES.

99

Serpents that lead a nocturnal life are less numerous than
those that prefer daylight to darkness. To the first cate-
gory belong the true Dipsas, several venomous Ophidians,
and some others ; but several serpents combine both kinds
of life, and sometimes hunt their prey in daylight, some-
times in the night, according to their necessities. We must
arrange in this last class the species which have an elongated
pupil, either vertical or transverse, which seems more parti-
cularly adapted to contract or to dilate, according to the in-
tensity of the luminous rays which it is necessary to receive
into the cavity of the eye. In obscurity, the pupil thus
formed so dilates itself, as to be entirely orbicular.^ The
law, admitted by most naturalists, that animals with an
elongated pupil are more especially nocturnal, is contra-
dicted by these observations ; it seems rather that volumi-
nous eyes indicate a nocturnal kind of life, although several
of the genus Elaps and Naja, that have very small eyes,
search for their prey during the night. Perhaps it is wrong
rigorously to apply this rule to the manner of life of snakes,
of which a good number pass a great part of their existence
in a state of languor, or listlessness resembling sleep, and
that do not disturb themselves, unless when some animal
approaches them, which they seize when they are inclined,
relapsing afterwards into a profound lethargy, which ren-
ders them sometimes for a considerable period incapable of
hunting for food.

Most Ophidians choose their food indiscriminately from
among the three first classes of vertebrate animals. The
aquatic species, live more or less exclusively on fishes, ac-
cording as their mode of life devotes them to the liquid ele-
ment. The species of small size, especially the terrestrial
and burrowing snakes, pursue insects, mollusca, worms, or
other animals of the lower classes. Tree serpents prefer
birds, not because this species of nutriment is better suited
to their taste, but because it is more within their reach.

Every body knows that serpents can, like other reptiles,
fast for a long time. A Boa constrictor sent from Surinam
to Holland was more than six months without the least nou-

^ Harlan, Synopsis, p. 369.

100

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTS.

rislimeiit ; sometimes they have been still longer before
dying of starvation.^

We are ignorant whether serpents drink, and it is pro-^
bable they do not, no fluid having been found in the sto-
machs of these animals on dissection.

The continual changes of our atmosphere operate more
or less powerfully on serpents. Fond of heat, they eagerly
search for places exposed to the rays of the sun, whilst they
remain concealed during rain, or in windy weather : at the
approach of a storm, when the atmosphere is charged with
electricity, they are often seen to leave their retreats, in a
state of agitation not natural to their kind, and to pass over
open places. Unable to support the effects of cold, which,
at the same time, deprives them of food, serpents retire on
the approach of winter into retreats, most frequently subter-
raneous, and always secured against the inclemencies of the
weather ; these are sometimes in burrows, or in heaps of
stones, sometimes in dunghills, or in the hollow of a tree.
In such situations, many are often found together in the
same place of retreat,' in a profound torpor, until the
vivifying rays of the sun reanimate them in the spring.
It is obvious that the duration of this periodic sleep should
be longer or shorter according to the climate which the
serpents inhabit ; and that in a region in which there reigns
a perpetual spring, these reptiles are not liable to pass a
certain time in this torpor. The researches of travellers
have shewn that this is a fact ; but there are some exceptions
to that law, which leads to the supposition, that defect of
food is the cause of this torpor. M. Von HuMBOLDTf states,
on the information of the natives, that the Boa murina, dur-
ing the long rains that inundate the immense deserts of
South America, remains buried in the argillaceous soil,
until the mud, dried by the heats which immediately suc-
ceed the rainy season, cracks to let out the monstrous rep-
tile from the tomb which inclosed it. In Surinam, Brazil,
and other districts of South America, inhabited by this boa,

^ [The translator knew of two rattlesnakes living 18 months without
swallowing any food.]

t Amichtm, i. p. 35.

FABLES PREJUDICES.

101

it passes, on the contrary, like the other serpents, the whole
year in a state of continual activity.*

In our climate, and in North America, t serpents retire
into their winter retreat toward the month of October, and
reappear about the end of the month of March or April,
later or sooner according to the greater or less rigour of the
winter. The thick layers of fat with which their intestines
are lined in autumn, are absorbed in a great measure dur-
ing their torpor, and it is some days before they have re-
covered their strength in the spring. An excessive cold
kills them, whilst several fine days in succession often suf-
fice to make them leave their retreats in the middle of winter.

It is still to the work of M. Lenz J that we must refer
for the detailed statement of the observations which this
naturalist has made, to discover the effects which cold exer-
cises on these reptiles.

FABLES AND PREJUDICES.

The serpent performed a grand part in antiquity^ and
still plays it among most barbarous or demi-civilized na-
tions. Numerous causes have been assigned for this phe-
nomenon. Man intimidated by his aversion for these ani-
mals, which is in him in some degree innate, has only learnt
from experience, how small a number of these reptiles are
formidable by their poisonous qualities, while others conceal
under the same delusive appearances, a mild and inoffensive
character.

A thousand different properties, which are successively
detected in serpents, have opened to man a vast field of
meditation, and, in furnishing ample materials to dress out
his religious ideas, have presented him with an infinite num-
ber of mythic allegories. He has drawn from them symbols,
and has ended in offering to those dreaded animals a wor-
ship founded on the most diverse and conflicting motives.
It would seem to be natural to man to avail himself

* Neuwied, Beitr. p. 11.

t Palisot-Beauvais, Ap. ; Latreille, iii. p. 4. if P. 57.

102

ON THE PHYSIOONOMy OF SERPENTS.

even of the animals which are noxious, for procuring the
means of preservation from the evils which they cause :
hence the practice, established from the most remote times,
of extracting from serpents remedies against their bites ;
while, on the other hand, man sought to appease their fury
by revering them as divinities. The ancients, employing
often the most prominent characteristics of animals in their
allegories, discovered in the habits of serpents, in their qua-
lities, or even in their form, an inexhaustible fund for set-
ting to work their own fertile imagination, which heated
itself invariably in embellishing the observations they had
made from nature. It is to these various causes, and to
circumstances perhaps little known at this time, that we
should attribute the fear, mingled with hatred and venera-
tion, with which the serpent has inspired the human race.

In the mythology of most ancient nations, there are traces
which attest that the idea of the serpent as the evil principle
prevailed from the most remote antiquity. The serpent is
represented as the cause of the first transgression and fall
of man ; and Arimanes, assuming the form of a serpent,
seeks in vain to overcome his antagonist Orosmandes, who
represents the good principle in the idealism of the ancient
Persians.

It is believed that the ancient Greeks made choice of
the allegory of the great serpent killed by the arrows of
Apollo to represent the pestilential vapours, emanating from
the marshy slime which covered the earth after the deluge,
or after annual inundations, and which could only be dissi-
pated by the rays of the sun ; afterwards, this Python be-
came the attribute of Apollo and his priestesses at Delphi,
and it subsequently served for the emblem of Foretelling and
Divination. Analogous circumstances probably gave rise
to the fable of the Lernaean Hydra, exterminated by the la-
bours of Hercules and his companion lolas. Among the
ancient Egyptians, the serpent was the symbol of Fertility.
They represented under the form of a serpent, inclosed by
a circle, or entwined around a globe, the Cneph of their
cosmogony, who is the same as Ammon, or the Agathode-
mon, the spirit or soul of creation, the principle of all that

FABLES AIs^D PKEJUDICES.

103

lives, who governs and enlightens the world.^ The priests
of that people kept in the temples living serpents ; and
when dead, interred them in those sanctuaries of supersti-
tion.t

As an emblem of Prudence and of Circumspection, the
serpent was the constant attribute of ^sculapius, and the
same veneration was paid to those reptiles, as to the father
or the God of medicine and magic. I The Ophites were
Christian sectaries, who, towards the second century of our
era, established a worship which was particularly distinguished
from that of the Gnostics in this, that they adored a living
serpent ; conforming themselves to the ancient traditions of
their race, they regarded that animal as the image of Wis-
dom, and of the sensual emotions which it awakens. § The
monuments of the Mexicans, of the Japanese, and of many
other nations who owe the foundation of their civilization
to the ancient inhabitants of Asia, attest that the serpent
played also a part more or less important in their religious
mysteries ; but time and the relations which exist between
those nations and Europeans, have partly abolished these
usages ; and at this day it is only among negro tribes, and
on the west coast of Africa, that the serpent figures among
divinities of the first rank.|| ^

It does not enter into the plan of my work to explain or
even to allude to the numerous allegories which the serpent
represented among the ancients. Every one knows that
the snakes armed the hand of Discord, no less than the whip
of the Furies, and that the head of the Eumenides bristled
with serpents ; the two snakes twisted around the caduceus
of Mercury is the type of insinuating eloquence ; the circle
formed of a snake biting its own tail, without beginning and
without end, was the chosen symbol of eternity ; the cele-
rity of movements uniformly repeated to execute progres-
sive motion, became the emblem of the swiftness of time,

Etjsebii, Pred. Evang.y 33 ; Horopollo, ap. i. 2 ; CreutzeR,
L. i. 507 and 824.

t ^LiAN., xvii. 5 ; Herodotus, ii. 74.

i Pausanius, ii. 26-28.

§ Mosiieim, Gesch, der Schlangenbr. p. 1.

I) See our article on the Python bivittatus^

104

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEKPENTS.

and the succession of the infinity of ages ; the fables, last-
ly, of Achelous, of Jupiter metamorphosed into a serpent
to captivate the object of his love, and many others, attest
that the ancients attributed to the serpent qualities the
most opposite, and that the same being, according to them,
united at the same time force with timidity, beauty with a
shape which inspired horror, mildness with cunning or de-
ceit.

We ought to attribute to causes similar to those we have
mentioned, to that superstition — an inheritance of human
nature — the innumerable errors which, even to our times,
have disfigured the history of serpents. A vast number of
those fables, invented in the infancy of the human race, and
transmitted to posterity by classic authors, are spread abroad
so as to acquire popularity from the authority which is ac-
corded to those writers. To prove this assertion it is suffi-
cient to recollect what several modern authors have repeated
in their works, that hogs kill snakes to feed upon them,
and that serpents find in milk a great dainty ; errors which
date from the times of Aristotle^ and Pliny,! but pro^
pagated in Europe, in America, and other parts of the
world. We read in the same authors, J that the ichneumon,
to defend itself against the bites of snakes, bedaubs itself
with mud, and that it eats a certain herb which those rep-
tiles hold in aversion. This prejudice, which rests on the
simple fact that the little mammiferae we speak of, as well
as many others, are the natural enemies of serpents, is pre-
served in various parts of the East Indies. The plant
which possesses the virtue of repelling snakes, according to
K^mfer,§ is the Ophiorhiza Mungos, according to others,
the Aristolochia indica, 'which, the jugglers of those countries
pretend to use with success ; but the experiments of Rus-
sell || have demonstrated that all these qualities repose
only on popular prejudices. The same holds good with
regard to the employment of the Poly gala Senega^% a plant

* Hist. Anim., ix. 2. f Hist. Nature viii. 14.

t Aristotlis, ix. 7. Plin., viii. 36.

§ Amoenitates Exoticce, i. p. 305.

|j Indian Serpents, i. p. 86.
t Palisot Bauvais, Ap. Latreille, iii. p. 90.

TABLES AND PREJUDICES.

105

celebrated among many tribes of North America ; while
other nations reject it, to make use of plants of the genera
Prenanthes, Lactuca^ Helianthus, Spirma, &c., the efficacy
of which, as antidotes against the poison, are as little proved
as that of the former. Modern travellers of great name
have furnished some curious facts relating to a plant, ^
to which the inhabitants of Colombia attribute the same
qualities as those ascribed to the Aristolochia in India ;
but it is much to be desired that these experiments were
repeated by persons familiar with the nature of serpents. t
It will be superfluous to repeat all that the ancients have
invented concerning the innumerable antidotes of which they
vaunt the efficacy. On consulting the passages of Pliny J
to which we refer, it will be seen that the ancients recom-
mend indiscriminately, for this purpose, the most hetero-
geneous substances ; but that the attempts which they made
were the result of the grossest empiricism. Deceptions of
this nature are practised in India and Ceylon, where they
sell pastilles and pills of different kinds, arbitrarily com-
posed of substances from the vegetable, animal, and mi-
neral kingdoms, and which merely act on the imagination
of the sufferer. §

We have stated above, that the practice of extracting
from serpents the remedies against their bite, dates from
remote antiquity : Antonius, physician to Augustus, em-
ployed vipers in several diseases ;|| but it was not until the
time of Nero, when the physician Andromachus of Crete,^
invented the theriaca^ that the practice became general.
The theriac was an arbitrary compound of heterogeneous
medicaments, and was afterwards employed in maladies
of the most opposite nature : it was compounded in the
middle ages in almost all the cities of Europe, particular-

* PlantCQ Equinox, ii. pi. 105.

t [The author perhaps is not aware of the curious experiments on
the rattlesnake with the leaves of the Fraxinus Americana, by Judge
Woodrutfe, published in Silliinan’s Journal for 1833. — Tr.]

t Hist. Natur,, 28, 42, 29, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 32, 17, 19,
&c.

§ Russell, i. p. 74 ; Davy, Ceylon, p. 100.

II Plin., 30, 39.

^ Galex, de Antidotis, lib. i. cap. 6.

100

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

ly in its southern parts : at this day, the practice of in-
cluding the snake in the composition of this medicament is
only retained in Italy, where the theriac is still made in
various places. In Sicily it is prepared at Palermo.
That of Venice is very celebrated : there they use millions
of the Vipera aspis, which is common in the vicinity of
that city.^ The great manufacture of theriac which exists
at Naples, under the protection of the government, is a
private speculation, at the head of which stands the learn-
ed Professor Delle Chiaje ; there they use indiscrimi-
nately every species of serpent, although they prefer the
vipers named viperiere by the peasants, who bring them
alive in baskets. M. Siebold assures me that they
frequently employ a species of theriac in China and
Japan ; the inhabitants of the Lioukiou "Isles extract
medicaments from the Hydrophis colubrina ; and at the
Isle of Banka, the Chinese reckon the bile of the Great
Python a precious remedy against many diseases.! I pass
over the use made in the middle ages of different parts
of the snake, to each of which was attributed salutary
qualities ; in our days they are wholly laid aside.

It is only in recent times that those experiments have
been instituted on the effects of the bites of snakes, which
we have related elsewhere : the ancients, as many people
still do, reputed indiscriminately all serpents venomous ;
they placed the seat of their deadly weapon in the tongue,
or in the end of the tail, and ascribed to the bite of each
species, according to their fancy, a different train of mis-
chiefs.J Civilization is unable to destroy these errors,
and one is astonished to hear them repeated by well-in-
formed persons ; to see republished in several works the
story of the three sons of a colonist, successively dying
at long intervals, of a wound caused by the fang of a
rattlesnake remaining in the boot of their father, who
had first died of the bite : a story which the inhabitants
of Surinam, as well as those of the United States, are

* MS. note communicated by the late Dr Michahelles.
t Olivier, Lund m Zeetogteuy ii. p. 447*
t See Lucan, Pharsalia, ix. 937 ; Nicander, de heriaca^

FABLES Ara PEEJUDICES.

107

pleased to repeat to strangers passing tlirougli their coun-
try. One is astonished to hear of sea-snakes of monstrous
size of boas from forty to fifty feet long that attack men,
oxen, tigers, and svfallow them whole, after having covered
them with a frothy saliva :t absurdities that bring to re-
collection those fables of winged monsters or dragons, of
which the mythology of the ancient people of Asia has
preserved the remembrance, and of which the wayward
fancy of the Chinese has multiplied the forms. What
shall we say on reading in modern works of great re-
putation, descriptions of the marvellous effects produced
on serpents by music ; when travellers of talent tell us
they have seen young snakes retreat into the mouth
of their mother, every time that they were menaced with
danger ! Unfortunately naturalists, in classing such
fables with the number of facts, have often embellished with
them their descriptions, and thus have contributed to give
them universal acceptation. Who, for instance, will not be
struck with the description which Latreille and Lace-
PEDE have drawn up of the habits of the boa, and of other
serpents of great size ! How many qualities have not these
philosophers attributed to those beings, which have never
existed, except in their own imaginations !

Every one has heard of the pretended magic power
which serpents are said to exercise over small animals,
when they wish to catch them : there are few works on
natural history which have not treated of this phenome-
non, contradicted by some, and defended by others, with-
out their being able to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion.
I shall not here repeat the absurdities which travellers
have written on this head, and which are sometimes ex-
tremely curious 4 suffice it to say, that these tales, of
which the traces may be found in several classic authors, §
are particularly in vogue in North America, while they
are unknown in the East Indies and in Europe, countries
rich in serpents of every species. This observation is too

* See the article Hydrophis in the descriptive part of my work.

t See the article Boa,

f See Levaillant, 2de Voyage, i. p. 93 ; Babrow, Trav. p. 120.

§ ^lian, ii. 21 ; Pomponius Mela, i. 19.

108 ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTSo

curious not to merit some attention, as it shews how a fact,
true or supposed, may be so spread as to become popular.
Many causes might have given rise to the origin of the
pretended power of fascination of serpents. It is true that
most animals appear absolutely ignorant of the danger
which menaces them, when they find themselves in the
presence of enemies as cruel as serpents ; we often see
them walk over the bodies of those reptiles, pick at their
head, bite them, or lie down familiarly beside them : but
we need not also deny, that an animal, unexpectedly sur-
prised, attacked by so formidable an adversary, seeing his
menacing attitude, his movements performed with such
celerity, may be so seized with fear, as, at the first mo-
ment, to be deprived of its faculties, and rendered inca-
pable of avoiding the fatal blow, which is inflicted at the
moment when it perceives itself assailed. Mr Barton
Smith, in a memoir expressly written to refute all that
has been advanced on the fascination of the rattlesnake,
relates several instances which prove that birds do not
shew themselves afraid, except when the serpent approaches
their nests to seize their young. Then one may see the
terrified parents fly around their enemy, uttering plaintive
cries, just as our warblers do when any one stops in the vi-
cinity of their nests. It may also be, that the animals
which it is pretended had been seen fluttering around the
snake, and at last falling into his mouth, have been already
wounded by his poison-fangs ; a supposition which per-
fectly corresponds to the way in which venomous serpents
master their prey. Many tree-snakes seize their prey by
twisting their slender tails around their victim : Dam-
pier* has several times been a witness of this spectacle :
observing a bird flapping its wings, and uttering cries,
without flying, this traveller perceived that the poor bird
was locked in the folds of a snake, when he attempt-
ed to lay hold of it. RussELf presented one day a fowl
to a Dipsas, and the bird in a short time gave signs of
death ; not conceiving how the bite of a snake not poison-

^ Voyages, iii. p. 275.

t Russel, i. p. 20.

TABLES AND PEEJUDICES.

10^

DUS, and so small, could produce such an effect, he care-
fully examined the fowl, and found the folds of the tail of
the snake around the neck of the bird, which would have
perished had he not disengaged it. Many birds of small
size are accustomed to pursue birds of prey, and other
enemies of their race, or to fly about the place where the
object of their hatred lies concealed : there is reason to
believe that this phenomenon, known in Europe to every
observer, also takes place in exotic regions ; and perhaps
this is also one of the circumstances which have contribut-
ed to the invention of the stories which have been related
of the power of fascination in serpents.

But I have too long interrupted the progress of my
work, in exposing the numerous errors which have dis-
figured one of the most beautiful parts of natural science ;
and I believe I ought to omit the fables concerning the
basilisk, the hybrid snakes produced by the congress of
eels and serpents, and the other tales as strange as absurd,
which are still believed by many persons. Yet, before
terminating this division of my work, I shall notice the
magic power which certain persons pretend to be able to
exercise over snakes* This pretended art, which formed
at ail times, and among various nations, the occupation of
a particular caste, consists in certain tricks which the ser-
pents execute at the will of the conjurors^ who have trained
them expressly for the purpose : as they chiefly make use
of the Naja tripudians and Naja haje, I have, in these two
articles, stated the manner in which they employ serpents
in those tricks.^

Such conjurors exist now in the Indian Peninsula, and
in Egypt those of the latter country boast themselves to
be the descendants of the Psylli,]: — a tribe who inhabited
ancient Lybia and India, and were celebrated for their

^ [The author here alludes to the descriptive part of his work, not
yet translated.]

t GrEOFFROr, Descrip. del Egypte., xxiv. p. 88,

t Plin. vii. 2 ; 16, 37, 17, 27 ; Lucan, ix. 891, Consult

also the paper of Mr Spaldino, entitled Uber die Zwaberei durch Sehlan-
gen^ and inserted in the Memoires de VAcademie de Berlin ^ 1804-11,
classe Historico-phiiosphique, p. 9.

110

01^" THE PHYSIOGNOMY OP SERPENTS.

skill in curing the bites of snakes, and securing them«»
selves against them. Another people inhabiting Italy, but
less known, were the Marsi we know still less of the
Ophigenoi, whose country was Greece.f

Among the more civilized people of Europe, persons
who pretend to possess the art of fascinating serpents, are
very rarely to be met : they consist most frequently of igno«
rant charlatans, who impose on the lower orders, seeking to
alarm them by playing familiarly with serpents, while they
are only thus familiar with the innocuous. M. Lenz has
given in his workj the history and tragic end of one of
those pretended conjurors, who paid with his life for a
temerity, founded on absolute ignorance of the nature of
vipers.

HISTORY OP OPHIOLOGY.

In tracing, in the following pages, a succinct history of
Ophiology, we shall confine ourselves to a notice of the
principal authors who have more particularly contributed
to the progress of this branch of natural history, consider-
ed as a science.

The first indications of this nature are to be found in
the pages of Aristotle : it appears from his observa-
tions, that this great man made very exact researches on
the nature and anatomy of snakes ;§ but, unfortunately,
his work is disfigured by many prejudices, fashionable in
his day, which he repeats with perfect good faith : this
author does not enumerate the species, and speaks but
vaguely of the aspic, of the viper, and of serpents in ge-
neral.

The great compilation of Pliny is more rich in curious
but erroneous statements, than the work of the Greek philo-
sopher of which we have spoken : he omits most of the ana-
tomical details given by Aristotle, but he makes men-
tion of the principal species known at that time, and

* Virgil, En, vii. 750 ; Silius Italicus, viii. 495.

t Plikius, vii. 2 ; JElian, xii. 39.

i Page 192.

g ii. 12 ; iv. 11 ; v. 3 ; v. 28 ; viii. 17 and 19, &c.

HISTOKY OF OPHIOLOOY.

Ill

proves, by his description of the fangs of the viper, ^ that
the true seat of the poisonous organ was not unknown to
the ancients.

iELiAisr still surpasses his predecessors in the great num-
ber of errors which he details with regard to the manners
of serpents ; of which he describes several species, and most
frequently copies their descriptions.

Other classic authors, such as Nicander, Virgil, Lu-
can, &c., speak, in their works, more or less directly, of
serpents, of their qualities, and of the effects of their
bite ; but these poetic productions have contributed little
to advance the knowledge of animals, of the true peculiari-
ties of which the ancients were ignorant.

The Greeks indiscriminately comprehended all serpents
under the general denominations of d^axojv and of op/g, de-
rivatives from the verbs ds^xstv and o^rsiv, both of which
signify to see. The first of these appellations has been
adopted by the Latins ; but that people also employed the
general names, anguis and serpens^ to denominate Ophidi-
ans. The German word Schlange, from Schlingen, has an
etymology analagous to the Latin serpens^ from serpere,
whence the French have formed their words serpent and
serpenter. Many other names in use among the ancients
appear to have been very vaguely applied, although in a
sense very general. -dSLiAN,! for example, enumerates 16
species of Aspis^ while it appears from passages in other
writers, that the Aspis was the ISTaja haje.:i; It is not pos-
sible to determine positively the species of Ophidians
known to the ancients, because of the incomplete descrip-
tions which they have left us ; therefore it is not without
hesitation that I hazard conjectures on this subject. But
here they are : The manners which Pliny§ and JElian ||
attribute to the Jaculus coincide perfectly with those of
the Coluber flavolineatus ; the Ampliisb(Ena^ of these
authors is probably identical with our Eryx ; the etymo-
logy of the word Cerastes^ proves that it is still the same

^ L. cap. xi. 62. t L. c. x. 31.

X Nicander, in Theriac ; Lucan, 9, 695 ; Plin, 8, 35.

§L. c. 8, 35. II L. c. 6, 18, 13.

^ Plin. 8, 35 ; ^lian, 9, 23. Plin. 8, 35,

112

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OE SERPENTS.

serpent which we know under this name ; Cuyier sup--
poses, with reason, that the Boa of Pliny"^ is but a great
Coluber of Italy, probably the Coluber quaterradiatus.
I have reason for believing that our Vipera Echis, the
head of which is often ornamented with a white spot, has
served for the type of the Basilisk of the Cyreniaca de-
scribed by Pliny ; ] it is supposed that the Hydrus of the
Homan naturalist J is founded on our Tropidonotus
Natrix ; but -^lian,§ under the name of sea-snake, has
incontestably described the Bipsas ; lastly, the Paria^ and
other serpents, of which classic authors make mention, are
too vaguely indicated to be referred to their types.

Those who seek for more detailed information on the
knowledge which the ancients had of serpents, have only
to consult the works of the learned Gessner, who has also
collected in his work all the fables which have been writ-
ten on these animals in the middle ages. We omit such
observations, of very little real interest to science, which
can never acquire solidity through such works as those of
Aldrovandus and Johnston — complications made with-
out taste and without genius, and in which one sees repeated
the innumerable errors of their predecessors, whether it be
the prejudices which have disfigured the history of Ophi-
ology, or the description of those chimerical beings named
Dragons^ which those learned persons have not failed to
illustrate by figures.

Ray was the first who essayed to give a sort of classifi-
cation of serpents ; but his system, founded on an insecure
basis, has been long abandoned. It was not till the fol-
lowing century that the Natural History of Serpents, by
his countryman Owen, appeared — a book written without
judgment, and abounding in erroneous and fabulous
stories.

Several delineators of objects of natural history, about
the same period, distinguished themselves by the publica-
tion of collections of figures more accurate than had been
furnished by their predecessors. We ought to cite, in the

* Plin. 8, 14.
t L. c. 29, 22.

t Plin. 8, 23.
§ L. c. 16, 8.

HISTOEY OF OPHIOLGOY.

113

first place, Scheuchzer, who has given, in a voluminous
and heterogeneous work, a considerable number of un-
coloured figures of serpents, the most of which, though not
above mediocrity, are sufficiently recognisable. Seba, who
has surpassed all iconographists by the great number of
'the figures which we owe to his care, has represented in
the first two volumes of his work, the snakes which made
a part of his own museum, one of the richest of that age :
many of his figures are very faithfully rendered, others
are passable, some very bad ; but the greatest number are so
oddly coloured, that it is difficult to recognise the animal
which has served as the model. This author does not ap-
pear to have had in view any other object, than to exhibit
in his work the whole of that innumerable series of speci-
mens which adorned his cabinet- — the figures are there accu-
mulated without selection or judgment ; the same serpent
is there often represented ten or more times ; and these
different portraits of the same animal sometimes offer very
little resemblance, because the artist has disfigured each of
them. The text, which accompanies these plates, abounds
with errors and false information respecting the native
country of the animals and the names of places ; it is very
evident that Seba has done little but reported the stories
of sailors, whose avidity invented lies to profit by his cre-
dulity. Instead of tracing in a few words the essential
characters of the animals figured, this author often
dwells on the description of a trifling point, of a spot, or
of some other insignificant mark— -a circumstance which
renders the explanatory text absolutely useless. How-
ever, this immense collection has furnished materials to
many naturalists ; it has been, even to our times, a rich
mine, which is incessantly dug, and from which many phi-
losophers have extracted information, of which they have
afterwards availed themselves in the composition of their
works.

The Natural History of Florida by Catesby, published
about the same period, is still more useful for a knowledge
of the productions of that country, which has not since been
explored by any traveller, with the same view. The figures

K

114

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SERPENTS.

wliicli it contains are, for the most part, passable ; but many
among them are given with very little accuracy.

A considerable number of figures of serpents, very re-
cognisable, are to be found in the Museum of Prince Adol-
phus Frederic, published by Linnjeus, which appeared
before the last editions of the Sy sterna Naturce, The author
himself quotes a second volume of this work, in which he
has been followed by his successors, although that volume
never was published. To this great man, the inventor of
the Dichotomic method, we owe the first sketch of a true
classification of Ophidians these animals formed his se-
cond tribe of the order of Reptiles, which he thus character-
izes, Serpentes, apodes, spirantes oreP The six genera
established by him are founded on characters taken from
the organization of the general integuments. If we take
away the genera Amphisbasna and Cascilia, which make a
part of the Linnaean family of Ophidians, there remain only
the Crotalus, Boa, Coluber, and Anguis, distinguished by
the form of the plates below the body. The first genus
comprehends all those serpents which have the tail provided
with the noise-making apparatus, known under the desig-
nation of the rattle ; the Boa is distinguished from the
Coluber by entire subcaudal plates ; the Anguis has below
plates similar to the scales on other parts of its body. It
is obvious, that a method founded on characters, so fugitive
as those of which Linnaeus availed himself for his system,
must contradict nature : thus all the natural affinities that
connect the different species of Ophidians are dissevered in
his species. We there see the Trigonocephalus by the side
of the Boa ; his genus Anguis includes at the same time
the Scinks, the Tortrix, the Typhlops, the Hydrophis, and
the Ophisaurus. The other serpents are referred to his
genus Coluber, in which are jumbled the Vipers, the Py-
thons, the Calamars, the Najas, the Homalopsis, the Dip-
sas, the Dryiophis, &c. &c.

All the successors of Linn^us having in some shape fol-
lowed his method, which they may be said merely to have

* Syst. Naturce, Ed. xii. p. 347.

HTSTORY OF OPHIOLOOT.

115

extended, allowing themselves to be guided by the same
principles, and are hence unable to follow a natural system.
We shall see in the sequel to what errors this manner of
viewing the subject has given rise, and on what a false path
it has conducted.

Klein,* most frequently guided in his labours by a spi-
rit of contradiction, has arranged among serpents many
Annelides, and even Intestinal Worms. The true serpents
are by him divided into two classes, characterized by the
form of the head and of the tail : those with the head of
the same diameter with the body, and with a short and
rounded tail, form his genera Amphisbsena and Scytale ;
the other class comprehends the Kynodons or venomous
snakes, in which he distinguishes the Viper, the Naja, and
the Crotalus ; the innocuous serpents are lastly distributed
into the genera Ichthyodon, Lytaidon, and Anodon, estab*
lished on the form of the teeth.

It is obvious that this author is the first who has pro-
posed to separate the venomous from the innocuous serpents.
It was afterwards that Gray! especially devoted himself
to discover the marks by which to characterize these two
divisions. The result of his researches is, that there is no
other method of recognising the venomous species, but by
ascertaining the presence of the fangs. This memoir con-
tains many good observations on the dentary system of
serpents.

The great reputation that Laurenti acquired by the
publication of his synopsis J is not less than his merits as
a systematic author. His third order of Eeptiles compre-
hends the serpents, which he distributes into the genera
Chalcides, Csecilia, Arnphisbsena, Anguis, Natrix, Cerastes,
Coronella, Boa, Dipsas, Naja, Caudisona, Coluber, Vipera,
Cobra, Aspis, Constrictor, and Laticauda. The numerous
species with which he has enriched his scheme, being, for
the most part, established and characterized on the figures
of Seba, are chiefly nominal, as may be seen in analyzing

^ Tentamen HerpetologicBi Konigshergi^ 1755.
t PMl. Trans, ^ Ixxix., pi. p. 21.
t Synopsis Beptilium, Vienna, 1768.

116

ON’ THE PHTSIOaNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

his genera Naja, Boa, and Constrictor ; on the other hand,
it is only necessary to examine his genera Natrix, Cerastes,
and others, to be convinced of the little certainty which
pervades his views relative to the characters which he as-
signs to distinguish his artificial divisions.

The order of Serpents, as it exists in the edition of the
Sy sterna Natures published by Gmelin,^ differs not from
that of his original author, but in the addition of species
described by naturalists and travellers to that period.

It was almost at the same time, that the work of Dau-
BENTONf on Beptiles appeared in the form of a dictionary ;
a book now rarely consulted, although it is the basis of
those of Lacepede and Bonnaterre.J

In the great work of Count Lacepede, the Serpents com-
pose a fourth order of the class of Beptiles, distinct from
the three first, which form those of Oviparous Quadrupeds
with a tail, without the tail, and the Oviparous Bipeds. In
adopting the six genera of serpents devised by Linnaeus,
the continuator of Buffon added the Langaha and the
Acrochordus, after the descriptions of Bruguieres and of
Hornstedt ; for it was not until fifteen years afterwards
that the genera Erpeton, Leioselasma, Disteira, andTrimere-
surus, were established. The work recommends itself by the
beauty of the style, which is poetic in some parts, although
the statements which make the basis of the reasonings are
not always in accordance with fact ; the descriptions, more
lengthened than those of his predecessors, rarely sin against
minuteness, but they are far from sufficing for a rigorous
determination of species. The figures which serve to illus-
trate this work are scarcely above mediocrity, and are some-
times even very bad.

It was not more than ten years after the publication of
the Natural History of Beptiles of Lacepede, that a Ger-
man translation of it appeared from the pen of the cele-

* Linn. Syst. Naturae, Ed. 13. Gmel. Lips. 1788.

t It forms a part of the Encyclopedic Methodiquc^ of which the first vo-
lume appeared in 1782.

J Encycop. Med. Faris, 1802.

HISTOEY OF OPHIOLOOY.

117

brated Bechsteif. This philosopher^ unskilled in that
branch of science^ has drawn together^ in this translation,
all that was known in his time on Eeptiles, and has caused
to be engraved a great number of the figures of Seba, of
Russell, of Merrem, and others ; I have occasionally
quoted this compilation, in which Bechstein has introduced
some very good original observations on the indigenous
Ophidians.

The classification of reptiles proposed in 1799 by M.
Alex. Brofgniart, is founded on their general organiza-
tion, and rests on principles too solid not to have been
adopted by naturalists. It is to this savant that we are
indebted for the introduction of the four orders now gene-
rally recognised ; but as he defines Ophidians to be animals
without feet, with the body enlongated, and cylindrical, it is
obvious that the Anguis and Csecilia are not excluded from
that order. Brofgfiart has further introduced the genera
adopted by Lacepede, and augmented it by the addition of
the genus Vipera, which comprehends many venomous
snakes.

Schneider, treating the natural sciences as a man of
letters, has created the genera Hydrus, Pseudo-Boa, and
Elaps, to class in them serpents of very heterogeneous
kinds. We see figuring in the first, by the side of the true
Hydrophis, the Acrochordus, and the Tropidonotus, while
the two last genera present a confused medley of snakes
very different from each other.

It is difficult to comprehend why Latreille has pre-
ferred to the classification of Brongniart a method analo-
gous to that of Lacepede. In glancing over the work
which he has published, and which is ornamented with pretty
figures in miniature, but without any scientific interest, one
perceives that this learned entomologist, in the composition
of his work, has almost exclusively employed the materials
furnished by Seba and Lacepede, and also some remarks
supplied by travellers. He has, however, extended the
list of his genera, by creating those of Scytale, Heterodon,
Platurus, Hydrophis, Enhydrus, and in establishing sub-
divisions in those of Coluber and Vipera.

The second part of the third volume of the General

118

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OP SEEPENTS.

Zoology of Shaw, published in 1802, contains the descrip-
tion of serpents. This work, in every part, affords but a
crude and steril compilation ; the new species which the
author makes known are very few in number. It appears
that Shaw described the sea-serpents from specimens
brought home by Russel.

The most complete work which has yet appeared on
Ophidians, is that of Daudin : it forms a part of his Na-
tural History of Reptiles, published in 1802, and the
following years. The author has followed the method of
Brongniart, but the formation of several new genera is
due to him. After the example of Russel, he has separated
the Pythons from the Boas ; his genus Bungarus has not
to this time sustained any alteration ; that of Vipera com-
prehends with him most of the venomous snakes properly
so called ; his genera Lachesis, Hurriah, Eryx, &c., have
been rejected by me, while of the others, the Coralla and
Cothonia have never been adopted by naturalists. The
descriptions of Daudin are generally very minute, but he
is deficient in solid elementary knowledge, and is ruled by a
spirit of contradiction. This author, little skilled in criti-
cism, often commits very grave errors. The figures which
adorn his work are superior to those of Lacepede ; but,
reduced to too small a size, most of them are deficient in cor-
rectness. Daudin has availed himself of numerous mate-
rials furnished by the monographs of Merrem and Russel,
published in part before the period when he wrote.

The first of the works which we have just mentioned,
theBeitrage de Merrem, contains figures of serpents, easily
recognisable, and accompanied by good descriptions. The
second is the most extensive and richest collection, which has
ever appeared to illustrate that part of a fauna which treats
of Ophidians, The portraits which it contains, especially
in the second volume, are for the most part very accurate,
although the artists may be charged with neglect of the
numerous means which modern art possesses, and of which
the French delineators know so well how to avail themselves.
We owe to Russel many excellent remarks on the habits
of serpents ; the experiments which he made on the effects
of the bite of those animals merit quotation ; hence his sue-

HISTOKY OF OPHIOLGOY.

119

cessors have taken care to make extracts from him in their
works.

Of all the figures which have appeared to this day on
the natural history of animals, those which are found in
the Grand Work on Egypt are beyond dispute the most
perfect, for the fidelity with which the subjects are repre-
rented. The explanatory text of these plates has only
been recently published, and still only comprehends the
first part ; the objects represented in the supplement by
Savigny having been lost.

A novel classification of reptiles, at first inserted in the
Annals of Natural Sciences, has been separately published
at Munich in 1811. The author, the late M. Oppel, dif-
fers much from his predecessors. In adopting the four
orders established by Brongxiart, he has introduced
numerous modifications ; as in reuniting the Saurians and
Ophidians, as subdivisions of his order Squamata; in ar-
ranging the Anguis among the Saurians, and placing,
according to the remarks of M. Dumeril, the Cseciha in
the order of Batrachians. This system, more natural by
its connection than any other published, has only been
appreciated in our days. We owe to the late Oppel the
establishment of several very natural genera, such as Tor-
trix, Trigonocephalus, Vipera, &c. ; but he has introduced
confusion into the system by reuniting the Bungarus under
the general denomination of Pseudo-Boa, while he applies
the first name to the Dipsas. The seven families which he
has created for the subdivision of Ophidians, are founded
on too small a number of observations to be useful at this
time of day. Some are even very little natural ; for exam-
ple, that of Pseudo -Vipera, comprehending the genera
Acrochordus and Herpeton ; and the Viperinse, in which
the Vipera, Bungarus, and Naja, &c. are united.

I now arrive at the labours of Cuvier on Serpents.
Founded on observations first inserted in his Comparative
Anatomy, this illustrious philosopher published, in 1817,,
a classification of serpents^ of which we shall give a sketch :
it was reproduced in a second edition, and has undergone

Regne Animal, vol. ii. ed. 21e.

120

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTS.

no essential change, except the introduction of some new
genera ; on this account, we shall make our extracts from
this last work. Cuvier having classed in the order of the
Ophidians all reptiles without feet, it follows that beings
of an organization different from that of serpents, such as
the Anguis, the Pseudopus, the Csecilia, should enter into
its formation. The first family, that of Anguis, compre-
hends the genera Anguis, Pseudopus, Ophisaurus, and
Acontias. The second family, that of true serpents, is
divided into two tribes : — That of the double marchers, con-
taining the genera Amphisbeena and Typhlops ; and that of
the serpents properly so called, embracing all the rest of
the Ophidians, is divided again into two sections. First
come the innocuous serpents, distributed into the genera
Tortrix, Boa, Coluber, and Acrochordus, genera which may
very well be called families, and of which the majority are
composed of several very natural subgenera : beside the
boa figures the Scytale coronata, the Eryx, and Herpeton ;
with the Colubri are confounded the Pythons, the Homa-
lopsiSj^theXenopeltis, the Heterodon, the Tree-snakes, and
the Oligodon. The venomous snakes are subdivided into
the venomous properly so called, in which the fangs are
isolated, and the venomous in which the dangerous wea-
pons are followed by several solid teeth. The first of
these two families is established for the reception of the
Crotalus, the Trigonocephalus, the Vipera, the Naja, the
Elaps, the Platurus, the Langaha, and several other new
subgenera, but of too little importance to be here enume-
rated ; the second comprehends the Bungarus, the Sea-
snakes, and the Acrochordus, under the name of Chersy-
drus ; the Csecilia, as a third tribe, terminates the order
of Ophidians. In passing this classification in review, we
shall limit ourselves to remark, that Cuvier, attaching too
much importance to the dentary system of serpents, and
to the form of the under scuta, departs in several respects
from the natural system. At least, it seems to me, that
a union such as that of Hydrophis, of Bungarus, and Acro-
chordus, cannot be suitable to any method, natural or

* Genus Cerberus of M. Cuvier.

HISTORY OF OPHIOLOHY.

121

artificial. How is it that the Elaps and Naja, Ophidians
whose jaws are furnished, besides the fangs, with solid
teeth, have been arranged among the venomous serpents
with isolated fangs ! The Langaha is also in that division,
although neither its form nor its structure offer the least
analogy to venomous serpents. We see in the same sys-
tem the Boa, the Python, and the Acrochordus, figure in
four different families. The Scytale coronatus and the
Eryx, form a part of the genus Boa ; the Uropeltis (the
true Typhlops) is found in the series, whilst the Xenopel-
tis has been excluded from it to take its place among the
Colubri. These remarks will suffice to shew to how many
errors the principle of classing serpents according to the
form of the subcaudal plates, has given rise.

Besides the works of Lacepede, of Latreille, and of
Daudin, we possess a complete enumeration of the Imown
species of serpents, published in 1820 by Merrem.^ The
author, in adopting the great divisions of Ophidians into
venomous and innocent, has arranged most of the latter
in the genus Coluber, a denomination which he has very
inappropriately changed to Natrix; and he terminates a
long series of these animals by the genus Dryinus. At
the head of the harmless serpents are found, — 1st, The
Acrochordus ; 2d, The Bhinopirus, a name substituted
for Herpeton ; 3d, The Tortrix, a medley of the genera
Tortrix, Eryx, Typhlops, Acontias, &c. ; 4th, The Eryx ;
5th and 6th, The Boa and the Python, genera which in-
clude a great many heterogeneous species ; 7th, The
Scytale, a confused melange, which is followed by, 8th,
The Hurriah, a reunion as absurd as the name which de-
signates them. Merrem has taken care, in his distribu-
tion of venomous serpents, to adopt almost all the generic
names invented by his predecessors ; he has multiplied
their number by the addition of several new designations ;
his Sepedon is established in favour of the Naja Haema-
chates ; his Pelias includes a Viper and a Trigonocephalus ;
his Echis reposes on the Vipers. But this learned man,
without the least necessity, has introduced numerous
changes in the nomenclature ; such are the introduction of
^ Tentamen Systematis A'inphibiorum, Marburgi, 1820.

L

122 01^ THE PHYSIOaJTOMY OE SERPENTS.

the generic names Acanthophis, Echidna, Cophias, and
Natrix, substituted for the established denominations,
Ophryas, Vipera, Trigonocephalus, and Coluber.

It is almost to the same epoch we must refer the extensive
researches of the late H. Boie on Beptiles. This zealous
and indefatigable naturalist, in arranging the materials of the
collection of serpents in the Museum of the Low Countries,
has proposed numerous generic sections, in a great mea-
sure established at the expense of those already known.
This great work, in which Boie had collected his researches,
having been unpublished to the present day, it has
happened that extracts have been communicated to many
herpetologists, who have hastened to adopt the views of
the late Boie, before the original researches could be laid
before the public. It was only in 1827 that M. Fr,
Boie of Keil published a sketch of the researches of his
brother, enriched with his own remarks. The following
are the names of the new genera of Ophidians contained in
the work of the late M. Boie : — Xenopeltis (Beinwardt) ;
Brachyorrhos (Kuhl) ; Lycodon (Boie) ; Oligodon (Boie) ;
Amblycephalus (Kuhl) ; Elapodis (Boie) ; Homalopsis
(Kuhl) ; Xenodon (Boie) ; Tropidonotus (Kuhl) ; Her-
petodryas (Boie) ; Dendrophis (Boie) ; Psammophis (Boie) ;
and Chrysopelea (Boie). The specific description of my
work being in some measure founded on the labours of
Boie, it may be seen on consulting the memoir I have just
mentioned, in what my views differ from those of my pre-
decessor.*

About the same period appeared several iconographie
works and observations on the Fauna of Brazil, which
have greatly contributed to clear up one of the most
confused departments of the science. The labours of the
Prince of Neuwied deserve to be first mentioned ; this
august traveller is almost the only person who has made
observations on the habits of exotic serpents, and his book
must be included among the most precious of those that
have ever appeared on Herpetology : his exact, though mi-
nute description, cannot fail to be extremely useful ; the

* Isis, XX., p. 508.

HISTOKY OE OPHIOLOaY.

123

plates 'VYliicli illustrate them are executed with care, and
represent the objects with exactness. We regret not
to be able to give the same praise to those published by
Wagler from the specimens collected in the travels of M.
Spix. We find introduced into this book, under new
names, the most common species ; the same species is
sometimes figured under several different denominations,
and even disposed in different genera ; the species collected
in Spain are there described as natives of Brazil ; the num-
ber of genera has been most unnecessarily augmented, and
new generic appellations are arbitrarily substituted for the
old. The author, in loading his descriptions with idle de-
tails, has rendered them diffuse : in a word, the defects
which abound are not at all compatible with the ostenta-
tion displayed in this work, and in some similar publica-
tions.

The design of the works of M. Fitzinger professing to
be an arrangement of Beptiles according to their natural
afiinities, this herpetologist has reunited the Ophidians to
the Saurians, which are divided into many families ; the
denominations which he has used to designate the numer-
ous generic groups he has created, are in a great measure
borrowed from the barbarous momenclature of Seba ; an
enumeration of the Ophidians that form a part of the Mu-
seum of Vienna is annexed to his little work, as an illus-
tration of his views. Mine differing in many respects from
his, I shall here state some facts scattered throughout his
book, to serve as points of comparison.

The genus Duberria of M. Fitzinger comprehends
species which make part of my genera Calamaria, Coluber,
Xenodon, Coronella, Xaja, and Lycodon. We see ar-
ranged aihong his Colubers, species of Coronella, Psam-
mophis, Lycodon, Xenodon, Herpetodryas, Dipsas, Tro-
pidonotus, and true Colubers ; in the family of the Colu-
broides are included the Acrochordus, Hydrophis, Herpe-
ton, Xenopeltis, and all the other harmless serpents, with
the exception of the Tortrix and the Boa ; but of the two
succeeding families each contains sea-serpents, which figure
beside the Viper, Flaps, or Naja, genera too widely sepa-

124

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

rated from each other, to be included in two well character-
ized families.

The nature of the system recently published by the late
M. Wagler defies all analysis ; always led astray by the
sallies of an ardent imagination, often guided by principles
which should ever be strangers to science, anticipating the
spirit of the age, this laborious zoologist has created a system
in which the venomous and harmless serpents are huddled
together pell-mell, — the sea-snakes with the terrestrial, the
fresh-water species with tree-serpents — a system supported
by diffuse but specious reasoning, often forced, and more
lively than just ; a system with a crowd of new-invented
divisions, the number of which alone makes the most tena-
cious memory tremble. The same writer has been use-
ful by the publication of Herpetological Plates.

It remains for me to mention M. Lenz, who has studied
even in the minutest details the manners and habits of In-
digenous Serpents. I have often had recourse to the scien-
tific observations of this naturalist, which are contained in
a General Natural History of Serpents, written in a
popular and often diffuse style, but which shews that the
author is more familiar with the literature of this part of
science than with the objects themselves.

I omit many other attempts by anatomists or by philo-
sophers to establish natural systems of ophiology : suffice it
to quote, as an example of Essays of this sort, the memoir
of M. PiETGEN, inserted in the 14th Volume, Second
Part, p. 245, of Transactions of the Leopoldine Academy,
Many other Savans, in short, have contributed to the pro-
gress of ophiology, by publishing isolated observations.
Travellers have enriched their journals by numerous scat-
tered remarks, relating to the manners of serpents, in which
they have described unedited species : to this number be-
long Pallas, Hasselquist, Forskal, Bruce, Bartram,
Bose, Palisot de Beauvais, Paterson, Bussel, Madler
Merian, Maregrav, Mikan, Badbi, the Prince of
Neuwied, Spin, Say, Davy, White, Lesson, Wiegmann,
and several others which we have mentioned in speaking
of their works. Other naturalists have applied themselves

HISTOKT OF OPHIOLOGY.

125

to describe or to enumerate the ophidians of a particular
country, or at least to collect materials for the faunas of differ-
ent regions of the globe. Besides the grand works already
mentioned on the East Indies, Brazil, North America, and
Egypt, the Monograph of the Serpents of the environs of
Borne by Metaxa is particularly distinguished ; those of
Hungary, published by Frivaldszky ; of Switzerland, by
Wyder ; of Lithuania, by Drumpelmann ; of Italy, by the
Prince of Musignano ; of Germany by Sturm ; of Holland,
by Van Lier ; and of North America, by Harlan ; many
philosophers, as Wolf, Meissner, Wagner, Boie, Vosmaer,
Fleischman, Boddaert, Gronovius, Bell^. Gray, Lich-
tenstein, Brandt, and Batzeburg, and some others, have
published detached observations on the nature of snakes,
which have extended the boundaries of our knowledge, by
the descriptions they have given of new species.

It is also proper to notice the labours by which anato-
mists and physiologists have, especially in later times,
illustrated ophiology. The fine and numerous experiments
on the poison of the Viper, by Bedi, Oharas, and especially
by F ONTANA, and the description which those philosophers
have given of the poisonous apparatus, are worthy of the
attention of the naturalists of every period. Celebrated
anatomists such as Cuvier, and Meckel, have, in their
Manuals on Zootomy, demonstrated the^ organization of
serpents ; others, such as Cloquet, Duvernoy, Mayer,
TiEDEMANN, ScHLEMM, WiNDISCHMANN, J. MiiLLER, &c.,
have furnished interesting dissertations on the various
organs of those animals ; M. Herholdt has made researches
on the physiology of our indigenous species. A crowd of
other observers, in fine, whose names I shall quote in their
proper place, have contributed to extend our knowledge of
the natural history of serpents.

126

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OP SERPENTS,

SYNOPTICAL VIEW OF OPHIDIANS.

I come now to mj proper subject. I have already men-
tioned in the Preface, the motives which induced me to give
my work the title under which it has appeared. The ge-
neral part of my book has no need of commentary ; conse-
quently I have only now in the following pages to give a
synopsis of the descriptive or special part.^

I have retained the old division of serpents into Inno-
cuous and Venomous. The constant character of these
last is, being provided with a gland of a cellular structure,
secreting a fluid which, introduced into the animal frame,
there produces deleterious effects. The maxillary teeth, much
longer than the rest, are hollow internally, and provided
with two orifices, one for the entrance, and the other for the
exit of the venom ; they are called Fangs, and are the wea-
pons by means of which those serpents inflict wounds, and
at the same time introduce into the wound the destructive
fluid. It is very diflicult, if not impossible, to assign to
venomous serpents distinctive external characters. Several
of them, as sea-snakes, are distinguished by their flattened
tails ; the venomous snakes properly so called, have some-
thing so peculiar in their general form and their physiog-
nomy, that it requires but a small experience to recognise
them at the first glance ; but it is not so with that family
of venomous serpents to which I have given the name
of Colubriform: the greatest number of these reptiles so
much resemble innocuous snakes, that naturalists even
have confounded the two races. A muzzle generally thick
and rounded, a short, thick, and conical tail : these are
the principal external characters, little prominent it is true,
which can be assigned to the colubriform venomous ser-
pents. The habits of venomous serpents offer several other
marks to distinguish them from the harmless species ; and

* [This special or descriptive part is not now translated. It forms a
volume about double the size of that now submitted to the English
reader, and constitutes the clearest and best digested general description
of serpents which has fallen under the notice of the Translator.]

INNOCUOUS SERPENTS.

127

we may particularly observe, that the former exclusively in-
habit the sea or the land, that they do not climb trees,
and that they never frequent fresh water, with the excep-
tion, perhaps, of some species of Naja.

INNOCUOUS SERPENTS.

In distributing the Serpents not venomous into families,
I have chiefly kept in view their mode of living. Those
sections which have little importance as regards organiza-
tion, have only been adopted for the purpose of facilitating
a review of species.

The First Family comprehends the Burrowmg Snakes,
the only genus of which is the

TO RTRIX.

Wemay assign to them as distinctive marks — acylindric
body, with almost the whole trunk of the same dimen-
sions ; a short and conical tail ; a small obtuse head, of
the same diameter as the trunk, and covered with plates
imperfectly developed ; small eyes ; narrow nostrils ; a
mouth but little cleft ; the tympanites very massive ; the
teeth short and conical ; in fine, a certain resemblance to
the Amphisbmna and Typhlops. The Tortrices often exhi-
bit hooks at the anus ; they inhabit hot countries in both
worlds, they never leave the ground in which they dig
burrows. We only know five species. I place at the
head of the genus —

1. Tortrix Scytale of Surinam, remarkable by its
slender trunk, filiform and ringed with black and red ; the
eyes are placed in the centre of the ocular plate ; the short
tail is very obtuse ; it sometimes grows to the length of
3 feet ; scuta 225 + 12. The second species,f

2. Tortrix rufa comes from Java and Celebes, where

* The Trigonocephalus viridis is an exception to this rule, in so
far as it has the habit of attaching itself by its prehensile tail to branches
of shrubs, to watch for its prey.

t [M. Schlegel always indicates the number of abdominal and sub-
caudal scuta by this symbol ; the first number being the abdominal, the
latter the subcaudal, with the sign + (pZ^^sJ^^etween the numbers. — Tr\]

128

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEKPENTS.

it forms a variety produced by climate, very distinguish-
able by its deep tints ; more massive than the preceding ;
it has the trunk of a shining blackish -brown, ornamented
with transverse white bands, which become of a beautiful
red on the head and tail ; it has a very short and pointed
tail ; dimensions feet ; scuta 196 -h 6.

3. Tortrix maculata. — The isle of Ceylon produces
this species, in many respects like the last ; but what dis-
tinguishes them, besides the slight difference in shape, is
the colour of the latter, being a yellowish-brown, relieved
by a reticulated pattern in black ; it does not exceed a foot
in total length, and has about 190 + 6 scuta.

4. Tortrix Eryx is the fourth species, an inhabitant of
the sandy districts which extend from Egypt to Hindustan :
it has the short tail massive and obtuse ; all the parts
are covered by very small scales ; the muzzle is obliquely
truncated at the point ; the eye has a pupil perpendicularly
elongated ; it attains the length of 2^ feet, and has
195 + 20 scuta. This species probably forms in India
several constant varieties, of which we have not yet suffi-
ciently studied the distinctive characters.

5. Tortrix Pseud-Eryx is very near akin to the Eryx,
and is a native of New Holland ; it is distinguished from
the former by a tail more long and prehensile, by a body
more thick and compressed, by a greater development of
abdominal and frontal plates, and by the number of the
scuta which equal 200 + 60.

6. Tortrix Xenopeltis, the sixth, presents a less
cylindric trunk than the other species • its tail is longer
and conical ; it wants the hooks at the anus, and the plates
of the head approach the normal form ; a beautiful shin-
ing blue-black is reflected from the whole surface of the
polished epidermis ; the head is white in the young ani-
mal ; the size 2 feet ; scuta 175 + 28 ; a native of Java,
Sumatra, and Celebes.

7. Tortrix Boa is a rare species, found in New Ireland ;
it has a general resemblance to the form of the Xenopeltis ;
but its lips are hollowed by fossettes, as in the Boa, and
the body is surrounded by alternate rings of black and
white ; it has 250 + 44 scuta.

INNOCUOUS SEEPENTS.

129

Writers on Ophiology have classed in the genus Toktrix
several reptiles which must be rejected on a rigorous exa-
mination of the descriptions on which the species have been
founded. Among this number must be included the Tor-
TRix MELANOSTiCTA of Merrem, Tent., p. 82, established
after Russel, Sup. i.. No. 42, which seems to belong to
the genus Anguis ; the Tortrix reticulata, ib., which
has for its type Scheuchzer, Bibl. Sacra, pi. 747, f. 4,
which is a representation of the Typhlops lumbricalis ;
the Tortrix Russelii, which is only known from a descrip-
tion by Pallas, under the designation of Anguis miliaris ;
lastly, we must reject the Tortrix brachyura and T.
ANNUL AT A of Merrem, p. 82 and 83, which repose on too
slight a foundation to merit a place in systems. — Schlegel,
part ii.

The Second Family of Innocuous Ophidians is The
Vermiform ; and contains but a single genus,

CALAMARIA.

It consists of small terrestrial snakes, with a body almost
constantly cylindrical, like a pack-thread, and terminated
by a tail usually conical and short. The head is generally
on the same line as the body, and covered with plates, with
those of the muzzle usually less numerous than in the fol-
lowing genera. The Calamars present often iridescent tints,
and the red predominates sometimes in the under parts ;
the scuta are rarely numerous. They inhabit hot climates
or near the tropics, and are found in both worlds.

1. Cal AM aria Lumbricoidea is one of the most remark-
able species, and is very rare in Java and Celebes. Its body,
several feet in length, is, throughout, of the thickness of a
swan’s quill ; the tail is short, conical, and exhibits from
16 to 23 divided scuta. There are only two frontal plates
which at the same time occupy the place of the frenals ;
there are but two oculars. Above of a blackish-blue, below
a bluish tint with blackish spots, and a yellow hue or ray
along the flanks. Scales smooth, square, and disposed in
13 rows. Abdominal scuta 190 to 217. Another species,

130

OIS" THE PHYSIOaXOMY OE SERPENTS.

2. CALxiMARiA Linn^i, from the island of Java, resem-
bles the preceding in form, and in the disposition of the
plates of the head and the scales of the trunk ; but its body
is less thread-like and scarcely exceeds a foot in length.
The colours are not less subject to variation than the length
of the tail. The lower parts are often of a vermilion-red,
ornamented with large, square, black spots. Plates or
scuta 130 + 90 to 160 + 20.

3. Calamaria Orbignyi of Chile appears to represent
in the New World the Cal. Lumbricoidea, of which it has
the shape and appearance; but its neck has. 15 rows of scales,
and all its parts are smaller. Above it is of a burning
brick-red, the lower parts of a pearly lustre. The top of
the head, a spot on the nape, and a band on the tail, are
deep black. S. 264 + 30.

4. Calamaria amcena is found in North America, and
corresponds in size and form to Cal. Linnsei of the East
Indies ; its mould, how^ever, is more slender, and the ab-
dominal scuta, as well as the nasal plates, are a little
broader. Above a shining brown, below red. The mean
number of scuta 120 + 30.

The following species recede more or less from the pre-
ceding, which form the type of the genus :

5. Calamaria Diadem a, the only one known in New

Holland, presents exactly the form of the preceding ; but
we only find on it two pairs of frontal plates. It is of a
pale yellowish-brown, clearer below, with transverse spots
of vfhite on the occiput. S. 170 + 45. 13 rows of scales.

6. Calamaria Brachyorrhos is found in the isles of
Java and Amboina, and has the same number of plates on
the head as the last ; but it has a stouter make than the
typical species, a trunk more thick and tapering towards
each end, a head very conical. Of a dull uniform brown,
passing into yellowish below ; 17 rows of scales. S. 138 +
13 to 180 + 38.

7. Calamaria Badia of Cayenne, with a less vigorous
mould and smaller size. It has the general aspect of the
last, but its tail is more slender, its head more obtuse, its
eyes larger, and has a small frenal plate on each side. This
species, clouded with brown and ochre-yellow, presents a

I>TKOCUOUS SERPENTS,

131

very variable disposition of the colours in different indivi-
duals. Hows of scales, 17. S. 150 + 20 to 184 + 44.

8. Cal AM ARIA aectiventris comes from the Cape of
Good Hope, and resembles in form a small Coluber ; the
head and the plates with which it is covered are more de-
veloped than usual ; the body is very thick for the size of
the animal, and the tail is pointed. It is distinguished
from the other species by its belly being strongly angular,
and by its colours ; above a chestnut-brown, below yellow ;
the hanks greyish-blue, dotted with close-set black points.
Rows of scales, 15. S. 130 + 30.

9. Calamaria melanocephala is found in both Ame-
ricas, and approaches in form to an Elaps. Its body is of
equal thickness, the tail more slender than in the preceding
snakes ; the head truncated at the snout, and hardly dis-
tinguished from the neck. The system of colours presents
distinctive marks ; below yellowish, above of a pale brown,
with three longitudinal black rays ; head adorned with
black spots. Rows of scales, 15. S. 155 + 60.

10. Calamaria punctata is a native of the southern
parts of North America ; resembles the last, but differs by
a less cylindric body, a head more distinct from the neck,
smaller scales, and a different system of colours. Above
is of a deep brown-grey, with a white collar ; below of a
yellowish-white. A series of black points extend along
the middle line of the abdomen. Rows of scales, 15. S.
170 + 50.

11. Calamaria Oligodon, the eleventh species of the
genus is remarkable, a^ it is the sole example of a serpent
without palatal teeth ; but otherwise, in mould and appear-
ance, analogous to the Calamars. Its head is rather thick,
obtuse, and inflated at the cheeks. This species is also
distinguishable by its colours : the inferior parts, as in the
Cal. Linnsei, are of vermilion-red, with square spots ; the
upper parts of a deep bronze, with large white spots distri-
buted at regular distances on the back ; on the head are
several black bands. This Calamar is rare in Java, and
forms in Sumatra, Ceylon, and the Philippines, beautiful
varieties, from the effect of climate, distinguished by the
distribution of their tints ; the abdominal spots are red,

132

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTS.

and in the last two varieties the spots are disposed in three
rows. The Sumatran variety has large, thick-set, oval,
dorsal spots. Rows of scales, 17. S. 145 -1- 35.

12. Calamaria Scytale from the Philippines and Cey-
lon, characterized by the existence of a pairless anterior
frontal plate, and also by a tail provided with undivided
scuta ; approaches in form to Cal. Badia. Above brownish,
passing below to tarnished ochre-yellow ; three dark spots
on the occiput ; as many rays, composed of dark points,
along the back and flanks. B. of scales, 17- S. 140 + 30.

The southern parts of North America produce,

13. Calamaria Striatula, which is also found in the
Isle of Martinique. It is recognised by its conical head,
covered with plates like those of a Coluber, except that the
frenals are wanting, by its large eyes, by a very pointed
tail, and by lanceolate scales, always surmounted by a strong
keel. Above of a pale greyish-brown ; below yellowish.
B. of scales, 15 to 17- S. 120 + 35.

14. Calamaria Elapsoides of Java has lanceolate cari-
nated scales, like the preceding ; but it attains a larger
size. The eyes are smaller, whilst the nostrils are very
open ; the head differs in shape, and the tail is more slen-
der ; the colours, which are most brilliant, distinguish it
from all the other species. Above, carmine red ; below,
pale azure blue. B. of scales, 15. S. 150 4 70.

15. Calamaria Blumii, an anomalous species of
South America, approaches both the Tortrix and certain
Homalopsis. It has a more vigorous form than any other
species, a cylindric trunk, a conical and strong tail. Its
head is depressed, obtuse, the eyes are very small, and a
very long tooth is perceived at the posterior part of the
maxillary bone ; six labial plates, two oculars, and two
frontals ; elongated occipitals. Above brown, marbled with
dark points, and relieved with three obsolete rays ; lower
parts and its half-collar yellowish. B. of scales, 15. S.
180 + 35.

16. Calamaria coronata. This Calamar, discovered
on the coast of Guinea, has the plates of the head like those
of the genus Coronella, but has the small size of a Calamar.
Its tail is more slender than usual ; the trunk slightly

IN^JSrOCUOUS SERPENTS.

133

compressed and surrounded with 19 rows of scales : this
species is distinguished by four transverse black bands
which adorn the head. This species is, above, brown ;
below of a yellowish-grey. S. 185 + 70.

17. Calamaria atrocincta. I have arranged in this
genus the present anomalous species, a native of Chile,
which approaches in form to certain Lycodons, but by the
distribution of its colours it recalls the Coronella venus-
tissima and the Elaps corallina. It has an angular abdo-
men, a body banded with red and black. Rows of scales,

15. S. 196 + 57.

18. Calamaria Coronella. We come at last to this
species, which might at first be mistaken for a small, smooth
Coronella ; but its head is very thick, the frenal plates are
wanting, the occipitals are broad, its form is very massive ;
it has but 15 rows of scales. The general colour is a yel-
lowish-grey, passing to brown, and the upper parts are
marked by numerous dark transverse bands, but not very
distinct.

In the Third Family of Innocuous Ophidians we have united
all the Terrestrial Serpents which have not been included
in the two preceding families. With the exception of the
Heterodons, they present but few anomalies in their orga-
nization, and are modelled, so to speak, on the type of the
genus Coluber. The most of them have the head covered
by 9 plates, and the scales of middle size and smooth.

The first genus is

CORONELLA.

It comprehends species which in their organization re-
semble the true Colubers ; but they have a less size, a
more compressed trunk, generally pentagonal, and covered
with scales, for the most part smooth, and distributed in
seventeen to nineteen ranges ; a tail conical and rather
long. The genus Coronella inhabits the warm and tem-
perate climates of both worlds ; they have not hitherto been
observed in New Holland. They inhabit plains, and prefer
humid places.

134:

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SEEPENTS.

1. CoRONELLA vENUSTissiMA. SoHth. America ppodiices
this beautiful species, distinguishable by its slender form
and its colours ; a fine vermilion-red is the ground colour,
and all the body is surrounded with fifteen pairs of black
rings bordered with white. The scales with black points
are disposed in 15 rows. The abdominal plates are 200 ;
those of the tail vary from 45 to 100.

At Surinam, this snake is replaced by one very analo-
gous ; but which has a more slender form, and conse-
quently a smaller number of abdominal plates, which are
only about 180 : vfe may confer on this serpent the name
of CoEONELLA VENUSTA, if we would conslcler it as a dis-
tinct species : it is very common, and known as Coluber
agilis.

2. CoRONELLA coccTNEA is another closely allied species,
inhabiting North America, but is of smaller size than
the last ; the eyes are smaller ; the vertical plate is mas-
sive, and the superciliary small. R. of scales, 17. S.
170 + 35.

3. CoRONELLA Merremmii is common in Brazil, and
is remarkable for the vast number of varieties it affords
accidentally, or from age. Its head is very broad, and
covered on the summit by small plates of an elongated
form. The large rhomboidal scales are disposed in from
17 to 19 rows. The under parts are usually yellow ; the
uppel' in adults is of a greyish-green, dependent on a round
spot in the centre of each scale. The young have a sys-
tem of colouring, like that of the preceding species, but
the black rings become effaced with age, and the red tint
becomes brown. S. 139 + 50, or 183 + ^8.

4. CoRONELLA Begin^ occurs in Surinam, Brazil, and
even in Guadaloupe. In form it resembles the preceding,
but the colours are different ; above greyish-blue, below
yellow, with square spots of black ; small black spots or-
nament the sides, and there are white spots near the angle
of the mouth, and on the neck. B. of scales, 17. S.
140 + 70.

5. CosoNELLA CoBELLA is commoii in Surinam, and ap-
pears also to be found in North America. The frame is

INNOCUOUS SEEPENTS.

135

more clumsy than in the two preceding species. Above
varied with brown of two shades ; below deep yellow,
marked with black square spots ; scales bordered with
black, or with white. E. of scales, 17. S. 160 + 50.

6. CoRONELLA Baliodeira, the only species of the genus
Coronella known in Malayan Asia, was discovered in Java
and Sumatra. Of a size less robust than most of the
other species, it approaches in its form the Calamars ; but
its eyes are very large, and its head high. Above of a
vivid brown, relieved by white ocellated spots ; below
yellowish. S. 128-f-08. E. of scales, 13.

Europe only produces a single species,

7. Coronella L^vis, which prefers dry situations to
low and swampy places ; it is of a very shining brown
bay, ornamented with chequered, irregular patches of
black, which form a very characteristic pattern on the
head : below it is yellowish, marked with square black
spots. S. 175 + 55 ; E. of scales, 21. The young of this
species are hatched in the belly of their mother. The
southern countries of Europe produce a climatal variety,
distinguished by its more vivid tints.

8. Coronella Chilensis (the Tachymenes of Wieg-
mann) resembles that of Europe, but its head is more co-
nical, and is covered by smaller plates ; its tail is shorter,
and the upper parts present four deep-coloured rays, ex-
tending from the occiput, whilst we find below several rows
of blackish marks, often well defined. S. 158 -f 46. E. S.
19.

The four following species are found at the Cape, and
differ from the preceding species in several respects.

9. Coronella rhombeata recalls, by its general organi-
zation, the European species, although it approaches by
its elongated form, the Psammophis. Its head is small,
conical, and terminated by a straight rostral, which is pro-
longed on the top of the muzzle ; the other plates of this
part are narrow, and the occipitals short. A grooved pos-
terior tooth is observed in the jaws. The yellowish-brown
of the upper parts is ornamented with three or four rows
of ocellated spots of a lozenge form. S. 155 + 72. E. S.
17.

136

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SEEPENTS,

10. CoRONELLA RUFESCENS is another Cape species, very
different from the last, and is recognised by its uniform
hue of a pale brownish-purple, and by a large, dark, nu-
chal mark. Below it is yellow : it has the pupil of the
eye perpendicularly elongated ; and has a posterior grooved
tooth in the jaws. S. 160 -f 4^5. B. S. 19.

1 1 . CoRONELLA RUFULA approaches to the Lycodons by
its form, and its front teeth longer than the rest ; hut the
pupil of the eye is obicular, and the plates on the head
are more elongated. It is of an uniform brown verging
on red, and has a tail very thick, and much longer than
usuaL S. 157+110. B. S. 19.

12. CoRONELLA AURORA is One of the most beautiful
and rarest species. It is very distinguishable by its tints ;
yellow below, yellowish brown above ; the back is marked
by a wide ray of an orange-yellow, which passes along the
animal through its whole length. It has an aspect more
heavy than ordinary ; its very thick tail only begins to
diminish towards the point. The muzzle is obtuse ; the
temporal plates take the form of scales, and the abdominal
scuta are very compact. S. 180 + 46. B. S. 19.

We come, finally, to two Asiatic species, a little anoma-
lous ; the first is, —

13. CoRONELLA OCTOLTNEATA, whicli has a thin body,
a narrow abdomen, a little angular at the sides. There
exist only six labial plates, and a frenal at each side ; the
rostral is large, and extends between the frontals. We
find, on a brownish-yellow ground, four longitudinal,
dark, dorsal rays,' of which the lateral are sometimes
double : these rays are prolonged on the head, where they
form an acute angle. S. 178 + 52. B. S. 17.

14. CoRONELLA BussELii, a very handsome species, in-
habiting Bengal. It approaches certain Xenodons, of
which it has the dentary system, especially of the Xeno-
don purpurascens, which it also resembles in the distri-
bution of its colours. The muzzle is obliquely truncated
downwards : it has seventeen rows of lanceolate scales.
Above earth-brown, relieved by a series of large patches,
chequered, and little constant in shape. There are on the
head several angular markings. S. 155 + 54.

INNOCUOUS SERPENTS.

137

The second genus of Terrestrial Serpents is the

XENODON.

These may be considered as Coronellae, mostly of a
large size, with a lumpish form, a large head, a short or
truncated muzzle, a thick trunk, and flattened belly. We
perceive in their upper jaw a solid posterior tooth, very
long and compressed. Their scales are smooth, and dis-
posed in very oblique rows, especially on the neck, which
is very expansible ; and has the ribs less curved than or-
dinary, in which the animals approach the Najas. The
plates on the head are squat and broad. This genus is
not rich in species, and the Xenodon belongs to the class
of rare serpents which inhabit, in small numbers, the hot
and temperate climates of both worlds ; not a single spe-
cies is known in Africa, nor in New Holland. Some pre-
fer a humid situation ; but others, that delight in dry
places, depart from the typical species to approach the fol-
lowing genus, the Heterodon.

1. Xenodon Severus of Surinam and Brazil unites
especially the characters which we have assigned to these
animals in general. It has all its parts very heavy and
thick, and the plates on its head short and broad. The
lung, enveloping the trachea, occupies the space between
the heart and the throat. The ground is of a pale brown-
ish-yellow, ornamented above by a dozen of dark ocel-
lated spots, extremely broad. We perceive on the head
several transverse bands, and angular marks on the oc-
ciput. The colours in adults are so effaced, that their
original disposition can with difficulty be traced. I have
seen individuals of an uniform red, while others were of a
brown-green ; S. 140 -f 36. B. S. 21. It is a serpent of
large size, which appears to feed exclusively on the great
frog of South America, and which swims with much dex-
terity.

2. Xenodon Bhabdocephalus of Brazil is so near the
preceding, that they seem only to form one species, dis-
tinguishable by a form a little more elongated, from which
results a number of scuta, varying from S. 140 + 44

M

138

01^ THE PHYSIOaiSrOMY OF SEEPEKTS.

to 180 -{- 60. B. S. 19. The lung extends behind the
heart into the abdominal cavity. The colours of this
Xenodon are very subject to variation : they are found
brown, red, and sometimes of a very uniform olive-grey.

3. Xenodon inornatus inhabits Java, where it is very
rare. It is of an uniform olive-brown, and has very nearly
the form of the Xenodon Severus, although it is very in-
ferior in size ; S. 120 -f- 38. B. S. 19. The young have
the upper parts relieved by very indistinct transverse bands,
and there are several bands on the occiput, which unite
into an angle.

4. Xenodon purpurascens, an inhabitant of Java, as
rare as the preceding, is distinguished from all the rest
by a system of colouring extremely beautiful. The form
recalls that of Coronella laBvis ; but our Xenodon is more
robust, and of a habit more vigorous. It has the rostral
plate very large, vaulted, and salient ; the muzzle is a
little truncated at the extremity, and the abdomen is
slightly angular. The general colour is a brick-red,
covered with dark marblings ; above it has eighteen broad
bands or spots of a reddish ‘White, punctured with black ;
S. 175 + 45. B. S. 19.

There exists in Brazil a third species, the

5. Xenodon Schottis, which presents a more attenu-
ated form than the preceding, and its narrow head is ter-
minated by a rostral plate, slightly salient. Above olive-
brown ; below yellowish. S. 178 + 46. B. S. 19.

6. Xenodon Michahellis is the only species of Xeno-
don known in Europe ; it inhabits Spain and the south
of France. It is distinguished by its short and conical
head, terminated by a prominent rostral plate ; by scales
disposed in twenty-seven rows, and by the large number
of its scuta (216 + 60), by its short and conical tail, and
by its olive-brown colour, relieved by two dorsal rays of
a dark hue ; several other rays descending on the sides of
the head. The system of colouring in the young differs
entirely from that of the adults, inasmuch as the tints are
very clear, and relieved by large spots.

7. Xenodon Typhlos of Guyana unites to the habit of
a Coronella the form of the Xen. Severus in every thing,

INJs^OCUOUS SERPENTS.

1:^9

except in the head and the plates which cover it being less,
and in the abdomen being a little angular. Beneath, yel-
low, the upper parts of a smoke-grey, sometimes approach-
ing to a greenish, sometimes to a bluish hue. S. 140 + 50.
B. S. 19.

I have arranged, as an appendix to the genus Xenodon,
an Ophidian of uncertain origin, but which probably comes
from Brazil : it is our

8. Xenodon bicinctus. It approaches the Coronella,
and has a pretty robust form. The eye is bordered by a
circle of 6 plates, and the rostral is very depressed. The
body is surrounded by broad bands or double rings of
brown, disposed on a yellowish ground, and forming below
square spots. S. 192 + 89.

HETERODON.

The snakes of this genus are Coronellse, or rather Xeno-
dons, with the head prolonged into a conical muzzle, gene-
rally terminated by a hard salient plate, truncated at the
extremity. They have only been observed in the New^
World, where they inhabit sandy places. The other plates
of the head are less than ordinarily developed. The pre-
dominant colour is red, relieved by spots or rays of a dark
colour. These animals do not attain a large size, and they
are among the rarest of Ophidians.

1. Heterodon Platyrhinus is the best known, and is
distinguishable by its massive and vigorous form, and
especially by its turned-up rostral plate, projecting in the
form of a crescent ; it has several frontal scales, and the
labial plates are very high. Scales lanceolate, carinated,
and disposed in 21 rows. S. 124 + 38. Body cohered
with wide, dark spots, on a reddish-grey ground. Coun-
try, North America. Brazil produces a climatal variety
of the same species.

2. Heterodon Bhinostoma, a native of Brazil, re-
sembles the last in the form of its rostral plate ; but this
part is smaller in this species ; the plates on the head af-
fect a more regular figure ; its scales are smooth, and dis-

140

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTS.

posed in 15 rows, and its body is more elongated. S'.
190 + 64. Extremely rare.

3. Heterodon coccineus, the third and last species of
this genus, is of smaller size, has a pointed head, a pro-
jecting but not turned-up snout, and the body is of a
burning-yellow, marked by broad spots of a purplish-red.
B. S. 19. S. 170 + 50. This species comes from Mexico
and the southern provinces of the United States.

L Y c 0 D 0 N.

The Lycodons compose the fourth genus of non-venom-
ous Terrestrial Serpents. They are Ophidians of a middle
size, with a body usually slender, and sometimes thread-
like. Their characteristic is the possession of anterior
maxillary teeth longer than the rest. Their eyes are small,
the pupil vertically elongated. The vertical plate, and the
anterior frontals,are small and aggregated, but the oecipitals
are considerably elongated ; there is only a single frenal.
The scales are lozenge-shaped, and usually smooth ; the
abdomen is angular in most of the species, and the tail is
often defended by simple scuta. The dominant tint is an
earth-brown ; the scales are sometimes bordered with
white, and the neck ornamented with a bright collar;
other species have the body annulated with black, white,
or red. The Lycodons inhabit the equatorial regions of
both worlds, but they are unknown in New Holland.

1. Lycodon Hebe, the first species, has a depressed
head, and obtuse muzzle. The posterior frontal plates and
the oecipitals are very long. Bows of scales, 17* S.
196 -f- 68. Colour, a brown-grey, more or less dark above,
ornamented with bright and chequered spots. This last
tint borders the scales, and forms a broad collar. The
distribution of the colours is subject to accidental varieties ;
others arise from climate ; the specimens from Bengal are
very bright ; those from Java and Timor are deeper, and
of a less robust make.

2. Lycodon carinatus, a native of Ceylon, where it is
very rare. It has simple scuta under the tail, and the
carinated scales are disposed in 17 rows. Colour, coffee-

INNOCUOUS SERPENTS,

141

brown, more clear below, where it is marked with whitish
spots. S. 188 + 60.

3. Lycodon Jara, from India, is a small black species,
with a very wide white collar ; the scales are marked with
two fine streaks or rays. Below, whitish, S. 175 + 56.

4. Lycodon geometricus, a large and handsome species,
of a thick form ; the native place unknown ; above, reddish
brown ; below, two streaks or rays along the flanks, and
another round the summit of the head, of a yellowish hue.
21 rows of smooth scales. S. 220 + 51.

5. Lycodon Horstokii. Observed at the Cape and on
the Gold Coast ; of small size ; of an olive- brown colour,
very shining, with the tips of the scales marked with a
pearly spot, a colour which sometimes forms narrow trans-
verse bands ; below, yellowish. 17 rows of scales. S.
190 + 43.

6. Lycodon unicolor. It forms, with the preceding,
the only two species discovered in Africa. It inhabits
the coast of Guinea, and is known by its uniform tint of
a fulginous brown, paler below ; it is distinguished from
the last by the number of scales and scuta, which amount
to 27 rows of scales, and S. 220 + 60.

7» Lycodon formosus, a very beautiful species, of a
slender shape, a narrow head, a frenal plate very long,
extending to the eye ; the body is marked by very broad
alternate rings of a beautiful vermilion and a shining
black; the scales have black borders ; 17 to 19 rows of
scales ; abdominal scuta vary from 168 to 220 ; subcaudal
divided plates 66 ; inhabits Brazil.

8. Lycodon Clelia, is very remarkable by the variety
it presents ; the configuration of the head varying with
the individual, and the tail having sometimes simple, at
other times divided scuta ; colour, earth-brown, sometimes
pale, at other times dark ; nape ornamented with a white
collar ; tips of scales brown ; anterior teeth hardly longer
than the rest; 15 to 19 rows of scales. S. varying from
148 + 65 to 218 + 101. Country, Brazil and Surinam.

9. Lycodon subcinctus. Muzzle extremely broad and
obtuse ; frenal plate touching the eye, on account of the
want of the anterior ocular ; nostrils very open ; colour, a

142

OK THE PHYSIOOKOMY OF SBllPENTS.

shining blackish-brown ; the body surrounded with about
twenty broad white bands ; 17 rows of scales. S. 208 -h 75.
From Bengal and Java.

10. Lycodon modestus. Allied by its organization to
the Lycodon Clelia. Head more than usually conical ;
scales with a smooth surface, nearly square, and disposed
in 17 rows. S. 200 + 84. Colour above, deep brown,
the lower parts and the collar yellowish. Inhabits the
Isle of Amboina, and also New Guinea, where it acquires
a very large size, and has then very pale tints.

11. Lycodon Nympha. Form slender; head thick, and
muzzle obtuse ; eyes very large; 13 rows of smooth scales ;
abdomen narrow and angular. S. 220 + 85. Body brown,
ornamented with pale bands or spots. Inhabits Bengal.

12. Lycodon audax, of Paraguay, approaches in shape
to the Dipsas. Form compressed and elongated; tail
very thin and slender ; head thick behind ; varied with
brown and yellow, which form large chequered and irre-
gular spots; plates of the head dark in the centre; 19
rows of scales. S. 200 4- HO.

13. Lycodon Petolarius, has a shape like the preceding,
but its head is a good deal narrower, and the body more
slender. Teeth of equal size. S. 210 + 100. Body
dark-brown, marked by numerous pale bands or rings, of
which the disposition varies in different individuals. In-
habits Guyana, and is also found in Brazil.

The Coluber Dione of Pallas, a native of the Tar-
tarian deserts, should probably be classed in the genus
Lycodon. Never having examined this reptile, I leave to
other naturalists the task of comparing it with the Asiatic
species of the genus Lycodon. (Part II.)

The fifth genus of Terrestrial Serpents is the

COLUBER.

It comprehends all the terrestrial snakes of large size,
which, holding a middle place among Ophidians, present
nothing extraordinary in their organization. They ordi-
narily inhabit dry places, but some prefer the vicinity of

INNOCUOUS SEEPENTS.

14:3

water. They equally delight in the warm and temperate
climates of both worlds ; but we only know a single species
in Southern Africa, and they appear to be absolutely wanting
in New Holland. The abdominal plates are necessarily
very numerous. Their dorsal scales generally are slightly
carinated. The majority have two posterior ocular plates.
This genus is very rich in species.

1. Coluber ^scuLAPii, of central and southern Europe,
has twenty-one rows of scales, of an olive-brown, with a
pale-coloured collar ; below it is yellowish. S. 228 + 79.

2. Coluber constrictor. Allied to the preceding in
shape ; but it has seventeen rows of scales, and a dark,
uniform leaden colour. S. 183 + 94. Inhabits the United
States of North America.

3. Coluber radiatus has a more light make than
usual ; above of a clear brown, relieved by four longi-
tudinal dark rays ; occiput marked by a transverse band ;
19 rows of scales. S. 230 + 88. Country, Cochin-China,
the Isles of Sumatra, and Java.

4. Coluber subradiatus replaces the last in the Isle
of Timor, and is very like it ; but its colours are deeper,
and it wants the occipital band ; the rays are interrupted,
and its smaller scales are disposed in 23 rows. S.
235 + 90.

5. Coluber Blumenbachii presents a slight form, and
a slender tail. The head is more distinct from the neck
than in all the preceding species ; the eye more volumi-
nous ; the abdomen is angular and furnished with very
broad scuta ; the back is slightly carinated, and the scales
are arranged in 17 rows, more oblique than in the other
species. S. 200 + 125. Above, olive-brown, verging on
yellow, and adorned with dark narrow transverse bands,
often very obsolete, irregular, or interlaced. Scales edged
with black. This species is found in Malabar, Bengal, and
Java.

6. Coluber Korros. Very analogous to the preceding,

from which it differs by more narrow labial plates, and a
shorter muzzle, a head less high, a trunk less compressed,
and more elongated. S. 170 + 120. 15 Rows of scales.

Inhabits Java and Sumatra.

144

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OP SERPENTS.

7. Coluber Corais, the largest known of this genus,
attains the length of 8 feet, and the thickness of a child’s
arm ; comes from Surinam. Its form is very robust, its
head powerful, its muzzle thick. Its physiognomy re-
sembles the genus Naja ; 17 rows of large scales ; colour
a reddish-brown, verging on a grey-purple ; the young
have transverse bands of a dark colour on the sides ; be-
low, yellowish-white. S. 202 + 75.

8. Coluber Melanurus has the head massive, and de-
pressed, the muzzle obtuse ; 19 rows of scales, strongly
carinated ; the labial plates are narrow ; the trunk is com-
pressed, and the abdomen very angular. S. 218 + 92.
Eemarkable for the changes of colour it undergoes with its
age ; the young are of a fine shining black, with a dorsal
ray of citron-yellow ; sides ornamented with a series of
ocellated spots, with white centres ; cheeks pure white. In
the adult, the ground tint changes to brown, often passing
to an ochre-yellow above, the colour that represents dorsal
ray ; the spots on the sides become indistinct, and only
visible on the neck ; the posterior parts pass to blackish.
Inhabits Java. The Isle of Celebes produces a climatal
variety, recognisable by an acute angular mark on the
upper part of the neck. Another local variety, characterized
by two black dorsal rays, and a similar ray on the sides of
the neck, comes from Sumatra.

9. Coluber Pantherinus, a beautiful large species
which inhabits marshy places in Brazil ; form slender ; head
long and broad ; above pale-brown, almost totally covered
by two series of very large spots of an irregular shape,
which sometimes form transverse bands ; two dark rays
on the neck, and two or three bands on the top of the
head; 15 rows of very large and smooth scales. S.
175 + 90.

10. Coluber virgatus seems in Japan to replace the
European C. quadriradiatus. Body compressed ; abdomen
angular ; muzzle broad and obtuse ; above brown, more or
less clear, verging to green or olive, covered with large
spots or transverse bands ; the spots disappear with age,
so that there only remain obsolete longitudinal rays ; 23
rows of carinated scales. S. 240+ 110.

IlfNOCUOUS SERPENTS.

145

1 1 . Coluber quadrivirgatus, also from Japan, and very
near the preceding species, from which it is distinguished by
a more conical and less blunt head, covered with plates more
elongated, by a less vigorous body, surrounded with 1 9 rows
of scales only, and ornamented with 4 dorsal rays, distinct
in the adult ; it is of a less strong make than the last, and
has 200 + 87 scuta. The tints so vary, that some indi-
viduals are found wholly black.

12. Coluber Diadema. Scales carinated. S. 230 + 60 ;
colour earth-brown ; a black band between the eyes. From
India.

13. Coluber miniatus, from the Isle of France. Habit
thin ; tail extremely slender ; hence the great number of
its scuta which amount to 199 + 145 ; 25 rows of smooth
lozenge-formed scales ; ochre-yellow on the fore parts ; a
tint which passes on the posterior parts into minium-red
and to purple, varied with yellow marblings.

14. Coluber variabilis, has the body annulated and
spotted ^vith black and white, or yellow ; it has the bod}^
very slim, the trunk very compressed, the abdomen
angular, and the back carinated. The lozenge-formed
scales are very large, carinated, and disposed in 15 rows.
S. 204 -f 100 ; teeth long and sharp ; there is a small ac-
cessory lung. This species resembles certain tree-snakes
of the genus Dipsas, particularly D. Dendrophila. Inhabits
the woods of Surinam and Brazil.

15. Coluber plumbeus is very recognisable by its uni-
form system of colour ; lead-coloured above, yellomsh be-
low. It is further distinguished by the presence of a long,
grooved, posterior tooth, by its heav}^ and squat form, by
a broad head, thick, and rounded ; and by its physiognomy
resembling that of certain Homalopsis. It has a body
almost cylindrical ; a short and conical tail ; scales almost
square, with smooth and shinning surfaces, disposed in 19
rows. S. 240-1-68. It is found the same in Brazil and
in Surinam.

16. Coluber Poecilostoma. — A beautiful species of
large size, rare in Surinam, but comes also from Brazil ;
distinguished by its very thick head, massive and broad,
and covered with very wide plates ; by its lanceolate, cari-

N

146

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OP SERPENTS.

nated scales, disposed in 21 rows ; by a slender tail ; and
by tints of a yellow, verging sometimes to brown, some-
times to green. The bead is of a brownish-red, and its
posterior parts often dark coloured, while the abdomen is
yellowish : the female has the lower part of the head reddish.
The eye is large, and bordered posteriorly by three plates.
Inhabits marshes in deep forests, and in manners ap-
proaches the Tropidonotus.

17. Coluber Canus, the only species of the genus
known in southern Africa, in its organization resembles the
Psammophis, or sand-serpents ; head small and conical ;
muzzle terminated by a salient, vaulted plate ; eyes rather
large ; scales small, truncated at the top, smooth, and dis-
posed in 27 rows ; tail short and thick. Its anatomy
presents several curious particulars : the penis is double
at each side, the cranium has the form of that of the Her-
petodryas, the mastoid bones are extremely large, and the
strong teeth become longer towards the extremity of the
muzzle. Size large, even six feet. S. 194 + 64. This
curious species is also remarkable for the changes which
the colours undergo by age — pale reddish-brown, relieved
by four ranges of ocellated spots, in the young ; grey, in-
clining to olivaceous, or to brown or black, in the adult.

18. Coluber Sayi. From Missouri. Head very conical ;
vertical plate triangular in form ; rostral salient ; 25 rows
of carinated scales ; reddish-yellow, the back a deep
browm ; these colours form spotted bands. S. 224 + 55.

19. Coluber auATERRADiATUs. Sometimes of the
length of seven or eight feet ; lives in the south of Europe ;
head distinct from the trunk, very elongated, high near the
eyes ; muzzle thick ; eye large, overshadowed by a pro-
jecting plate ; occipital plates pointed ; tail strong ; 25
rows of small lanceolate scales. S. 212 + 75. Above
brown, relieved by four brown rays more or less distinct ; a
dusky ray passes from the eye to the angle of the mouth.
This Coluber is very gentle in its manners.

20. Coluber viridielavus. From the same regions
as last, but of a larger mould, more widely distributed, and
more common. Tail very slender, and hat below ; trunk
almost cylindrical ; abdomen convex ; 19 rows of smooth

INJiTOCUOUS SERPENTS.

147

scales. S. 195 + 103. Above a deep green, below, and
a central spot in the scales, yellow. These tints vary
much, and often pass into brown, or even into black. This
species is very wild in its manners.

21. Coluber Cliffordii. From northern Africa. The
regions of the temples and frenals are covered with scales ;
the labial plates are narrow and numerous : scales cari-
nated and disposed in 23 rows ; tints livid ; above, dull
yellowish-brown, with three ranges of spots a little darker,
and often confluent. S. 236 + 84. Less strong than the
last.

22. Coluber Hippocrepis. Intermediate between the
two last. Size and form of the Coluber viridiflavus, but
the head is larger, and the tail less extended. The eye
is surrounded posteriorly, and below with about six small
plates ; scales in twenty-five rows. S. 232 + 91. Colour
reddish-yellow, very bright ; the upper parts are relieved
by three rows of large dark spots, orbicular on the back,
square and smaller on the sides ; the marks which orna-
ment the top of the head, have sometimes the form of a
horse-shoe. Inhabits most of the countries bordering
on the Mediterranean.

23. Coluber florulentus, has a shape more deli-
cate than the last. Colour a yellowish or brownish grey,
varied with a great number of spots and bands very ob-
solete. Chin and temples garnished with numerous little
plates or scales ; nineteen rows of long scales. S. 214 + 93.
Country, Egypt.

24. Coluber Trabalis.* A little more strong than
our Coronella lac vis, from which it only diflers in its
scales being feebly carinated : country, Tartary ; twenty-
five rows of scales. PI. 195 -f 75.

25. Coluber guttatus. From North America ; of a
more vigorous form than our Coronella Ifcvis ; it has also
a smaller head, and a shorter tail. The abdomen is a
little angular. PI. 210 + 56. Twenty-five rows of smooth
scales. Above of reddish-grey, speckled with black, and

It is the Coluber Dione Pall, of the Berlin Museum, where our
Psammophis Moniliger bears the name of Coluber Trabalis Pall.

148

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

relieved by three or five ranges of spots, of which the
middle ones are very large, and more or less orbicular.
A bifurcated black mark on the occiput, and a band be-
tween the eyes. Below deep yellow, with square, alter-
nate, black markings.

Coluber leopardinus. — System of colouring analogous
to that of Coluber guttatus, with this exception, that the
spots on the back are smaller, and often confluent. Shape
more delicate than the preceding ; head as in the Coluber
JUsculapii; twenty-three rows of smooth scales. S. 240 + 75.
Inhabits the south-east of Europe, and northern Africa.

27. Coluber conspillatus. — Very analogous to the
last, in the system of its colours, but with a more heavy
shape ; it has larger scales, and several little frenal plates ;
transverse bands instead of spots on the trunk; a club-
shaped spot, preceded by an angular mark, on the occiput ;
twenty-one rows of scales. S. 210 + 68. Native of
Japan.

The limits of the genus Coluber, so rich in species,
will some day be, no doubt, considerably extended, when
we can arrive at a more accurate knowledge of the nu-
merous species superficially indicated by travellers. I
shall only quote the following : — (1.) Coluber atro-
Fuscus of Daudin, vi. p. 285, rests on the authority
of the delineation of the head and posterior of the body
of a snake, mentioned by Bussel. (2.) Coluber ob-
scuRus of Daudin, vi. p. 363, established after Russel,
i. pi. 18. (3.) Coluber Plinii of Merrem, Tent^ p.

101 ; the Coluber pictus of Daudin, vi.| 347, — names
which have for their type Russel’s pi. 29, vol. i. : this
species is probably identical with the Coluber Triscalis
of LiNNiEUS, from which the Coluber corallinus of the
same author, figured in Seha^ ii. pi. 17, § 1, appears not to
differ ; a good figure of Coluber Triscalis is found in
Seha^ ii. 38, 3. — Schlegel, part ii.

IN^NOGUOUS SERPENTS.

149

HERPETODR YAS

Is the sixth genus of Plarmless Terrestrial Snakes. They
prefer to live in woods, or usually frequent trees. They
approach the genus Coluber in organization ; but they
have a more slender shape, their head is more elongated,
and the greatest numbers present a livery of green, more
or less uniform. Their habits are wild ; they inhabit the
warm districts of both worlds, but they have never yet
been found in Africa, nor in New Holland. Europe and
Japan do not furnish one species. Most of them feed on
birds.

1. Herpetodryas carinatus. a serpent remarkable
from its back being furnished with two rows of scaly plates
along its ridge, making the whole rows of scales an even
number, an instance unique in all the order of Ophidians.
It is also remarkable, because all the parts are liable to
considerable variations. The rows of scales are twelve,
and the two dorsal rows are often surmounted by a strong
keel. The scuta vary from 142 + 98 to 199 + 104. We
find in this species several distinct varieties marked by
their shape being more or less slender. Above brown,
verging on green, on greyish-black, or on red ; the back
more clear ; below yellow. Inhabits Brazil, and is very
common in Surinam. Arrives at the length of six feet.

2. Herpetodryas Serra. A very rare species from
Brazil. Shape thin, trunk strongly compressed, back
carinated, tail slender, abdomen angular, frontal plates
narrow, scales strongly carinated, lanceolate, and disposed
in twenty-one rows. PL 241 + 106. The last maxillary
tooth long and grooved. A series of large square dorsa’
spots on a pale reddish-grey ground, which, on the tail,
passes into black,

3. Herpetodryas viridissimus. — Head broad and
compressed ; abdomen very angular ; nineteen rows of
scales, with smooth and very shining surfaces. Size from
two to three feet. Colour above, bluish-green, more clear
below. S. 215+115. Inhabits Surinam.

4. Herpetodryas Olfersii. — Form less slender than
the former; the last labial plates broad ; colour green;

150

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OP SEEPENTS.

the head and dorsal ray of a lively brown ; a black stripe
behind the eye; abdomen convex. S. 178 + 95. From
Brazil and Surinam, where it forms a variety distinguished
by a nearly uniform green colour.

5. Herpetodeyas margaritiferus. Size and form
those of Fler. Olfersii ; but it has a rather larger head ;
nineteen rows of scales, feebly carinated, black, with the
centre blue, and the tip yellow ; summit of the head a
bright brown; temporal region black. S. 154+115.
From New Orleans.

6. Herpetodryas Boddaertii. Nearly allied to Herp.
Olfersii ; but the abdomen is a little angular, the head more
depressed, the labial plates more narrow, colour of a
greenish-grey, or uniform olive. S. 170 + 102. From
Surinam.

7. Herpetodryas iESTivus. Distinguished from the
three preceding species by seventeen rows of lanceolate and
strongly carinated scales, by a more thin make, and by its
fine grass-green colour. S. 175 + 130. Inhabits both
Americas.

8. Herpetodryas tricolor. Habit of Herp. viridis-
simus, but of less size ; its head also is shorter, thick at
the base, and very conical ; the trunk is less high, and the
frenal plate is wanting; fifteen rows of square smooth
scales ; occipital plates much developed ; above of an olive
or brownish green ; a black list passes from the eye to the
sides of the neck. S. 150+115. Very rare in Java.

9. Herpetodryas Goudotii. Form very slender ; tail
extremely delicate ; above yellowish-brown ; on the flanks
numerous black oblique streaks, produced by the borders
of the scales ; sides of the abdomen spotted with black,
which forms a ray on the sides of the tail ; twenty-one
rows of scales, lanceolate and smooth. S. 186 + 158.
Country, Isle of Madagascar.

10. Herpetodryas oxycephalus. Of a very vigorous
make, and has the habit of a Coluber ; trunk very com-
pressed and deep ; abdomen strongly angular ; tail long
and strong ; head acuminated, especially the muzzle ;
frenal plate small, and very much elongated ; twenty-five
rows of lanceolate and smooth scales ; green, below yellow,

US-NOCUOUS SEEPENTS.

151

tail brown. S. 250 + 140. Country, Island of Java.
Celebes produces a climatal variety, distinguished by brown
tints, which pass to black on the posterior parts.

11. Herpetodryas lineatus. a small species from
Surinam, where it is very common. Whitish-grey, above
brownish, with three dark rays ; nineteen rows of smooth
scales; eye large; vertical plate narrow. S. 170 4-70,
Brazil produces an Ophidian perfectly analogous ; but all
its scales are bordered with black, and the interrupted
dorsal rays are composed of black spots.

12. Herpetodryas Helena. A very beautiful species
from Bengal, where it is very rare ; scales small, smooth,
and disposed in twenty-seven rows; form very slender.
S. 230 4- 90. Below of a pearly colour ; above of a rosy
purple, passing to brown towards the posterior parts ; sum-
mit of the head of this last tint ; a yellowish-green dorsal
ray ; on the nape a pair of blue claviform streaks, includ-
ing a zig-zag line which is prolonged on the back.

13. Herpetodryas Bhodogaster. Colours above as
in Herp. lineatus ; below red ; form much more slender
than in the Herp. lineatus ; but the head is rather large,
massive, and covered with plates not well developed ; frenal
small; the number of abdominal plates 186, the caudal
above 70 ; seventeen rows of smooth scales. Inhabits the
Island of Madagascar.

14. Herpetodryas geminatus of Java. — Size small;
form very slender ; trunk cylindrical, everywhere of equal
thickness ; head small, of the same diameter as the neck,
depressed, obtuse at the extremity ; fifteen rows of smooth
lozenge-shaped scales. S. 166 4-105. Marbled with
dark greyish-brown. Two dorsal rays of a silvery grey ; a
yellowish half-collar on the nape.

15. Herpetodryas Bsammophis. — Besembles the Colu-
ber viriditlavus in habit and system of colours ; but its
form is more slender ; the abdomen a little angular, and
the head more lengthened ; the physiognomy recalls that
of the Bsammophis ; vertical plate elongated. S. 1 96 4- 1 14.
Seventeen rows of scales, which are lanceolate and smooth.
Country, New Orleans.

16. Herpetodryas Dendrophis. — Fifteen rows of

152

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SEEPENTS.

lanceolate, carinated scales ; the tail flattened below ; belly
convex. S. 140 + 196 Above of an olive-brown, marked
by numerous dark-coloured, narrow, transverse bands in-
closing light-coloured spots. From Cayenne.

17. Herpetodryas Dipsas. Resembles the genus I)ip-
sas in the form of its large head ; eyes very large ; scales
smooth, large, and disposed in 13 rows: form thin, but
vigorous ; tail very slender ; colour shining bluish-black.
The lower and anterior parts are of a brovv nish-yellow, the
last covered with marblings ; triangular spots on the sides.
S. 194+ 130, A species of large size; a native of Ce-
lebes.

18. Herpetodryas Getulus. Its clumsy form approxi-
mates it to the genus Coluber. Trunk thick ; abdomen
angular ; head almost in the same line as the neck ; muzzle
truncated, rostral plate arched ; eyes small. 21 rows of
smooth lozenge-shaped scales ; S. 210 + 44.t Black varie-
gated by bands and rays of a yellow colour interlaced with
each other. From North America.

19. Herpetodryas Cursor. Of a small size ; form of a
Coluber ; lower part of the tail very convex ; 16 to 17
rows of scales ; blackish, with 4 yellow rays above. PL
195-hl05. F rom both Americas .

psammophis

Is the seventh and last genus of the Terrestrial Snakes.
It comprehends those snakes which approach tree- snakes
by their form, and by several points in their organization.
The greatest number inhabit uncultivated plains, or sandy
regions covered with bushes. They present an anomaly in
the system of dentition, inasmuch as the posterior teeth
and those in the middle are usually longer than the rest,
and sometimes grooved. Their head is elongated, rather
broad, and covered by plates, of which the vertical is very
narrow ; the frenal region is in the form of a gutter. Some
have a slender shape and a small body ; others, by their
compact form, approach the genus Coluber. They inhabit

^ [It probably should be 106. — Tr.]
t [This also seems an error. — T.i.]

INNOCUOUS SERPENTS.

153

the hot and temperate regions of both worlds, but they have
not hitherto been observed in New Holland. They rarely
attain a large size.

1. PsAMMOPHis Lacertina. Size larger, and form
more heavy than in the other species. It is easily recog-
nised by its scales having a hollowed groove, and at the
summit of the head being concave, and separated in the
form of a casque. Vertical plate very narrow; anterior
frontals and occipitals small ; above olive-brown or green-
ish, ornamented with 5 ranges of spots ; below yellowish ;
labial and mental plates with broad green spots. S.
189 + 80. Inhabits most of the countries bordering on
the Mediterranean.

2. PsAMMOPHfs Moniliger. Of a less size, and less
robust make than the preceding. Head less broad and
more depressed ; greenish-brown or olive-green, with a
yellow dorsal ray ; often two similar rays on the sides.
The plates of the head ornamented with large obsolete spots.
Varies extremely both in the form and the system of its
colour. S. 136 to 170 + 62 to 125 : from 15 to 17 rows
of smooth scales. Country, all Africa, even to the Levant.
The southern point of that continent produces a great num-
ber of varieties of this species, and an analogous race is
found in the Isle of France.

3. PsAMMOPHis PULVERULENTA. Of Very Small size;
tail very short ; grooved teeth, extremely large ; head co-
nical ; muzzle convex, and rather short ; vertical plate
very narrow ; reddish-yellow, varying to brown and to
black ; head rayed with black ; a dark-coloured dorsal ray
accompanied by a row of alternate spots. The tints vary
in different individuals. S. 153 + 54. Bengal, Sumatra,
and Java.

4. PsAMMOPHis Seychellensis. Head slender and de-
pressed ; muzzle truncated ; 17 ranges of lanceolate and
strongly carinated scales. Deep brown, varied with al-
ternate black and white spots ; a pale ray bordered with
black passes from the lips to the sides of the neck. S. 188

+ 107.

5. PsAMMOPHis Antillensis. Shape slender ; habit of
Ps. Moniliger ; head broad and conical ; muzzle termi-

154

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OE SEEPENTS.

nated by a blunt point ; tbe vertical plate less lengthened
than ordinary. All the teeth of equal length ; above yel-
lowish-green, varied by five dark rays, which become less
distinct by age ; below yellowish. Size about 3 feet. 17
to 19 rows of lanceolate smooth scales. S. 190 + 122.

6. PsAMMOPHis Dahlii. Approaches by its very long
and slender form to the Dendrophis. Abdomen slightly
angular ; head narrow and long, but furnished with plates
more developed than in all the preceding species ; eye
large : two anterior ocular plates. All the teeth of equal
length. A large supernumerary gland behind the lachry-
mal. Above olive-grey ; four or five ocellated spots on
the sides of the neck. Length 3 to 4 feet. S. 211 + 122.
Native of Dalmatia ; and is also perhaps to be found in
Egypt.

7. PsAMMOPHis ELEOANS. A Very handsome and rare
species from the western coast of Africa. F orm very slen-
der ; muzzle lengthened, conical, a little turned up, and
truncated downwards ; above pale brown, with three obse-
lete rays ; below four obsolete greenish rays on a yellow
ground. S. 191 + 159. 17 rays of small lanceolate smooth
scales.

8. PSAMMOPHIS Temminckii. Unites the habit and
massy form of a Coluber, to the physiognomy of a Psam-
mophis. Abdomen narrow and angular ; above of a clear
brown, relieved by four dark rays ; scales marked by one
or more black spots. S. 180 + 105. From Chile.

In all probability, we should arrange in this genus the
Condanarouse of Russel, a native of Ganjam ; but which
appears to me much allied to the Psammophis Moniliger,
which is spread over almost all Africa. — Part ii.

The fourth family of Innocuous Serpents includes the
Tree-Snakes, They are particularly adapted to inhabit the
vast forests of hot climates. They are in very small num-
bers in Africa, and very rare in New Holland ; Europe
only produces anomalous species. They usually have a
very elongated figure, pass the greatest part of the day on
trees or on bushes, and feed on birds or on Saurian reptiles.
The first genus of this family is

iraocuous SEKPEOTS.

155

DENDROPHIS.

They may be considered as Colubri of an elongated and
slender form. Their trunk is compressed ; the abdomen,
and even the tail, are ordinarily angular, and clothed with
very broad plates ; the scales, disposed in very oblique rows,
have a lanceolate or even a linear shape on the neck ; the
tail is very slender ; the head presents almost the same
structure as that of the genera Coluber and Herpetodryas,
but its form is much longer ; the eye is large, the pupil
orbicular. This genus is adorned with very vivid colours,
and inhabits the warm regions of both worlds ; it exists
not in Europe, and is very rare in Australia.

1. Dexdeophis Liocerus. Scales carinated, and dis-
posed in 15 rows. The frenal plate is wanting. S. 155
+ 145. Above of a bronze colour, passing, on the front
parts, into green, and into white on the lower parts, with
a black streak behind the eye. Teeth delicate, and of equal
length. Extends from Martinique to Brazil, and to Chile.

2. Dexdrophis Catesbyi. Much allied to the preced-
ing, but differs in having 17 rows of smooth scales, in its
greenish tints, and more slender tail. S. 170 + 184. From
the Island of St Domingo.

3. Dendrophis aurata. F orm more gracile than any
other serpent ; head very small ; muzzle more short than
usual ; eyes large; abdomen convex ; 13 rows of smooth
scales. Dominant colour, gilded bronze. S. 144 + 158.
Surinam ; extremely rare.

4. Dendrophis picta. Found in every part of inter-
tropical Africa and Asia, from Senegal to New Holland.
Very subject to variation. Scales smooth ; a range of
dorsal scales, very broad in the form of plates. Angles
of the abdomen salient and sloping. Above brown-bronze ;
sides of the abdomen marked by a yellow ray, bordered
with black ; below whitish ; on the sides of the neck there
are often oblique black and blue spots. S. 175 + 128.

5. Dendrophis Formosa. Size and habit of the
last ; but its head and dorsal scales are larger ; the eyes
more voluminous ; the occipital plates smaller ; and the

156

ON THE PHYSIOG-NOMT OF SERPENTS.

ground tint is a fine, deep blue, relieved on the sides by
two black rays. S. 180+140. Country, Java and Su-
matra.

6. Dendrophis Rhodopleuron. Form more slender
than the preceding species. Tail very flat below ; head
depressed ; 17 rows of carinated scales ; posterior maxil-
lary teeth grooved ; angles of the abdomen salient and
sloping ; of a pale reddish-purple, passing now into yellow,
then into green or brown, and variegated more or less
with black ; below verging on yellow ; the middle line of
the under part of the tail marked by a black ray. S.
210 + 174. From the Island of Amboina.

7. Dendrophis ornata. Form a little less thin than
ordinary ; of a fine deep green, adorned on the back with
yellow and red marks of various figures, and variegated
with black, wdiich occupies the edges of the scales ; head
with several yellow bands ; angles of the abdomen extreme-
ly salient and sloping ; 17 rows of smooth scales. S.
200+113. From Bengal and Ceylon to Sumatra and ~
Java.

8. Dendrophis prjeornata. From Senegal. Allied
to the last ; but it has the abdomen almost convex, and the
body less thick ; citron-yellow, relieved on the back by
three black rays, which are replaced on the neck and head
by transverse bands and spots ; below, greyish-purple ;
sides of the abdomen marked by a series of dark specks.
S. 178 + 125.

9. Dendrophis smaraodina. Colour of a uniform
brilliant green; 15 rows of scales, strongly carinated;
angles of the abdomen very salient ; posterior maxillary
teeth very long. S. 165 + 133. Inhabits the Gold
Coast.

1 0. Dendrophis colubrina. An anomalous species from
the Cape of Good Hope, which recalls, by its lengthened
but very vigorous form, the Herpetodryas, or even the
Dipsas ; head very thick, with aggregated plates, of which
the anterior frontals are small ; eye very large ; a posterior
maxillary tooth, long and grooved ; 21 rows of scales
strongly carinated ; lung with an accessory lobe ; greenish-
brown, or deep olive ; below greenish-yellow. S. 189 + 113.

INNOCUOUS SERPENTS.

157

The late M. Khul has referred to our Dendrophis
piCTA a serpent of Yemen, described by Forskal, Descr,^
p. 14, under the name of Col. Shokari. I cannot venture
to appropriate this description, which rather seems to me
to be drawn from an unknown Ophidian,, intermediate be-
tween the PsAMMOPHis and the Dendrophis : that of Khul
is drawn from the Dendrophis picta. — Part ii.

DRYIOPHIS

Is the second genus of Tree- Snakes. They are easily
distinguished by their extremely lengthened muzzle, which
is most generally drawn out to a point more or less salient.
Their forms are very slender, the trunk very compressed,
and the abdomen convex ; most of them have either green
tints, or the colour of bronze. The upper jaw ordinarily is
provided with several teeth posteriorly, and in the middle,
which are much developed and grooved. The scales have
often a linear form, and the abdominal plates are very high.
The eye is not large ; in the first species the pupil is trans-
versely elongated. This genus comprehends the true
Tree-snakes, which inhabit the intertropical regions of
Asia and the two Americas. We may establish in this
genus two geographical subdivisions.

A. The Dryiophis of the Ancient World.

Dryiophis, properly so called, have the maxillary teeth
grooved, and the pupil of the eye horizontally elongated.

1. Dryiophis Nasuta. Found from Malabar and
Ceylon to the Marianne and Philippine Islands. Scales
smooth, of the dorsal range rather large ; rostral plate
prolonged into a point ; grass-green ; below paler ; a
yellow ray extends along the sides of the abdomen and
the tail. S. 180+163.

2. Dryiophis Langaha. A curious serpent of Mada-
gascar. Muzzle prolonged in a fleshy appendix, half an
inch in length, often sharp pointed, and sometimes com-
pressed and enlarged in the form of a leaf ; scales cari-

158

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SERPENTS.

nated ; colour of a clear brown, passing to yellow on the
lower parts ; form less slender than usual ; belly slightly
angular. S. 1484-136.

3. Dryiophis prasina. Head conical ; muzzle trun-
cated ; rostral plate with salient edges ; labials very deep
grooved teeth very large; scales smooth. S. 200 + 160.
Native of Bengal, Cochin-China, Java, Sumatra, and
Celebes : the individuals of this latter isle form a variety
with more slender tail.

B. The Pseudo-Dry lophis or Dryiophis of the New
Worldj with the teeth less developed, and pupil orbicular.

5. Dryiophis Catesbyi. Colour green ; scales cari-
nated ; muzzle very compressed and very obliquely trun-
cated at the point. S. 204+140. From Cayenne to
Florida.

6. Dryiophis argentea. Form more delicate than
usual ; six plates on the upper lip ; smooth scales. Colour
silvery-white, speckled with a darker tint, and adorned on
the sides and below with broad longitudinal rays of deep
blue. S. 200 + 90. Inhabits Cayenne.

7. Dryiophis aurata, has a form more light still than
the preceding ; all the parts extremely delicate. S.
190 + 162. Of a fine gilded bronze colour, dotted with
black and white. Found from Brazil to Mexico, and per-
haps also in Florida.

BIPSAS.

The tree-snakes, in the genus Dipsas, are recognisable
by their very thick, broad, and obtuse heads, their vigor-
ous, but compressed, trunk, the pupil ordinarily vertical,
&c. They have, however, the elongated form peculiar to ani-
mals of this family. Their scales are generally smooth and
lanceolate ; and we observe in many species, a dorsal range
of plates, larger than the rest ; the plates of the head
very aggregated ; abdomen convex ; nostrils very open.
Sometimes we find in the jaw a posterior grooved tooth.
The Dipsas inhabits, by preference, the vast forests of
Asia and intertropical America. Other parts of the world

INNOCUOUS SEEPENTS.

159

are without them, or support species more or less dissimi-
lar, and in very small numbers.

1. Dipsas dendeophila. Of large size, attaining a
length of 7 feet ; form very powerful ; head very thick ;
posterior teeth grooved ; a small accessory pulmonary
lobe ; 21 rows of scales, of which the dorsals are large,
S. 220 + 102. Body of a fine shining black, surrounded
with numerous bands of golden-yellow. Found in the
Islands of Java and Sumatra ; the specimens from Celebes
have the yellow bands closer, and the occiput ornamented
with several spots of the same colour.

2. Dipsas multimaculata. Habit of the preceding,
but the size much less ; teeth all of equal length ; colour
a grey-brown, or olive, varied with deep brown ; on the
sides 2 ranges of spots, the superior very wide ; summit
of the head marked by an angular line ; a dark streak be-
hind the eye ; below of a rose colour, marbled and spotted
with browm ; 17 rows of smooth scales. S. 207 + 84.
Inhabits Bengal, and is found also in Java and Celebes.

3. Dipsas teigonata. From Bengal. Allied to the
last ; but the posterior maxillary tooth very long ; the
tail shorter ; colour of a yellow-olive, marked along the
back with irregular triangular spots of white, bordered
with black. S. 233 + 80.

4. Dipsas Cynodon. A beautiful serpent found in Java
and Sumatra, of large size, and of a very attenuated form ;
trunk extremely compressed ; 21 rows of scales ; the
dorsals large and hexagonal ; teeth largest at the anterior
extremity of the jaws ; eye very large ; colour of a greyish-
purple, finely marbled or speckled with brown, and re-
lieved with black, close-set bands ; several white spots
on the sides ; a black streak behind the eye. S.
260+140.

5. Dipsas Deapiezi. Form a size nearly similar to
the last ; but the muzzle is much shorter, the trunk less
high, and the teeth of equal length throughout. The
frenal plate is usually wanting. S. 260 + 130. Below of
a rose-purple, bordered with black ; a series of red spots,
bordered with black, near the abdomen. Of an almost
uniform brown in the adult. Observed in Ceylon, Suma-
tra, Java, Celebes, and New Guinea.

160

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SERPENTS.

6. Dipsas irregularis. Habit of Dipsas dendropbila.
Of a strong make ; dorsal scales of the same size as the rest ;
occipital scales very small ; subcaudal plates often simple.
Of an olive-brown colour, relieved by dark and narrow
bands, which descend from the back obliquely backwards,
but which are effaced by age. 23 rows of scales. S.
250 + 100. Native country, Celebes and Amboina.

7. Dipsas colubrina. Dorsal scales as in the last,
which it resembles also in its tints; but it has a much
less elongated form, a short and vigorous tail, a body sur-
rounded with 27 rows of scales, and ornamented with six
series of dark spots, disposed in a quicunx order. S.
183 + 67. Inhabits the Isle of Bourbon and Madagas-
car.

8. Dipsas ^gyptiaca. Allied to D. irregularis in
habit and defect of large dorsal scales; but has a less
strong make, a body less high, and a smaller head, which
is very depressed and obtuse. It has but a single pair
of mental scales, and a brown smoke-grey colour, with
numerous pale obsolete bands. The scales are small, in
41 rows. S. 256 + 74.

9. Dipsas nebulata. Small size. Head very high ;
muzzle short and high ; no frenal plate. Form less slen-
der than usual; teeth delicate and comb-like. 15 rows
of scales, with a smooth surface. S. 180 + 80. A range
of dorsal plates. Pulmonary cells advance along the
trachea ; lachrymal and nasal glands much developed ;
body charged with brown and pale marblings ; sides of
the back ornamented with spots or bands ; below yellow.
From Surinam.

10. Dipsas Mikanii. Resembling the preceding, but
with a head more lengthened, a muzzle very thick and
rounded, a trunk less high, and dorsal scales less deve-
loped. Above of a yellowish-brown, marbled with brown,
and varied with broad spots, or dark bands ; end of the
muzzle and collar white. S. 170 + 58. This species ap-
pears to replace the preceding in Brazil.

11. Dipsas Weigeli. Form exceedingly slender and
delicate ; head small, broad at the base, and conical ;
tail half the length of the trunk ; dorsal scales very
broad. S. 256 + 160. Above of a yellowish or reddish

INNOCUOUS SERPENTS.

161

white, speckled with brown, and relieved by a row of large
spots of a reddish brown, bordered with black. Inhabits
Brazil.

12. Dipsas Catesbyi. Has much similarity to the
preceding ; but its form is much less elongated ; its
muzzle is more broad, and truncated at the end ; the gular
plates are much developed ; those of the head considerably
wider ; its scales are larger ; the spots on the trunk are
more extensive, and we may observe a collar and band of
a light colour betvreen the nostrils. S. 162 + 82. From
Guyana.

13. Dipsas pavonina. Intermediate between the two
last, in almost every respect. Head as in D. Catesbyi ;
but the tail is longer, and furnished with 134 plates or
scuta; abdominal plates 217. Ground tint not verging
to red ; spots all oval. Appears with the last to repre-
sent the D. Weigeli at Guyana.

14. Dipsas Bucephala. Said to come from Sumatra.
Very recognisable by its very deep trunk ; by its small,
but very broad, thick head, and by its extremely short
muzzle ; by the size of its dorsal plates ; by the abdo-
minal plates which advance just below the chin, &c. The
plates of the head are very aggregated, and the frenals are
absolutely v» anting. Point of the lower jaw bent up-
wards. S. 200 + 105. Above of a reddish-brown, re-
lieved by numerous wide transverse bands of reddish-yel-
low, varied with brown.

15. Dipsas Dieperinkii. Of middle size. Trunk
high, more thick towards the head, which is proportion-
ably larger than in any other species ; 21 rows of scales
feebly carinated ; abdomOn a little angular ; pupil of
the eye round ; teeth of equal length ; tail lengthened
and slender ; above clear brown, with angular markings ;
below verging on yellow ; a fine line behind the eye. S.
224+ 150. From Surinam, where it is among the rarer
species.

16. DipsAS Boa. A curious and odd species, re-
markable for the smallness of the plates on the top of the
head, which are raised and convex ; for its very short
muzzle, which is narrow and conical ; for the presence

o

162

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SERPENTS.

on undivided scuta below the tail ; for a circle of small
ocular plates ; for a large eye, with a round pupil ; and
for very large mental plates. There are several long
teeth at the extremity of the lower jaw. S. 154 + 98. 13
rows of smooth scales, with the dorsals very large. Above
of a grey-purple, relieved on the flanks by about twenty
broad spots of a rose colour. Inhabits the interior of the
Isle of Java.

17. Dipsas carinata. Of small size. Head extreme-
ly wide and thick ; muzzle rounded and shorter than in
any other species ; lips projecting and curved ; eyes sur-
rounded by four plates ; geneial plates very voluminous.
15 rows of carinated scales, with the dorsals rather broad
and truncated at the tip ; teeth delicate and comb-like ;
bone of the cranium small. S. 168 + 60. Above of a
marrone-brown, with dark close-set bands ; a mark with
four points on the neck. From Java.

18. Dipsas l^vis. Also from Java. Of smaller size
than the last, to which it has a resemblance, except that
it has all its features less marked, the form more heavy,
and the tail shorter ; that the body is covered with smooth
scales ; that it wants the frenal and inferior ocular plates ;
and that the occipitals are surrounded with a row of other
smaller plates. Of a deep brown colour, relieved on the
upper parts by black transverse bands. S. 158 + 37.

19. Dipsas leucocephala. Scales of almost the
same size, slightly truncated at the tip, and disposed in
19 rows ; abdomen faintly angular. Above of a grey-
purple, marbled with brown, and varied by about 50 dark
transverse bands ; form very slender. S. 244 + 108.
From Brazil.

20. Dipsas macrorhinta. Of a considerable size.
F orm thin, yet robust ; head very thick ; muzzle very
broad, almost of equal diameter with the trunk, rounded ;
nostrils extremely open ; rostral plate advancing on the
top of the muzzle; anterior frontals small; 19 rows of
scales strongly carinated. S. 271 + 118. There are
grooved posterior maxillary teeth. Body marked with
alternate rings of black and white ; a white collar. Native
of Cayenne.

iraocuous SEEPENTS.

163

21. Dipsas Nattereri. Departs from the other spe-
cies of Dipsas by its head, of which the shape approaches
that of the Dendrophis. The muzzle, however, is short
and narrow, and the pupil of the eye vertical ; plates on
the muzzle small, those of the top of the head long and
narrow ; 17 rows of lanceolate scales, surmounted by a
Carina, and of the same size throughout ; a posterior
maxillar tooth, larger than the rest. Of small size ;
brownish ; back with four dark rays. S. 168 + 74. From
Brazil.

22. Dipsas punctatissima. Size, habit, and form,
absolutely like the preceding ; but the scales are smooth,
the tail more slender, the tints clearer, the vertical plate
more elongated, and the eye smaller. S. 150 + 90. In-
habits the regions to the north of the river of the Ama-
zons.

23. Dipsas Gaimardii. A very beautiful species, from
the Island of Madagascar ; has a form very slender, and
extremely delicate ; body somewhat high ; sides of the
tail slightly angular ; head rather small ; 17 rows of
scales all of equal size. S. 276 + 116. Of a pale purple-
brown ; a great number of transverse bands on the back ;
often accompanied by spots on the sides.

24. Dipsas annulata. Eesembles the preceding by
its colours and physiognomy ; but its form is much more
heavy; the head more voluminous, the tail shorter. S.
186 + 89. Occurs from the Paraguay as far as New
Orleans.

25. Dipsas fallax. A singular species, which approaches
the Coronellae. Like the last, but more robust, and with
a shorter tail ; the occipitals are also smaller, the head
less high, and the eye less large. The frenal plate is
elongated, and reaches to the eye ; a long grooved tooth
exists at the posterior part of the jaw ; 19 rows of smooth
scales. S. 206 + 55. From Dalmatia to the Levant.
Above grey-brown, marked with black, and set off by
several ranges of broad dark spots. A cruciform spot
on the nape of the neck.

The Fifth Family of Innocuous Snakes includes the

164

OK THE PHYSIOOKOMY OF SEKPEKTS.

Fresh-Water Serpents. These serpents approach by
their organization more or less to the Colubri, and live in
the water, or at least prefer the neighbourhood of rivers
or of lakes to other places. I do not mean to say that
all the Ophidians which have similar habitudes should be
united to this family, otherwise it would oblige us to
range in it the Colubri, and most of the Boas, which pre-
sent a very different organization. I have rather as-
sembled under this appellation the serpents of which I am
to treat ; because, with certain analogies in their organiza-
tion and physiognomy, they compose a natural group, but
by no means separated by precise characters from other
subdivisions. This family comprehends two genera, the
first of which, with some slight exceptions, presents
nothing interesting in the structure, while the species of
the second are all characterized by peculiarities as marked
as curious. The first is the

TROPIDONOTUS,

which constitutes an assemblage of serpents, very ana-
logous to the genus Coluber, but the forms of which are
more heavy ; which have the belly very broad and con-
vex, the head broad and conical, but narro'w at the sum-
mit, with a short muzzle. The eye is not large, and
the nostrils are but little open. These snakes have ordi-
narily 3 plates behind the eye ; 19 row s of scales, of a
lozenge form, and carinated, the angle of the mouth turn-
ing upwards. The colour of the Tropidonotus is often
sombre, but varied with spots of vivid hues ; they do not
arrive at a great size, and most of them do not surpass 3
or 4 feet in length. They inhabit the vicinity of fresh-
W'ater, or even in the water, and are very good swim-
mers. Living in society, they are common in the places
they frequent ; and the genus is rich in species. They
have not yet been observed in New Holland, nor in South
America, where they are replaced by the Homalopsis.
Southern Africa supports but a single species, remarkable
by its anomalous organization.

1. Tropidonotus Natrix inhabits the whole of Europe

USTNOCUOUS SERPENTS.

165

almost to Siberia. It is a very common snake, and nni-
versally known ; recognisable by its bluish or greenish
colour relieved by black spots, which become square on
the lower parts, by its whitish collar, succeeded by a broad
dash of black. Individuals are found wholly black ; and
in the south of Europe it rarely has been seen with a
yellow ray down the back. S. 163 + 62. Lives near, or
on the borders of, lakes or rivers, and often establishes
itself in the vicinity of houses.^

2. Tropidonotus aumcuNCiATUs. A large and handsome
species, of an olive-brown, ornamented with 5 or 7 ranges
of spots disposed in a quicunx order. An oblique streak
on the temples, another under the eye. Tints very sub-
ject to variation, either accidentally or through the in-
fluence of different climates. Individuals from Java have
the spots confluent on the upper parts to form longitudinal
rays ; those of the Marianne Islands have the abdomen
speckled with black. Found from Malabar to the Philip-^
pines and the Mariannes. S. 134 + 72. Nostrils rather
vertical ; anterior frontal plates conical.

3. Tropidonotus umbratus. Yellov/ish, varied with
black ; whole head black. S. 142 + 83. Native country,
Bengal and Ceylon.

4. Tropidonotus Rhodomelas. As beautiful as rare ;
above of a brisk-red ; below more pale ; back ornamented
with a dark ray ; on the sides a series of black specks ;
head very broad and thick ; muzzle short and conical ; oc-
cipital and frontal plates small. S. 131 +44. Island of
Java.

5. Tropidonotus triangultgerus. Deep olive-green ;
below of an olive-yellow ; sides ornamented with broad tri-
angular red spots ; muzzle longer and more conical than
in the preceding species. S. 137 + 81. Inhabits Java.

6. Tropidonotus Chrysargos. Form very similar to
the last ; but the size is rather less, the muzzle less conical,
and the sides varied with black bands and yellow spots.

^ [Though exceedingly common in England and Wales, it has never
been seen by the Translator in Scotland ; nor can we find any satisfac-
tory evidence of its ever having been caught in this kingdom, although
the common Viper is abundant in many parts of Scotland.]

166

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SERPENTS.

Below of a rosy- purple. S. 176 4-81. Inhabits the
Island of Java. A handsome local variety of an uniform
colour is found at Celebes ; another with vivid tints at
Sumatra.

7. Tropidonotus subminiatus. Allied to the two
last by structure, habit, and shape ; but the head is
shorter and higher, and the upper lip very inflated. Brown
verging on green, on red, or on black, and varied with
black ; below yellow, with two rows of black points ;
naked skin of the neck or space between the scales, of a
fine vermilion-red ; on the nape a black spot, preceded
by a yellowish collar. S. 1314- 57. From Java.

8. Tropidonotus picturatus. A new species from New
Guinea ; size considerable ; form less strong than the last,
which it resembles in habit and form of the head ; 1 5
rows of scales. S. from 128 + 52 to 134 + 62. Above
of a brown shistose-black ; below of pale citron-yellow ;
the scuta have reddish edges, and a large spot of smoke-
black on the ribs ; two rays of black on the neck, and
another behind the eye ; lips yellow.^

9. Tropidonotus tigrinus. Habit, physiognomy, and
colour, like the Tropid. Natrix ; but the head is less de-
pressed, the scales are broader and more strongly cari-
nated, the eyes larger, the dorsal spots more extensive
in the species of Japan. S. 161+71.

10. Tropidonotus Vibakari. Of very small size, and
of very slight form. Head small, and not distinct from
the neck ; the scales feebly carinated. Pale brown, with
a dorsal ray of a deeper colour ; below more clear ; a
white collar ; labial plates whitish, bordered with brown.
S. 142 + 74. Total length 16 inches. Like the pre-
ceding, from Japan.

11. Tropidonotus Stolatus. Size a little larger,
and form less delicate, than the last ; physiognomy recalls
that of T. subminiatus. Above deep olive-brown, re-
lieved by a reticular design formed by two yellow rays,
intersected by black bands, and marked at the angles with

^ [This species is omitted in the Synoptic Table, but it is described
moi’e fully in the descriptive part of M. Scitlegel’s work, — Tr.]

INNOCUOUS SERPENTS.

167

white spots. S. 146 + 61. From Malabar to the Pe-
ninsula of Malacca ; also inhabits the Philippine Isles.

12. Tropidonotus vittatus. Abounds in the inun-
dated parts of the Island of Java. Size and form nearly
as the preceding. Livid brown, relieved by three black
rays ; a ray of pale red on the last row of scales. S,
144 + 76. Of a slate-blue, bordered with black.

13. Tropidonotus schIstosus. Above of a slate-
grey ; below yellowish ; size less than that of the T.
Natrix ; head short and conical, with aggregated plates ;
eyes small ; scales surmounted by a very strong carina.
S. 150 -f- 80. Observed in Madagascar, Bengal, and the
Philippines.

14. Tropidonotus bipunctatus. In many respects
resembles our T. Natrix, especially the variety of South-
ern Europe ; but it has a more lengthened head ; the
eyes are smaller, the collar and the spot on the neck are
wanting. Above marked by irregular transverse spots.
Abdominal plates have a black spot. S. 141 + 67. Coun-
try, Martinique, Florida, Carolina, Mexico, &c.

15. Tropidonotus Saurita. In colour and physiog-
nomy it presents a striking analogy with, the preceding ;
but differs from it, as from all the others of the genus, by
its slender form, which approaches to that of the Herpe-
todryas ; head more elongated than ordinary. Ground
colour a deep brown, relieved by longitudinal rays ol
black. S. 166 + 111. Country, North America and Mar-
tinique.

16. Tropidonotus pasciatus. Attains a very large
size. Head a little more than usually elongated ; scales
strongly carinated ; eye rather large ; nostrils narrow,
and almost vertical. S. 136 + 65. Greyish-brown, re-
lieved by deep, broad, round spots, which are often con-
fluent ; yellow below. Inhabits the same countries as
the two preceding.

17. Tropidonotus viperinus, of the south of
Europe, is found in the Barbary States, and even as far
as the Caspian Sea. Head more lengthened than in the
other species ; very conical, and covered with more nar-
row plates. Above of a brownish-green, marked with

168

ox THE PHYSIOGXOMY OF REEPEXTS.

several rows of dark spots ; below yellow, with square
black spots. Spain produces a pretty variety, with yellow
dorsal rays. S. 186 + 68.

18. Tropidonotus scaber. This is one of the most
curious serpents, in this respect, that the extremities of
the anterior spinous apophyses of the vertebrae of the
neck, in the shape of teeth, penetrate the tunics of the
oesophagus. The lachrymal gland, of an extraordinary
size, extends to the angle of the mouth. In other re-
spects, this serpent does not differ in any remarkable de-
gree from the other Tropidonoti. Its head is very thick,
short, clumsy, and covered with plates of a short form ;
the frenal is wanting. The scales, disposed in 25 rows,
are surmounted by a carina more distinct than usual.
The trunk is elongated, and the tail short. S. 200 + 45.
Teeth small, and of equal length. Comes from the
Cape.

19. Tropidonotus mortuaries. Head elongated ;
nostrils and eyes very small, and almost vertical; ante-
rior frontal plates and superciliaries small; several an-
terior oculars ; 23 rows of scales, surmounted by a very
strong carina. Colour almost the same as in the Tr.
quicunciatus, but more numerous. It forms the passage
to the genus Homalopsis. Comes from Bengal. PI. 137
+ 70.

HOMALOPSIS.

This is the second and last genus of Fresh- Water Ser-
pents, and merits, in all respeets, that designation. They
have forms generally clumsy, and massive, and their head
has a physiognomy wholly peculiar, although this organ
has an organization very different according to the spe-
cies ; it is very thick ; has a short and rounded muzzle,
is covered by scaly plates, usually very numerous, and
more or less irregular in shape. The peculiar physiog-
nomy of the Homalopsis is due, in a great measure, to its
small eyes, more or less vertical, and to the nostrils di-
rected upwards, and in the form of a crescent, which
are so near together, that we usually find but a single

INFOCUOUS SERPENTS.

169

anterior frontal plate. The lips are much inflated, and
re-entrant; the angle of the mouth is very ascendant.
We find usually long posterior maxillary teeth, often
grooved ; and the glands of the head are very large.
The skeleton is composed of very strong bones ; and the
cellules of the lungs are often prolonged on the trachea.
Most of them exhibit sombre tints, and arrive at a
large size. The Homalopsis have never been seen except
in the warm regions of Asia and America, where they
inhabit the fresh waters in small numbers, giving chase to
fishes and other aquatic animals.

1. Homalopsis buccata. — Strongly characterized by a
head extremely thick and high, by the great number of
labial plates, by the small, feebly carinated scales, of
which 39 rows are reckoned.

There exist small occipital plates, and an anterior
frontal, single on account of the disposition of the nasals,
which encroach on the summit of the muzzle. A circle
of little plates surrounds the eye. F our or five pairs of
converging geneials ; the rest of the throat covered with
scales ; posterior maxillary teeth grooved ; cheeks much
inflated. Above of an ochre-yellow, covered with large
blackish bands. A series of dark points runs along the
sides of the belly. Summit of the head ornamented with
streaks. S. 160 + 78. Form heavy; shape powerful.
Inhabits Java.

2. Homalopsis Schneideei.— Of a less size, and a
form more lengthened than the preceding, which it re-
sembles in its profile ; but it has a head much more elon-
gated, and the summit covered with scales similar to those
on the trunk, so that there are no plates on the muzzle,
25 rows of carinated scales. Eyes directed upwards.

146 + 57. Inhabits Pondichery, Bengal, Java, Timor,
Amboina, and also New Guinea.

3. Homalopsis decussata.— Of very small size; 19
rows of smooth scales ; tail very thick ; head small, of
the same diameter as the trunk, rounded at the extremity,
and covered above by 9 plates. Body marked by alter-
nate bands of reddish-brown and white; this last tint

p

170

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SEEPENTS.

forms the collar, and a spot on the muzzle. S. 136 + 30.
Inhabits Java.

4. Homalopsis Leucobalia. — A species remarkable
by the form of its head, which is very large, thick, and
high, rounded at the narrow top, which is covered by 8
small plates ; the eyes are very small, and the upper
labial plates on,ly amount to 5 in number ; one anterior
and two posterior oculars ; 25 ranges of smooth, lozenge-
shaped scales. Above blackish ; irregular bands on the
sides; below whitish. S. 154 + 33. Form very heavy.
Inhabits the island of Timor.

5. Homalopsis plumbea. — Form less thick than in
the preceding. Head broad and rounded, with 8 plates
on the summit ; 19 rows of smooth and square scales ;
tail much concentrated. From Java. S. 121+37. A
grooved, posterior maxillary tooth. Above leaden coloured,
below whitish.

6. Homalopsis Aee.— Very analogous to the preceding,
but the head more elongated ; the muzzle less broad, small,
and covered by smaller scales ; trunk more compressed,
and the tail more slender. 25 rows of lozenge- shaped
scales. S. 118 + 52. Colour leaden, verging on brown,
with two pale dorsal rays ; sides yellow, with a dark-co-
loured ray. It is found in Java and Bengal.

7. Homalopsis Sieboldii. — Trunk more than usually
compressed ; back very angular, from the strong carina
which it forms ; abdomen very narrow ; 29 ranges of
smooth scales ; form massive ; head almost as in H. buc-
cata, but less obtuse, with a more narrow summit ; labial
plates less numerous ; the eye larger ; there are also two
anterior frontals. Above of greyish brown, verging on
purple : a colour almost covered by several series of very
large dark spots ; below yellow, marbled with brown.
S. 147 + 51. From Bengal.

8. Homalopsis carinicauda. — Inhabits both Americas.
Allied to H. plumbea of Java ; but it has a head more
lengthened, and a more slender tail ; also a more ample
eye, and the scales are truncated at the tip, and surmounted
by a strong keel, though only visible on the posterior parts.

INNOCUOUS SERPENTS,

171

Colour above, a deep leaden hue ; below yellowish, with
two middle rows of blackish spots. S. 137 + 56.

9. Homalopsis angulata. — Habit of a Tropidonotus,
but it has a more massive form ; head large and rounded,
covered by 8 rather small plates ; the single frontal ad-
vances between the nasals ; eyes more than usually large ;
19 rows of scales, strongly carinated. Yellowish, passing
to red on the sides ; above varied by very broad angular
spots of a deep colour, with their points prolonged down-
wards, to form square alternate spots. Posterior teeth
without a groove. S. 118 + 66. Lung simple. From
the river Amazons to Martinique.

10. Homalopsis plicatilis. — ^Well characterized by its
very long and narrow head, but with a muzzle of remark-
able shortness ; by its large, blunt, smooth scales disposed
in 15 rows ; and by its colours. The frenal plate want-
ing ; shape very vigorous ; trunk very thick and cylindri-
cal. S. 134 + 38. Above of a brownish red; on the
sides a very broad dark ray, accompanied by a series of
spots ; below yellowish, with two rows of brownish points.
From Brazil ; a very pretty variety of it exists at New
Orleans, characterized by its vivid tints.

11. Homalopsis Martii. — Head nearly as in H. plum-
bea, but more depressed and more lengthened ; eyes very
small ; nostrils very near the end of the muzzle ; trunk
much more slender than usual, and cylindrical ; 15 rows
of smooth scales ; body surrounded with rings of brown,
alternately of two shades ; the adults are of an almost
uniform black, and have a very shining skin. S. 158 +
48. From the river Amazons to Surinam.

12. Homalopsis Beinwardtii. — Of large size, and of an
elongated form ; tail very short and thick ; 21 rows of
smooth scales ; all the trunk of nearly equal thickness, and
a little compressed ; physiognomy like that of H. plicatilis.
Above blackish red-brown, below reddish yellow ; these
two tints interlace on the sides, to form bands and spots.
S. 180 + 42. Discovered in Louisiana.

13. Homalopsis Leopardina. — -Allied to H. angulata
by the structure of the scales, to H. plicatilis by the form
of the head. A single frontal plate wedged between the
nasals ; of a reddish brown, relieved on the upper parts

172

OIT THE PHYSIOaNOMY OF SERPENTS.

by five series of spots in a qiiicnnx ; tail lengthened in
proportion to the dimensions of the trunk. S. 117 + 73.
Country unknown.

14. Homalopsis Herpeton. — An entirely anomalous
species, and one of the most remarkable of serpents for two
fleshy appendages, which proceed from the point of the
snout, and are covered with scales. Abdominal plates
scarcely exceed in breadth the scales, and each is sur-
mounted by two keels ; 35 rows of scales strongly cari-
nated. Habit, size, and form of H. Schneideri, but the
trunk is very thick in the middle ; the head covered with
small scales, and on the crown by 9 plates, among which
we may observe several scales of an irregular form. Teeth
of equal length. S. 140 + 96. Brown, rayed with a light
colour. Country unknown.

I have included the Boas in the sixth family oi innocu-
ous serpents. They have a prehensile tail, and also the
faculty of entwining themselves round any object with
their trunk. Their scales are numerous, and the plates
on the lower parts are very little developed. The head is
thick, with strong features, and covered with scales, or with
small plates, of which the form and disposition are very
dissimilar ; they eyes are small, and usually have a pupil
horizontally elongated ; the nostrils are more or less ver-
tical ; the labial plates are often hollowed out by several
fossettes ; the lung is usually divided into two lobes, and
there is a hook at the anus. The species inhabit the warm
regions of both worlds ; they are not numerous, and most
of them surpass all other snakes in their dimensions. Se-
veral species frequent fresh water ; others inhabit forests ;
and there are some of them essentially aquatic. They
have the habit of crushing their prey in the folds of their
bodies, and of breaking its bones before swallowing it.
This family divides itself into three generic groups.

BOA.

The first genus is the jSoa, properly so called. In^this
species the intermaxillary bone is unprovided with teeth,

INKOCUOUS SEEPENTS.

173

the orbit is formed, as in other Ophidians, above by the
middle frontals ; and the under part of the tail is furnished
with simple plates. The genus is more especially proper
to tropical America. Those of the ancient world, are of
small size, and of dissimilar forms.

1. Boa Constrictoe. — A terrestrial species of a size
between 9 and 12 feet. Very distinguishable by the small
smooth scales, which cover the body and the whole head,
and are arranged in 67 rows, by its reddish tint relieved
by a design composed of broad oval spots, of interlacing
bands, and rays of a reddish brown. Form very powerful ;
tail short ; head heart-shaped. S. 243 + 58. Inhabits
the forests of intertropical America, where it suspends
itself to the branches of trees, to possess itself of the small
mammifera on which it feeds.

2. Boa Murina. — The largest of known serpents.
Nostrils vertical, approximated to the end of the muzzle ;
that part and the lips covered wdth plates. Eyes directed up-
wards ; 47 rows of smooth scales ; head elongated, muzzle
rounded, and much inclined at the sides. S. 250 4- 66.
Fuliginous brown, with two rows of orbicular spots on the
back, and a double series of ocellated spots on the flanks.
An aquatic and viviparous species, which attains a length
of even 20 feet. Same country as the last.

3. Boa Cenchria. — Of less size than the two last. A
terrestrial species, with the habits of the Boa Constrictor.
Head almost as in the two last, but the labial plates are
hollowed into a gutter, and the vertical plates are replaced
by small scales of an irregular form ; tail short ; nostrils
open and lateral ; 35 rows of smooth scales. S. 240 -f
48. Of a yellowish red-brown ; above ornamented with
a double suite of orbicular spots, bright, and bordered with
black; three rows of spots, less broad, and dark coloured,
on the sides. The spots are often confluent, forming a
reticular design. Country the same as the preceding
species.

4. Boa Canit^a. — ^Well characterized by its green tints,
relieved by white lozenge- formed, dorsal spots ; below
yellowish. Anterior teeth very long ; body strongly com-
pressed, and particularly adapted for being rolled inwards ;

m

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

tail prehensile, endued with great power. Head heart-
shaped, covered on the top with scales of an irregular shape,
largest toward the point of the muzzle. All the labial
plates are hollowed by fossettes ; 53 rows of smooth scales.
Size about six feet. S. 196 + 70. From the river Ama-
zons to Surinam.

5. Boa hortulana. — Distinguishable by its slen-
der form, its very long tail, by a large hollow in its cheek ;
small fossettes or grooves may also be observed on the
posterior plates of the lower lip ; the anterior teeth are
larger than the rest ; head heart-shaped, irregularly
clothed with scales above ; but one pair of broad frontals,
two frenals, and one anterior ocular plate ; trunk much
compressed ; abdomen a little angular, and covered with
scuta broader than usual in the genus ; 39 rows of long
smooth scales; reddish brown; a series of broad dark
spots, orbicular or lozenge-shaped, and of considerable
size, on the sides ; disposition of the tints little constant ;
head ornamented with a great number of dark vermicular
markings. S. 273 -f- 1 1 7. Probably frequents trees, lives
on birds, and inhabits all Brazil, Surinam, and has also
been observed in the Isle of St Vincent.

6. Boa Dussumieri.- — ^From the ancient world, a native
of a little island near the Mauritius ; form slender ; tail
long, as in the B. hortulana; but the labial plates are
without the fossettes. It has 39 rows of carinated scales ;
the head much elongated, and clothed with scales, except
the muzzle, which has a pair of plates on its upper part ;
tail but little prehensile; the rostral is obliquely trun-
cated ; the eyes lateral ; nostrils narrow, and a little ver-
tical. S. 238 + 128. Size much less than the South
American species of Boa. Above brownish grey, with a
few spots on the nape ; below yellowish.

7. Boa carinata. — A very small species from the
Moluccas and New Guinea. Head rather long and de-
pressed; muzzle angular at the sides, and truncated at
the end ; these parts covered with scales, with the excep-
tion of the frenal region and the lips ; nostrils and eyes
lateral, the last projecting ; abdomen convex, aud covered
by plates wider than usual ; several long maxillary teeth

INNOCUOUS SERPENTS.

175

in the front of the mouth ; of a reddish brown, varied with
white marblings and dark spots, which are confluent, often
forming dorsal rays ; 27 rows of strongly carinated scales.
S. 170 + 50.

8. Boa conic a. — Little known. From Bengal. Size
of the preceding ; tail very short and conical : deep brown ;
a large black ray, bordered with white, winds along the
back ; on the sides a series of dark orbicular spots ; below
of a pearly hue. S. 209 + 19.^

9. Boa Melanura. — An anomalous species, approxi-
mating the Boa to the Tortrix. Size and habit of the
species of the ancient world ; form massive ; head covered
by nine rather small plates ; no hooks at the anus ; tail
very short, and strongly prehensile ; 25 rows of carinated
square scales. S. 206 + 38. Yellowish grey; a series
of black spots on the sides, near the belly ; another series
of very obsolete spots on the back ; the spots are confluent
on the tail, giving it an uniform black tint ; below, clear
ochre-yellow.

PYTHON.

This is the second genus of the Boa Family. It con-
sists of serpents of large size, exclusively inhabiting the
Old World. They have the intermaxillary provided with
teeth ; the arch of their orbit is completed by a super-
numerary bone, which does not exist in any other serpent ;
and the subcaudal plates are found to be divided. The
lips are always furrowed with fossettes, and the plates of
the head are more developed than in the genuine Boa.

1. Python bivittatus. — The rostral, and the two first
labial plates only, are hollowed by fossettes ; muzzle and
top of the head covered with irregular plates ; frenal re-
gions excavated ; 63 rows of smooth small scales. S.
270 + 70. Of a yellowish tint, relieved by a design com-
posed of broad, alternate, brown spots ; summit of the
head bordered by two rays, forming the ground tint ; sides
varied and chequered with black and white ; below with
dark square spots. From the western coast of Africa,
* [A small specimen is in the possession of the Translator.]

170

OF THE PHYSIOOFOMY OF SEEPEFTS.

through all intertropical Asia, as far as Java and China,
The largest serpent of the ancient world, attaining a length
of twenty feet.

2. Python Schneideri. — Form much more slender;
head much shorter, and size less than the preceding ; head
narrow, covered with plates more than usually developed ;
muzzle turned up at the end ; anterior labial plates chan-
nelled by a groove ; the last plates of the lower lip are
equally provided with a groove ; scales of the trunk very
small. S. 320 + 90. Yellowish grey-brown, with a mid-
dle black ray on the top of the head, which extends to the
body, interlacing with other rays, and thus forming a
reticular design. Grows to fourteen feet, and inhabits
Malacca, Java, Sumatra, and Amboina.

3. Python amethystinus. — Plates of the head more
developed than in the other species ; the labial grooves
nearly as in the preceding ; form more than usually slen-
der; 41 rows of scales. S. 300-1-96. Variegated with
reddish brown and yellowish tints, which often form an
obsolete reticulated design; size about six feet; comes
from Saparua, a little isle in the group of Amboina.
The islands of Timor, Samao, and New Ireland, produce a
Python almost absolutely similar, except that the charac-
ters are less marked.

4. Python Peronii. — -From New Holland. Size about
six feet ; head much broader than in the other species ;
nostrils very spacious, and directed upwards ; muzzle very
obtuse ; upper part of the head is covered with numerous
scaly plates, irregular, and larger towards the extremity
of the snout. Fossettes in the lips, as in the preceding
species ; 41 rows of smooth scales. S, 275-1-83. Black,
sprinkled with markings and dashes of golden yellow,
more or less large, according, as it would seem, to the
places it inhabits.

AC ROCH ORDUS

Is the third genus of the Family of Boas, These Ophi-
dians are very singular and anomalous in their organiza-
tion. They are, however, Boas^ though anomalous Boas.

INNOCUOUS SEKPENTS.

177

They have a tail strongly prehensile, and compressed like
their trunk. They want the crochets at the anus. They
have rounded heads ; the eyes are extremely small, a little
vertical, the pupil orbicular, the nostrils are tubular, near
the top of the muzzle, and directed forward or upward.
All their bodies are covered with very minute scales, not
imbricated, mucronated ; and there is on the middle line
of the belly a projecting ridge, bristling with scales. The
upper part of the orbit is formed by an apophysis of the
posterior frontal bone. Teeth as in the genuine Boa.
They are essentially aquatics, inhabit the East Indies, and
have very sombre colours. Lung prolonged to the very
anus. We know only two species of this genus.

1. Acrochordus Javanicus. — Found in the rivers of
Java. Length eight feet, and of a very clumsy form ;
nostrils directed forward ; dark brown, charged with nu-
merous marblings ; cranium of a bizarre shape, from the
shortness of the anterior part, the smallness of the mastoid
bones, and the great length of the tympanites.

2. Acrochordus fasciatus. — Form much more slen-
der, and size far less than the preceding species ; scales of
the lips more developed ; nostrils almost vertical ; colour
brown, with pale bands on the sides. Found in India, as
far as New Guinea.

The Acrochordus comprehends the genus Chersydre
of Cuvier, established after specimens of middle age. To
the same category belong also the Acrochordus fascia-
tus and DUBius of Shaw, the Hydrus granulatus of
Schneider, which Daudin has converted into a Pelamis.
— -ScHLEGEL, Vol. ii.

[The Acrochordus has been caught at Pondichery, in
Timor, and Sumatra. The specimen of A. fasciatus in
the British Museum is only 18 inches. — Tr.]

178

Oisr THE EHYSIOaNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

II.-VENOMOUS SERPENTS

Form the second grand division of Ophidians. They are
all provided with a murderous tooth or fang^ fixed on the
maxillary bone ; of which the size is so reduced, that it
rarely carries any other tooth than the fangs. This divi-
sion naturally arranges itself into three groups or Families.

Coluhriform Venomous Serpents form the first of these,
including all those venomous Ophidians that by their
form approach the non- venomous terrestrial serpents, to
which they have usually a very striking resemblance, and
are often distinguishable from them by no external sign,
except the thickness of their muzzle. They have the
trunk elongated, the tail short, massive, and conical, the
eyes a little voluminous, and the pupil orbicular, the nos-
trils open and lateral. Their scales are large, lozenge-
shaped, and almost always smooth. Their head is invested
with plates like those of the genus Coluber ; the rostral is
sutficiently developed, while the frenal is ordinarily want-
ing. The venomous apparatus is usually little developed ;
the maxillary bone is long, and often armed with teeth
placed behind the fangs, which last are short but strong,
and provided with a groove uniting the orifices ; the lower
jaw, with its suspensory pieces, is little developed. These
Ophidians inhabit the hot countries of both worlds ; they
are not found in Europe, and only form three genera.

FLAPS.

This genus has a cylindrical trunk, very slender, and of
equal thickness throughout, surrounded usually with 15
rows of broad and smooth scales ; the head elongated, and
little distinct from the trunk; tints, for the most part,
vivid and beautiful. They frequent wooded places, or
coverts of grass, and seem to shun arid soils. They inha-

VBTOMOUS SERPElSiTS.

179

bit both worlds, and form a natural group, in which we
may establish several geographical divisions.

A. American species ; which have the body marked by
alternate rings of red and black.

1. El APS CORALLINES. Head slightly conical ; occipi-
tal plates rather broad ; arrives at a length of four feet or
more, has the thickness of a man’s finger ; summit of the
head black, colours very subject to variation, as are also
the scuta, which in some individuals are 178 + 26, in others
as high as 222 + 45 ; ground colour red or yellow, with
white or brown : rings often obsolete, and only recognis-
able by their white borders. From Brazil to Carolina.

2. Elaps Lemniscatus. Scarcely distinct from the last.
Comes from Guyana. Form a little more slender ; eyes
smaller and less lateral ; a black band between the eyes ;
rings on the body black, and usually approximated three
and three. S. 230 -f 36.

3. Flaps Surinamensis. Easily distinguished by its
broad, short, depressed head, covered with rather small
plates, bordered with black ; muzzle obtuse ; form squat,
the body surrounded with rings approximated three and
three, of which the middle is very broad ; the dorsal scales
a little larger than the rest. It arrives at a very large
size, and inhabits Dutch Guyana. S. 168 + 33, or 182 -f
37, sometimes six feet long and nearly two inches thick.

[4. Flaps Jamesoni. — The only specimen hitherto de-
scribed, is in the possession of the translator. A spe-
cimen without a head is in the British Museum. This
beautiful serpent has the general habit of a Coluber : but
the fangs and complete poison apparatus, as well as the
nasal fossulse, prove it to belong to the genus Elaps of
our author ; unless we were to consider it justifiable, for
a single species, to institute a new genus. The total
length, 6 feet, 1.5 inches ; length of head, 1.3 inches ;
body, 4. f. 4.7 inches; tail, 1. f. 7.5 inches. Circum-
ference of body where thickest, 4.5 inches. Colour above
fine bluish-grey; where deprived of the cuticle, of a bril-
liant sky-blue. Scales smooth, large rhomboidal, on pos-
terior of the body and tail edged with jet black ; lower
parts yellowish white ; scuta wide ; near anus, and on the

180

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OP SERPENTS.

tail they are edged with black. Sent from S. America,
PI. 220 + 108. — See Jameson^ s Journal. — Tr.]

B. African species, only one is known.

5. El APS HYGEiiE. Easily to be distinguished by the
artificial character drawn from the presence of an undivided
nasal plate, pierced by the nostrils ; vertical rather elon-
gated ; six labials ; abdominal plates less broad than
ordinary. S. 200 -+-28. Of small size; inhabits the
Cape ; tints of great beauty ; yellowish ; above of a vivid
red, ornamented with black bands, sometimes confluent ;
below mottled with black.

C. Asiatic species.

6. El APS Coll ARTS. Perhaps identical with an Elaps
said to be found in the Philippines. Form of Elaps Lem-
niscatus, but with a short, thick, and depressed head ; the
sixth vertical plate wide, and touching the occipitals.
Deep brown ; below marked with red spots, of which the
angles are continued on the sides ; neck ornamented with
a collar. S. 229 -+ 17.

7. Elaps trimaculatus, from India. Of very small
size ; form extremely delicate ; tail everywhere of equal
thickness ; above of a clear brown, with black dorsal ray,
accompanied by other narrow rays on the sides. Head,
tip of the tail, and anus black ; below yellowish ; tail
white, speckled with black. S. 241 -f- 32.

8. Elaps furcatus. 13 rows of scales : body filiform.
S. 255 + 22. Head of same diameter as the trunk, and
narrow ; above of a very dark brown ; a dorsal ray,
bifurcated on the head, of a fine yellow, which passes into
red on the tail ; a white ray on the sides. Above a lively
green, with dark transverse bands. Size about 15 inches.
Inhabits Java, and is also found in the peninsula of Ma-
lacca and in Sumatra, where it forms a climatal variety.

9. Elaps bivirgatus. A very beautiful and rare
species, scarcely of the thickness of the little finger, with a
length of three or four feet ; body extremely slender,
cylindrical, and all of equal thickness ; tail longer than
ordinary ; head nearly of same diameter with the body ;
above of violet-blue, passing towards the tail into purple ;
sides marked with a white ray, undulating and narrow ;

VENOMOUS SEEPENTS.

181

head and lower parts scarlet. S. 270 + 49. Inhabits
Java and Sumatra, where it forms a variety characterized
by a ray down the medial line of the back.

D. Species of Australasia,

10. Elaps MiiLLERi, from New Guinea and the adjacent
islands. Has a body more thick, and a tail short and more
conical, than usual ; head distinct from the trunk, covered
with very long plates, but with a short muzzle. Above
brown, or reddish-brown ; below sometimes yellow, some-
times green ; a ray of yellow, or of a rose colour, passes
from the lips to the sides. S. 162 + 28.

11. Elaps coronatus. In size and form like the last,
but the muzzle more pointed. S. 138 + 52. Subcaudai
plates undivided ; six broad labial plates ; a single tem-
poral ; of a brownish-green colour ; top of the head bor-
dered with a black mark.

12. Elaps Psammophis. Resembles, so as to be mis-
taken for certain Psammophis, and especially for the green
variety of Ps. Moniliger of the Cape. Tail more than
usually slender. S. 186 + 76. Of an olive green. Below
and around the eye yellowish.

BUNOARUS

Forms the second genus of the family of Colubriform
Venomous Snakes, and comprehends but two nearly al-
lied species, very recognisable by their back being invest-
ed with a row of hexagonal scales, broader than the rest.
They have the habit and physiognomy of the Elaps ; but
their form is more vigorous, and they attain a much
larger size. The abdomen is convex, the tail strong,
clothed below with undivided scuta. 15 to 17 rows of
smooth scales. Body annulated with yellow and black.
Head nearly as in the Elaps. Their skeleton has broad
transverse processes, flattened into plates. Several solid
teeth behind the fangs. Bones of the head very strong.
Inhabit India, as well as the Islands of Ceylon and Java.

1, Bunoarus annularis. — Body surrounded with en-
tire rings of black and yellow. Tail extremely strong,
keeled above, and very thick to the tip. Two streaks

182'

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SERPENTS.

forming an acute angle on the summit of the head. S.
213 + 34. Length 6 feet.

2. Bunoarus semifasciatus. — Size a little less than
the preceding. Bones much less strong. Body surrounded
with half-rings. Tail more slender and conical. Head
more depressed; eyes less large. S. 209+46. Tints
very subject to variation.

The third and last genus of Colubriform Venomous Ser-
pents is the

NAJA.

They have a more vigorous form than the Elaps or Bun-
garus ; their trunk is not cylindrical, but thickest towards
the middle ; their tail is more elongated, and always
conical ; their adbomen wide and convex ; their neck pos-
sesses, in a greater or less degree, the faculty of dilata-
tion, so as to form a disk ; their head is very distinct
from the trunk, and often very conical ; their eyes are
large and lateral ; as are the nostrils, which are open ;
the rostral plate is ordinarily prolonged on the top of the
muzzle ; the labial plate just before the last, is often of
an irregular figure ; their scales are almost always lan-
ceolate, and sometimes also carinated. The Najas in-
habit hot countries, in the vicinity of the tropics in the
ancient world.

1. Naja Tripudians. — This is the celebrated snake of
which the Indian jugglers make use in the performance
of their tricks, and which has obtained the name of Sjpec-
tacle Snake^ because its neck is ornamented with a mark
having some resemblance to some sorts of that instru-
ment. The neck is very dilatable. It attains a large
size. 23 to 31 rows of scales. S. 187+47. Brown
more or less deep ; sometimes uniform ; at other times
varied by oblique and narrow bands. Tints very subject
to variation. Found from Malabar to the Philippines.
A climatal variety exists in Sumatra, with dark colours ;
those of Java are almost black ; the tail shorter, and the

VEliTOMOUS SEKPENTS.

183

mark on the neck is only seen in young individuals. Feeds
on frogs.

2. Naja Haje. — Analogous to the preceding, but it

has a less extensile neck ; a head more conical ; a rostral
plate salient ; labial plates broader, and different tints.
S. 208 + 58. 23 rows of scales. Brownish, varied with

dark and pale spots. Inhabits Egypt ; a climatal variety
exists at the Cape : it has a system of colours little con-
stant, varying from brown to yellow, and even to white.
It is the asjpis^ properly so called, celebrated in antiquity ;
and also in our days by the tricks which the sorcerers of
Egypt perform with it.

3. Naja Bungarus. — Figure more slender, and size
less than the preceding species. Muzzle short, and a
little truncated at the tip ; eyes large ; tail attenuated ;
and dorsal scales a little larger than the rest. S. 250 +
30, simple, and +80 divided; or 252 + 23 sim. + 118
div. 19 rows of scales. Above a blue-black, relieved by
numerous angular whitish marks. Inhabits the Islands
of Java and Sumatra ; a very rare species.

4. Naja Bui^garoides. — Besembling the last in the
colours ; but the head more broad and clumsy ; the scales
of equal size ; the tail shorter, and the eyes smaller. S.
214 + 52 simple plates. 21 rows of scales.

5. Naja porphyrica. — Habit of the spectacle snake;
head of less size ; has 15 rows of scales only ; muzzle
very obtuse, &c. Above blue-black ; sides rosy-purple ;
below yellow. S. 180 + 50, in part simple. Found on
the sandy downs of New Holland.

6. Naja Hjemachates. — A species well characterized
by its massive figure ; by its head broad at the base, and
pointed at the snout ; and by its carinated scales, dis-
posed in 19 rows. The neck is a little extensile. S.
137 + 40. Purplish-black, varied with yellow. Inhabits
the sandy plains of the Cape of Good Hope.

7. Naja rhombeata. — Of smaller size than the last,
of which it has nearly the habit. 19 to 21 rows of scales
feebly carinated on the back. Tail extremely vigorous
and short. S. 134 + 21. No solid teeth behind the
fangs. Pale grey, below paler ; a series of lozenge-

184

ON THE PHYSIOONOMY OF SEEPENTS.

shaped spots on the back, a broad angular mark on the
head. Observed at the Cape, and on the Gold Coast.

8. Naja lubrica. — ^Distinguishable by its body en-
circled by black and red rings. Eostral plate very broad,
and advancing far on the top of the muzzle. Size about
two feet. 19 to 21 rows of smooth scales. S. 150 + 24.
From the Cape.

9. Naja Flaps. — Country unknown ; of a very large

size. Intermediate between the Naja and the Flaps.
F orm very powerful. Head distinct from the neck, which
is not dilatable. Posterior frontal and occipital plates
much developed. Labial plate just before the last carried
up toward the temporal regions. Fyes very small. S.
183 + 41. 15 rows of smooth lozenge-formed scales, of

an ochre-yellow, with brown-marrone centres.

10. Naja curt a. — Form extremely clumsy; pupil of
the eye a little elongated vertically ; tail very short and
thick; 19 rows of smooth scales; superciliary plates a
little salient ; head very wide ; cheeks projecting ; of an
uniform olive-green more pale on the lower parts. The
native country New Holland.

The Second Family of Venomous Serpents comprehends
the Sea-Snakes, all of which I have united in the genus

HYDE’OPHIS.

They are easily distinguished from all other Ophidians
by their very broad tail, elevated in a vertical direction in
the form of an oar. Their head is small, of the same
diameter as the trunk, and covered by plates, as in
most serpents, but with this difference, that the nasals,
rising to the summit of the muzzle, replace the anterior
frontals, which are wanting ; the nostrils consequently
are entirely vertical, have an orbicular form, and are
capable of being shut by means of a valve. The lips
have re-entering edges, so that the mouth may be closed
hermetically. The eye is small and the pupil orbi-
cular ; the fangs are small, and always followed by
several solid delicate teeth. The trunk diminishes con-

VEJTOMOUS SERPENTS.

185

siderably towards each extremity of the animal, so that
the neck is often very slender. The scales are lozenge-
shaped, or hexagonal, not imbricated, covered with a thin
epidermis, are surmounted by a tubercle ; and two are
found on those of the mesial row of the abdominal scales,
which are hardly larger than the rest. The lung is often
prolonged into an air-bladder, which extends to the anus.
The prevailing colour is yellow or green. The body is
often marked by rings or bands of a dark colour, or with
lozenge-shaped spots. The sea-serpents exclusively in-
habit the intertropical latitudes of the Indian Seas, or of
the great Pacific Ocean. They probably live on fishes,
and never go on land. We only know seven species, the
last of which is in some sort anomalous, inasmuch as
it has lateral nostrils, 5 frontal plates, abdominal scuta of
considerable size, and smooth imbricated scales, covered
with a hard epidermis.

1. Hydrophis schistosa. — Has a muzzle abruptly co-
nical at the end, and curved like a beak. Postral plate
narrow, prolonged in a point, vertical, of a lanceolate form ;
nasals trigonal. Eyes quite vertical. 51 Rows of scales.
S.300 -f 50. Slate-grey, with large brownish bands, more
or less effaced. Adults have uniform tints. Inhabits the
Gulf of Bengal.

2. Hydrophis striata. — Head rounded; muzzle ob-
tuse ; a row of little trigonal scales implanted between the
labials on the edge of the lower lip. Greenish-yellow,
marked above by rhomboidal spots more or less dark,
transversely disposed, and sometimes forming bands.
Habit less vigorous than the preceding. Length about
6 feet; 29 rows of scales. S. 344 + 50. Seas of India,
Sunda, and China.

3. Hydrophis nigrocincta. — Very much allied to the

last ; but it has a sixth labial plate very wide, touching
the occipitals, and extending on the region of the temples ;
its head is more narrow and more rounded ; it wants the
small supernumerary plates on the lower lip ; lastly, its
body is surrounded with complete rings of a very dark
colour. S. 306 + 49. 29 Rows of scales. Observed in

the Gulf of Bengal.

a

186

ON THE PHTSIOONOMY OP SEKPENTS.

4. Hydrophis gracilis. — Habit of the last, but of less

size, and of a very attenuated form, especially towards the
neck, which is very slender. Head smaller than in the
other species, and very narrow ; yellowish, with transverse,
lozenge-shaped, black spots. This last colour occupies
all the anterior parts, so that the ground colour only
appears as narrow bands. Head black, a light spot
above the eye. S. 355 -f 50. 27 Rows of scales. Gulf

of Bengal, and Straits of Sunda.

5. Hydrophis Pelamis. — ^Has small hexagonal scales,
disposed as a pavement ; form massive ; head much elon-
gated ; middle line of the abdomen indicated by a suture
formed by the two last rows of scales, of which we reckon
47 in all. S. 350 4- 60. Above blackish-brown ; below
yellow ; tail, and sometimes even the whole body of the
animal, varied by these two tints. This is the most com-
mon species ; it is found in all the latitudes inhabited by
sea-serpents.

6. Hydrophis Pelamoides. — Form much more short
and thick than the last, which it approximates by the
structure of the scales ; but these organs are larger, and
we only find from 25 to 30 rows. Vestiges of abdominal
plates, imbedded in the middle suture of the belly.
Yellowish, with large dorsal spots lozenge- shaped. S.
136 + 27. Gulf of Bengal, and Seas of China, and the
Molucca Islands.

Hydrophis colubrina. — An anomalous species, easily
recognised by the smooth imbricated scales, covered with
a corneous epidermis ; by the lateral nostrils ; by the pre-
sence of 5 occipital plates ; by its abdominal plates, much
larger than usual. 23 Rows of scales. S. 220 + 38.
Dark green, marked with large black rings, obsolete in
the adult. Almost as common as the H. pelamis. In-
habits the same places.

The Third and last Family of Venomous Serpents com-
prehends

The Venomous Serpents properly so called.

They have a physiognomy quite peculiar, with some-
thing hideous in their aspect. We might even say, that

VENOMOUS SERPENTS.

187

their noxious character is expressed in all their parts ; for
they have a clumsy and ungainly form ; a very short tail ;
a large head, very wide at the base and heart-shaped,
all their body is generally rough with lanceolate scales
surrounded by a very strong carina ; their muzzle is
often truncated, or even turned-up : their frenal region, in
several genera, is hollowed out by a wide and deep fossa ;
the upper lip is inflated, and descends as in the bull-dog ;
the opening of the mouth is much arched ; the eyes are
small with a vertical pupil, and buried under a projecting
superciliary plate ; their fangs are extremely large, and
alone occupy the maxillary bone, which is reduced to a
small size, while the external pterygoids form a lever in
the shape of a stylet. This structure determines the
nature of their attacks, which are quite peculiar, inas-
much as they remain quite inactive, until the animals on
which they feed come within their reach ; when they throw
themselves on them, strike them at a single blow with the
fatal wound, which, placing their prey beyond the chance
of escape, makes it fall into their power. The Venomous
Serpents, properly so called, are found in the five great
divisions of the world. Sometimes they inhabit woods,
sometimes plains. We are acquainted with three genera.
The two first have nasal fossas.

TRIOONOCEPHALUS.

This genus has a tail terminated by a horny and conical
tip. They inhabit wooded regions in both worlds ; but
they have not been found in Europe nor in Africa, where
they are replaced by the Vipers, We can distinguish two
divisions in this genus, founded on the nature of the tegu-
ments of the head.

A. Species with the head covered by scales, — They are
especially peculiar to the torrid zone.

1. Trigonocephalus Jararaca. — Form a little more
slender than usual; head longer, covered with scales, a
little larger towards the point of the muzzle, of which the

188

ON THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF SEEPENTS.

borders are garnished with plates ; 9 labial plates. S,
188 + 53. 27 rows of scales, lanceolate, and strongly

carinated. Olive-brown, usually varied by broad bands
or lozenge-shaped spots. Inhabits the forests of Brazil.

2. Trigonocephalus atrox. — Very analogous to the
preceding, which it appears to represent in Guyana ; but it
has 8 labial plates, 4 pairs of geneials, a more conical
muzzle, scales less narrow, and less strongly carinated ;
it has clear tints, verging to greyish purple. S. 194 + 64.

3. Trigonocephalus lanceolatus. — Keplaces the two
preceding in the smaller Antilles, and is much allied to
them, but it has more numerous abdominal plates ; colours
verging to green, or to yellow ; has two pairs of very small
geneial plates, and has 31 rows of still smaller scales.
S. 255 + 64.

4. Trigonocephalus biline atus. — ^Very recognisable

by its thin tail, susceptible of being coiled inwards, by its
very compressed, slender trunk, and by its narrow belly,
by its small scales, and, finally, by its beautiful green co-
lour, passing to reddish brovm on the tail, and relieved by
a ray of lemon-yellow near the abdomen. Above of a
whitish-yellow. S. 280 + 78. 29 rows of scales. Very

rare, in Brazil and in Cayenne.

5. Trigonocephalus nigromarginatus. — A species of
small size, well characterized by its lozenge scales, smooth,
and disposed in 19 rows, larger on the summit of the head,
by 2 broad plates at the tip of the muzzle, by divided su-
perciliary plates, &c. S. 137 + 56. Above dark green,
varied with black spots. Comes from Ceylon.

6. Trigonocephalus Wagleri. — Head very wide and
thick ; muzzle angular at the sides and obliquely trun-
cated downwards ; 5 pairs of very squat geneials ; 25 rows
of scales provided with strong keels, prolonged to a point
under the throat. Above deep green, with transverse yel-
low bands. S. 140 + 48. Inhabits the Island of Su-
matra.

7. Trigonocephalus viridis. — ^Middle sized ; above
uniform green ; below yellow ; two large plates at the tip
of the muzzle, which descends almost perpendicularly ;

VETOMOUS SERPENTS.

180

21 rows of lanceolate, carinated scales. S. 164 + 64.
From India, and also from the Isles of Sumatra, Celebes,
and Timor.

8. Trigonocephalus puniceus. — Very distinguishable
by its eye protected above by a row of small scales, rising
to a point. Head very broad, heart-shaped, and flat on
the summit ; muzzle angular and excavated at the sides, tip
rounded and obliquely truncated. S. 162+54. Hed-
dish-brown, dashed and varied with yellow, with purple,
or with grey ; tail very dark. Country, the Island of
Java.

B. Species which have plates on the top of the head.—

9. Trigonocephalus Bhodostoma.— A very beautiful
species. Form very vigorous ; head heart-shaped, fur-
nished on the summit with 9 plates more than usually de-
veloped ; a very conical muzzle, with a moveable prominent
tip ; scales smooth, lozenge-shaped, and largest on the
middle line of the back, which is keeled ; tail short and
pointed. S. 147 + 55. Beddish brown, more bright on
the back, the sides of which are ornamented with broad,
dark, triangular spots ; summit of the head bordered with
a wide reddish ray ; a black streak behind the eye. Inha-
bits Java.

10. Trigonocephalus Hypnale. — ^From Ceylon and
the Philippines. Size small ; muzzle prolonged into a sa-
lient tumed-up tip ; above covered with scales, to which
succeed the vertical, the superciliary, and the occipital
plates; 19 rows of carinated scales. S. 142 + 40. Co-
lours of the body nearly as in the last.

1 1 . Trigonocephalus Halts. — F orm more slender than
usual ; head elongated, covered with 9 plates, of which the
anterior frontals are very compact ; muzzle short and
rounded ; 27 rows of lanceolate, carinated scales. S. 165
+ 37. Above yellowish grey, with 5 rows of brownish
spots. Observed in Tartary.

12. Trigonocehalus Blomhoffii. — ^Plates on the head
nearly as in the last, but the form of the animal is more
clumsy, and the head larger ; 25 rows of strongly cari-
nated scales. S. 139 + 51. Above olive-brown, with two

190

OIT THE PHYSIOGNOMY OE SEEPENTS.

rows of dark oval spots ; a broad black streak behind the
eye. Japan.

13. Trigonocephalus Cenchris. — From North Ame-
rica. Very distinguishable by its small occipital plates
(which are sometimes entirely wanting), and by the scales
of the occiput, which are roughened into tubercles instead
of keels ; form massive. S. 130 + 43. Body ornamented
above with large bands of coppery brown, which permit
the ground colour to appear as large lozenge-formed spots,
of a greyish colour.

CEO TALUS.

The second genus of the True Venomous Serpents. They
are peculiar to the New World, and prefer inhabiting dry
uncultivated places ; we may say, that they take the place
of the Vipers in both Americas. They have the nasal
fosse like the Trigonocephalus ; but their form is more
robust, their head thicker, their tail armed at its extre-
mity either with a sounding instrument called a rattle^ or
with a hard scale prolonged into a long and sharp point. We
only know four species of this genus, some of which arrive
at a size superior to any other venomous snake.

1. Crotalus horridus. — The great Crotalus of South
America. It has a muzzle covered with 3 or 4 pairs of
plates ; 29 rows of lozenge-formed scales, surmounted with
a sharp carina. S. 145 + 25. Above of a yellowish brown,
variegated on the back by a range of broad lozenge-shaped
spots.

2. Crotalus Durissus. — Keplaces the last in North
America, and is found in Mexico. Very much allied to
the C. horridus ; but it has only 2 pairs of plates on its
muzzle ; the carina on the scales is less developed, the eyes
are smaller, the colours darker, the spots often form bands,
and the tail is black. S. 170 + 22.

3. Crotalus miliarius. — A small species of North
America. Very recognisable by its head, covered on the
top with 9 well developed plates ; 23 rows of scales. S.
131 + 26. Eye large ; colour a reddish grey, varied by
three series of darker spots.

VENOMOUS SERPENTS.

191

4. Crotalus mutus. — Remarkable by its tail armed at
the tip, in place of the rattle^ with a hard and sharp point.
Head covered with scales ; back carinated ; scales sur-
mounted with a keel in the form of a tubercle. Arrives
to the length of 10 feet ; it is the largest of all venomous
serpents. It forms the passage to the Trigonocephalus ;
but its physiognomy is wholly that of a Crotalus. S. 227
+ 49. From South America.

VIPERA.

The third genus comprehends all the True Venomous
Snakes that want the nasal fosse. They usually have the
head and body covered with lanceolate, carinated scales.
Their forms are often very heavy, and their tints of a grey
or tawny brown. They inhabit deserts, or uncultivated
places in the ancient world.

1. ViPERA Arietans. — Of a strong make, and a heavy
and hideous form ; head large, very flat, and with a muzzle
very broad and obtuse ; nostrils vertical, extremely spa-
cious ; head and body covered with lanceolate scales raised
into a strong carina. S. 134 + 27. Above yellowish,
with three rows of spots, often oscillated, 2 pairs of which
are on the occiput. From the Cape, and the Gold Coast.
A local variety, with brighter tints, inhabits Kordofan.

2. ViPERA Apropos. — From the Cape. Size less, and
form less powerful than the V. arietans ; head smaller ;
nostrils less wide, and more lateral ; of a very dark brown,
relieved on the upper parts by 4 rows of ocellated spots.
S. 138 + 23.

3. ViPERA CORNUTA. — Size small ; form extremely
short ; eye protected above by a range of scales prolonged
into a point ; nostrils lateral. Grey-brown, varied with
dark-coloured spots, a central row of which runs down the
back. PI. 124 + 22. From the Cape; very rare.

4. ViPERA Echis. — Eye surrounded with a row of small
scales ; nostrils narrow, near the tip of the snout, which
is furnished with 2 plates on the upper part ; tail short,
furnished with simple scuta. S. 156 + 30. From India ;

192

ON THE PHTSIOONOMY OF SERPENTS.

also found in Northern Africa. Greyish or yellowish
brown, has rays and ocellated spots on the upper parts.

5. ViPERA Cerastes. — Conspicuous by its very broad
heart-shaped head ; by its short, obtuse, and rounded
muzzle ; by the nostrils very narrow, vertical, and placed
at the tip of the snout ; by its scales, surmounted by a keel,
in the form of a tubercle ; by its pale tints, greyish or earth-
coloured ; and, lastly, by the development of the super-
ciliary scales, one of which is often converted into a point
of considerable length. S. 134 + 29. Inhabits the deserts
of Northern Africa.

6. ViPERA ELEOANS. — Form more than usually slen-
der ; eye protected by a superciliary plate ; nostrils very
open, lateral ; muzzle narrow, drawn out, and angular
at the sides; of large size. S. 168 + 52. Comes from
India and Ceylon. Bright yellowish-brown, with 3 rows
of oval spots, bordered with black, and white on the lower
parts.

7. ViPERA Berus. — The Common Viper of the north
and centre of Europe, is also disseminated over a great part
of Asia. Middle size ; top of head invested with plates,
among which we distinguish a vertical, superciliaries and
two occipitals ; muzzle rounded, and angular at the sides ;
nostrils wholly lateral. S. 145 + 35. Varies from brown
and grey, to black and red ; a broad zig-zag ray along the
back. The males have the brightest tints.

8. ViPERA Aspis. — Takes the place of the last, which
it nearly approaches, in the south-east of Europe, and is
also found in Sicily. Form rather more slender; head
larger, covered above with scales of an irregular form ;
muzzle a little turned up ; body with several rows of spots.
Varies like the last. S. 152 + 42.

9. ViPERA Ammodytes. — Nearly allied to the two last
by habit and physiognomy ; but it has a thicker shape, a
muzzle prolonged in a point directed upwards, the summit
of the head very irregularly covered with scales and small
plates. S. 150 + 34. System of colours nearly as in the
Common Viper, but it often has the tail reddish. Inha-
bits the south-east of Europe, from Sicily and Dalmatia
to Greece.

VENOMOUS SERPENTS.

193

10. ViPERA ACANTOPHis. — All aiiomalous species of
New Holland ; has a massive form ; a slender tail ter-
minated by a hard point ; has the top of the head covered
by 9 plates ; has superciliary plates, usually elevated and
inclined towards the summit of the head. It has 21 rows
of carinated scales. S. 115-i-40. Brownish-grey, varie-
gated and dashed with black.

E

( 196 )

ESSAY

ON THE

GEOGRAPHICAL HISTRIBUTIOH

OP

OPHIDIANS.

In proposing to give, in the following pages, a sketch of
the distribution of Serpents on the surface of the globe, I
consider it necessary to enter into numerous details, with
which I might have dispensed, if this part of the science
had been previously cultivated, or if any one had al-
ready laid the foundations. I have occupied myself with
considerable zeal in this study, which merits an espe-
cial attention — not merely because it regards the animals
of which I treat in my work, but because it ought to
lead, in my opinion, to results much more satisfactory than
the study of the geographical distribution of the animals
in the other classes of the Animal Kingdom, or even of
Vegetables. The reasons in favour of this proposition
are obvious. A thousand different agents contribute to
disperse different species of plants over the surface of the
globe ; the seeds of plants are carried by the winds and
the waves ; man perpetually transplants a great number

196

ON THE GEOOEAPHICAL

of vegetables from one country to another ; and, by cul-
tivation, he has so changed the face of nature which sur-
rounds him, that the surface of the earth has, in some
measure, lost its primeval features, and vegetation, at
least, has experienced great modifications. Most animals
have the means of spreading themselves on the surface of
the globe. The element which saw their birth, offers no
limits to marine animals. Certain mammals extend, con-
stantly, the sphere of their habitation, and spread them-
selves by degrees over many parts of the world. Other
species accompany man in his peregrinations, even beyond
seas, dispersing themselves in diverse regions, either when
transplanted by man himself, or when, recovering their
liberty, they form, as it were, colonies far from their
mother country, where it sometimes happens that their
race is totally destroyed, or that all the individuals have
passed to the domestic state. Birds enjoy more than other
animals the faculty of moving from one place to another ;
the element in which they move nowhere presenting obsta-
cles to them, a large part of the inhabitants of the air lead
a real nomade life, and often establish themselves in places
where they were never seen before ; a great number dis-
perse themselves, in their periodic migrations, into coun-
tries the most distant, and become true cosmopolites ; the
same species inhabiting, at the same time, all parts of the
earth. It is far otherwise with Hep tiles. None of the
circumstances we have mentioned can be rigorously ap-
plied to these animals. Deprived, for the most part, of
the means of performing distant journies, they are, in
some measure, attached to the soil which gave them birth ;
and we do not recognise in them any instinct to flee the
natal soil, when certain circumstances would seem to de-
mand it. The cold which deprives them of the means of
subsistence, causes them at the same time to fall into a
profound lethargy ; and Nature, in this simple manner,
cratches over their preservation during the winter. Man
entertains an aversion for these animals, some of which
are noxious, it is true, but many of them are innocuous,
and even useful ; he repels them all, and seeks not to
tame them ; still less is he inclined to transplant them.

DISTKIBUTIOif OF OPHIBIAK-S.

197

without a motive, from one place to another. It is true that
there exist certain reptiles which form exceptions to what
we have stated. Several species of Tortoises are dispersed
over various parts of the globe the Scincks and the Geckos
are perhaps carried in ships from one region to another ;
the Sea Tortoises undertake voyages at certain periods
of the year, and are knov/n upon coasts which their race
never inhabit ; Crocodiles-f- and Boas J have been some-
times carried by currents far from their native regions ;
but these examples are very few in comparison of what we
observe in mammals and in birds, and merely form excep-
tions, as regards serpents, § to what we shall state in the
following pages. It is evident, after what we have said,
that the geographic distribution of Ophidians should pos-
sess an interest altogether peculiar in this, that it presents
the most certain means of knowing the relations which
exist between the animals and the places they inhabit.
This study will contribute to clear up the grand and im-
portant questions on the Foci of creation, and the immu-
tability of species. In reposing on the facts which it pre-
sents to us, we shall more readily arrive at an idea of the
face of Nature, such as she was in the primeval state,
before the art of man had transformed the surface of the
earth, before he had driven from their habitations a great
number of animals, either destroying them totally, or reduc-
ing them to a state of domesticity, and changing or modify-
ing their nature, by altering that of the places they inhabit.
We cannot at all apply this to reptiles in general, and still

* The Indian Tortoise, probably originally from Madagascar and
the neighbouring isles, has been acclimated in the Galapagos Isles, in
California, and in several other points on the western coasts of »South
America.

t Lesson (Voy, de la Coquille Zoologie, ii. 2, chap. 9, p. 10) quotes
two facts, drawn from Mariner and Kotzebue, which create the sus-
picion of the presence of a large Crocodile in the isles of Pelew and
Fidschi, where those animals do not ordinarily dwell.

t Guilding (^Zoolog, Journ.^ iii. p. 403) relates a fact of this nature :
a Boa, entwined around a tree, having been driven from the adjacent
coasts of America, and thrown on the shores of St Vincent.

§ The Hydrophis, for example, have their native region always cir-
cumscribed within the same limits ; although all these Ophidians inhabit
the sea.

198,

Oisr THE HEOaEAPHICAL

less to serpents. The places of their habitation are forests,
marshes, or even deserts, and these places have never
perceived the influence of cultivation. Not multiplying,
except rarely, so as to incommode man, and seeking to
withdraw themselves from pursuit, by retiring to the un-
cultivated places which serve for their retreat, the war
which is made on them is usually only directed against
individuals ; hence, the number of species, as well as of
individuals, ought to remain almost at the point fixed by
the general law of Nature from the beginning ; and this is
one of the facts which it is essential to establish in physi-
cal geography. Now, supposing that the animals of which
we speak live still in the same places originally assigned
to them ; that they still live in the same climate, and
under the same conditions, it is evident that they cannot
have been subject to any change in the course of ages : they
present, then, more than any other living creatures, bases
to ascertain with precision what should be understood by
species, by constant varieties, or by varieties produced by
local causes, or by climate. The remarks which I throw
out will suffice to shew hovr important is the study of the
geographical distribution of reptiles, especially of Ophi-
dians, and the influence which this study ought to exer-
cise on that of the geographical distribution of animals in
general, on zoology, on geology, and on physical geogra-
phy.

The geographic distribution of serpents is subject to
nearly the same laws as that of other reptile!^; flmf is to
say, their number augments considerably towards the
torrid zone, while they are but rare in cold regions. It
even appears that serpents do not advance as far north-
wards as lizards and batrachians, which are probably
among the number of the most widely distributed reptiles.^
The geographic distribution of serpents, viewed in relation
to different parts of the world, -j- presents some interesting

^ [The Translator has seen both frogs and toads in the Orkney Islands,
but he never heard an instance of a serpent or a lizard being found in
that group of islands, nor yet in Zetland.]

t I have given above, p. 92, some observations on the nature of the
.places which serpents inhabit ; but as we do not possess any exact notices

DISTRIBUTIOK OF OPHIDIANS.

199

matters for observation. One of the most curious is, with-
out doubt, the total absence of serpents in the numerous
isles of the Pacific Ocean, ^ — a phenomenon the more re-
markable, that the islands forming the Great Indian
Archipelago appertain to those regions of the earth most
abounding in serpents. Another point no less interesting
to know is, that the serpents, and all the reptiles of the
New World, constantly belong to species different from
those of the ancient world, ^ — a proved and very curious
fact"; because a great many birds, and several mammals, of
North America, are precisely the same as those of Europe,
as also of a great part of Asia ; and because several of
our reptiles are found all over temperate Asia, even in
Japan, often without presenting the slightest difference.
South America, in general, produces different species from
North America, although several of them are perfectly
identical in those two great regions. Some species of the
first region also inhabit the Antilles, and are even found
in the southern countries of the United States, where they
sometimes form climatal varieties ; other species, common
in North America, are found in Mexico, and are often met
with also in the Antilles. America, in general, especially
in its equatorial regions, is almost as rich in serpents as
Malayan Asia. It is not thus with New Holland, which
seems to be inhabited by only a small number of Ophi-
dians ; forming, perhaps with the exception of some few
in the northern parts, species peculiar to that vast island.
The serpents of Japan pertain, without exception, to pe-
culiar species which have not yet been observed in any
other spot on the globe. The numerous Isles of the
Archipelago of Malayan Asia often support species en-

on the perpendicular distribution, that is to say, with regard to the
heights at which they are found, I here omit to speak of it.

^ Lesson {Voyage Zool., ii. 2, p. 9) relates some observations which
tend to confirm the presence of serpents in the isles of Botouma at
Oualan ; but these observations want confirmation. The Mariannes,
however, support several snakes; and Dampier, Voy, i. p. 113, speaks
of green serpents in the Galapagos Isles. I need not refute the hypo-
thesis advanced by Q,uoy and Gaimard {Voy. de VJJranie Part. Zoolog, ,
p. Ill), that these animals do not inhabit those isles and similar places,
because of their volcanic nature.

t It may be conceived that I except from this number Sea Tortoises.

200

ON THE GEOOKAPHICAL

tirely similar, and often also absolutely identical with
those of Malacca, of Bengal, of India, and even of Cey-
lon. Sometimes, however, the species in those different
places present differences more or less marked, and give
rise to the establishment of local varieties. To judge
from the small number of its productions known to us,
the great Island of Madagascar would appear to have a
Fauna of its own. Africa is not rich in Ophidians. The
southern part of that vast peninsula produces species dif-
ferent from those of Europe, or of other parts of the earth ;
and those same species are often found dispersed over
intertropical Africa, and even extending to the northern
parts of that continent ; but besides a few peculiar species,
those last countries produce several others, which inhabit,
at the same time, almost all the countries bordering on the
Mediterranean, even Syria, and consequently a great part of
Europe. Most of the serpents of this last continent, finally,
are spread over a great part of temperate Asia,— a region
which appears to produce but a small number of peculiar
species.

The geographic distribution of genera or of families,
viewed as representing the different principal forms, is not
a less curious study, than that of the species. We see at
once that the venomous snakes are distributed, perhaps,
with the exception of some islands, in every country in-
habited by snakes in general. These dangerous reptiles ap-
pear not to dread cold, for they are found often as far to
the north as the innocuous species. But their number is
much more limited than that of the latter ; for if we
reckon the number of all known Ophidians at 263, 57 of
these are venomous,^ which makes the proportion of the
venomous to the innocuous as 1 to 5. We shall see,
however, afterwards, that this proportion is not the same
in all countries of the globe, and that the number of
venomous serpents, at least that of individuals, appears
to be more considerable in naked and steril countries,

^ We should also remark, that seven species of venomous snakes ex-
clusively inhabit the ocean, where non-venomous serpents are never
seen.

DISTRIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

201

where that of innocuous snakes seems to diminish. Africa
and New Holland furnish examples of this : in the former
continent the species of known innocuous serpents are in
the ratio of two or three to one, whilst it is almost the re-
verse in New Holland, where, of the ten known species of
snakes, there are seven venomous. As to the number
of individuals, it is much more limited in the venomous
serpents, these last, with the exception of the Sea-Snakes,
almost always living solitary, and not multiplying ever
to the point of becoming abundant, except by a concurrence
of very favourable circumstances ; as has happened in the
sugar colonies of France, in regard to the Trigonocephaliis
lanceolatus, or in Dalmatia, in regard to the Vipera am-
modytes. Venomous serpents, then, belong generally to
the rare class, and they are perhaps much more rare than
is usually conceived ; either because the number of indi-
viduals is often very circumscribed, or because, thanks to
their habits, they more readily escape the observation
of mankind.^ Excepting the anomalous species which
compose the family of Tortrix, there exists not one
species of serpent, which is at the same time spread
over all parts of the globe inhabited by reptiles ; and
this curious fact will serve to demonstrate how intimate
is the relation subsisting between the organization of
beings and the nature of the places they inhabit. The
True Colubri, for example, which are destined to inhabit
countries woody or marshy, but covered with an abundant
vegetation, have not yet been found in New Holland, and
are so rare in Southern Africa, that only a single species
is known, which departs, moreover, in several points in its
structure, from other Colubri, inasmuch as it approaches
to those serpents that prefer to inhabit desert or sandy
countries. We may apply almost the same observations
to the genus Coronella — serpents which inhabit marshy

^ The numerous packages which are continually addressed to the
museums of different countries, might furnish a scale of comparison,
to ascertain the relative number of individuals of the two great tribes
of serpents : the researches which I have made on this head, have proved
to me that, at an average, the number of individual venomous serpents
is to that of individual innocuous serpents as one to twenty.

202

0?r THE aEOGRAPHICAL

plains or close brakes, of which no species exists in New
Holland, while those of Southern Africa depart from the
typical species. The Tree- Serpents are more especially
peculiar to equatorial countries ; but, as they inhabit vast
forests, or -well wooded countries, they are not found in
countries where those necessary conditions of their exist-
ence are not met with. This is probably the reason why
these serpents have not been observed in the greatest part
of Nevf Holland, and that Southern Africa supports but
a single species of this family, anomalous besides, and ap-
proaching to the genus Coluber. The three genera which
compose this family of tree-serpents, are found in both
worlds ; but it is remarkable, that the Dipsas of America
never arrives at that great size which is observed in most
of the Indian species, and that the Dryiophis of both
Americas form a true geographical division in this, that
they have the dentary system and the muzzle less de-
veloped, and that the pupil of the eye is orbicular. The
fresh-water serpents which are comprehended in the two
genera, Tropidonotus andHoMALOPSis, are found in abun-
dance in countries rich in lakes, or watered by numerous
rivers. Hence it is that these animals are common in
Asia, in America, and even in Europe, that they are pro-
bably not met with at all in New Holland, and that they
are scarce in Africa ; for there exists but a single species
of Tropidonotiis in the southern parts of that vast conti-
nent, and even this species presents an organization
wholly anomalous. The Homalopsis even, which are pre-
eminently fresh-water snakes, and essentially aquatic, and
which belong to warm countries, have not been observed
in New Holland, nor in Africa, whilst they abound in both
Americas ; they even replace, in South America, the Tro-
pidonotus, which has not yet been discovered in that vast
peninsula. The geographic distribution of the genus Boa
presents us with several facts worthy of notice. They are
also serpents peculiar to hot climates. The true Boas are
only found in South America ; they are replaced in the
old world by Pythons ; but we find in the Indies several
serpents very analogous to the Boa, but of very small
size, and of which there does not exist in the w^hole west-

DISTRIBUTION OR SERPENTS.

203

ern hemisphere hut a single representative in the island of
Cuba. The Acrochordus is wholly peculiar to the East
Indies. Among venomous serpents, it is only the Vipers,
and perhaps some of the genus Crotalus, that advance to
the north, as far as temperate or cold climates. The other
genera appear most particularly destined to inhabit inter-
tropical countries. Of the colubriform venomous snakes,
the genus Elaps is the only one which is found in the two
worlds ; and yet the Elaps of America forms a small geo-
graphic group, distinguished by the system of colouring,
and by some petty details in form ; those of India are
longitudinally streaked or rayed, instead of being annula-
ted with red and black ; those of New Holland may be con-
sidered as forming anomalous species. The Bungari are
peculiar to the East Indies, where are also found theNAJAS,
though the greater number of the latter appear to prefer
to live in arid or sandy plains, which explains why they
predominate in Africa and New Holland. We are yet
unable to explain the phenomenon that Sea Serpents are
exclusively found in the Indian seas, from Malabar to the
Great Pacific Ocean. Lastly, it remains to offer some
curious observations on the distribution of Venomous
Serpents properly so called. Of the genera of which
this family is composed, one, the Vipera, is peculiar to
the ancient world, whilst the Crotalus is only found in the
two Americas, where it replaces the former ; but the Tri-
gonocephalus is found in either world. These last rep-
tiles, which inhabit wooded countries and vast forests,
have been observed, for that reason, neither in Africa
nor in New Holland, where they are replaced by the
Viper ; but it must be remarked, that the Viper of New
Holland forms an anomalous species, while those which
inhabit Europe differ equally from the typical species, and
approach the Trigonocephalus. We may establish in this
genus two divisions, one of which comprehends the species
with a head covered by scales, that more especially in-
habits tropical countries, while those which have the head
defended by plates are found in temperate regions.

Having given, in the preceding pages, a general sketch

204

ON THE GEOOEAPHICAL

of tlie Geographical Distribntion of Ophidians, we now
propose to treat more particularly of each region of the
earth known to be inhabited by these animals.

In commencing with Europe, we perceive that this part of
the globe supports neither Calamars, nor Heterodons, nor
Lycodons ; that the true Tree- Snakes are not found in it,
nor even the Herpetodryas ; that it furnishes neither the
Homalopsis nor the Boa; that the Colubriform Venomous
Serpents and Sea-Serpents are never there met with ; lastly,
that the true V enomous Snakes have no other representa-
tives than several species of the genus Vipera. There is
not one species peculiar to the central, or northern parts
of Europe,' — almost all being equally found in the South of
Europe, a region which produces several species that also
inhabit the adjacent parts of Africa or of Asia. Yfe can,
however, assign limits to some of the species, which affords
room for some curious speculations. The common Viper,
Vipera herus^ for example, inhabits all the central part of
Europe, and appears also distributed in temperate parts of
Asia, even to the Lake of Baikal ; it is also found in Eng-
land^ and Sweden ; but towards the West, it is not found
beyond the Seine, while the Alps appear to form the boun-
dary of this species'!* on the South. In the southern
and western parts of Europe it is replaced by the Vipera
Aspis, the Aspic, which is found from Trieste throughout
Italy and Sicily, in Switzerland, and in the whole of
France, from the Seine to the Pyrenees, and probably
also in the Iberian peninsula. J The southern parts of
the east of Europe produce, on the other hand, a third
species of this genus, the Vi'pera ammodytes, which is found
from Styria to the south of Hungary, in Greece, in Dalmatia,

[It is very common in Scotland. The Translator has specimens
killed in Dumfriesshire, in Peebles-shire, and in Ross-shire.]

t It is said that it has been also met with in the valley of the Po,
near Florence, but in very small number.

t [The Translator saw, in the apothecary shops in Madrid, and
other cities in Spain, many specimens of the Vipera Aspis, of a yellow-
ish olive-brown colour, with detached spots along the back, a slender
body, and large head. He noted it at the time as “a variety of the
common Viper none like our Vipera berus were observed by him in
Spain.]

DISTRIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

205

in Sicily, and probably also in Calabria. This distribu-
tion of species would appear to be modified by the nature
of the soil which they inhabit : the first, in general, pre-
ferring heaths, marshy and wooded places ; the second a
dry and arid soil ; the third, rocky regions. We have
not observed varieties of these serpents produced either by
locality or climate ; but it is not so with several other
snakes of Europe, which are spread over almost the whole
extent of that continent. We may cite, as examples, the
Coronella Isevis and the Tropidonotus natrix, and T.
viperinus. These species, the two former of which inhabit
almost all northern and central Europe, and the last as
far as the 50° N. Lat., are equally found in the south of
Europe, where they often form, besides a great number of
accidental, several local varieties. In Spain, for instance,
the Tropidonotus viperinus has the back longitudinally
rayed ; the same occurs in the Tropidonotus natrix of
the Island of Sardinia ; and specimens of this snake killed
in Sicily present also other slight differences ; the Coronella
laBvis also forms ^ in Italy a local or climatal variety, and
a variety with more clear tints, which is found in the en-
virons of Marseilles, and which replaces our Coronella in
the south of Europe. The Coluber ^sculapii, which in-
habits the south of Germany, is found in Dalmatia, in
Italy, and as far as Provence. The Coluber viridiflavus
has been found in all the south of Europe and of Greece,
in Hungary, in Dalmatia, in Italy, in Sicily, in Sardinia,
and even in France and Switzerland. The Coluber hip-
pocrepis inhabits Spain and Sardinia, while the Coluber
leopardiniis is found in Sicily, Dalmatia, and Greece ; but
as far as I know, neither of the two species has been seen
in Italy. The Psammophis lacertina, common in Dalma-
tia, in Spain, and in other countries on the shores of the
Mediterranean, has not been found either in Italy, or in
any of the adjacent islands. The southern countries of
Europe produce several other species of serpents, wrhich

^ I can confidently state that the character of the pretended Coluber
Riccioli, drawn from the undivided nasal plate, is purely accidental ;
as one may be convinced by examining the series of specimens of that
Coronella preserved in our museum.

206

OJr THE aEOaRAPHICAL

do not seem to inhalbit a great extent of territory ; sncli
is the Xenodon Michaelis of Spain, the Psammophis
Dahlii of Dalmatia, which is also found in Greece, and
which approaches, by its slender form, to the tree-snakes ;
the Dipsas fallax of the same countries, which should be
considered as an anomalous species of the genus ; lastly,
the Tortrix eryx, which only occurs in Greece, and of
which the deserts of Africa and of Asia are the true na-
tive regions. In comparing the observations which the
other animals of Europe furnish, with those which we
have announced on the reptiles of this part of the world,
we may deduce some analogies. We see that the animals
of the northern regions are often replaced in the centre
of Europe by others which form local varieties, or some-
times even races ; and the comparison of the animals of
central Europe, with those of its southern regions, often
presents similar results. We may cite numerous facts
to support this opinion ; and I shall state a few. Our
Haven is replaced in the Feroe Isles, by a variety with
a mixture of black and white feathers. The Hooded
Crow, and the Black Crow, are two races of the same
genus which represent each other mutually ; the first be-
longs to the northern parts of Europe. It is well known
that the same thing holds vfith respect to the Sturnus
volgaris, and S. unicolor ; the last of which, more espe-
cially, inhabits the south of Europe. Our Emberiza
schoeniculus is replaced, in Dalmatia and in Italy, by the
Emberiza palustris, which has ordinarily a much stronger
bill ; but its existence as a distinct species cannot be
proved, because we often find individuals exactly inter-
mediate between the two races. Everybody knows the
local races which our Sparrow produces among the Alps

^ We must uot imagine that each of these races is, in relation to the
place of habitation, perfectly separated from the race which it replaces ;
very often they mingle in their migrations, or live in the same places,
disappearing insensibly as their representatives increase ; it happens,
also, that individuals of the two races propagate together, as happens
with the Corvus cornix and C. corone — a fact which I have ascer-
tained by numerous observations, made in the neighbourhood of Dres-
den. Consult, on these questions, the excellent vforks of M. Gloger of
Breslau.

DISTKIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

207

and Pyrenees, or in Southern Africa. The geographic
distribution furnishes numerous facts for illustrating our
position. It is well known that there exist, in different
parts of Europe, and of the north in general, Lynxes
differing more or less from each other, which seem dis-
tinct races, produced by the influence of climate on the
fur.^ The Fox of the north t is of a stronger make, and
has a thicker fur, than that of the south of Europe : in
Italy it remains very small, and has a black belly (Canis
melanogaster, Bon.) The Stoat (Mustela erminea) of
Sardinia and of Sicily, J differs a little in tint from indi-
viduals found in the rest of Europe. The Bat (Mus de-
cumanus) is replaced in the south of Italy by a race
somewhat different : it is the Mus tectorum of the
Prince of Musignano. Another very curious animal,
which in many places represents our Mole, is the Blind
Mole (Talpa Typhlops). It is known that the Chamois of
the Alps presents slight differences from that of the Py-
renees ; it would be interesting to know, if it also holds
of the Bouquetins (Capra ibex) of those two chains of
mountains. Bep tiles, in like manner, present many ex-
amples of these local differences : our aquatic Salaman-
ders frequently exhibit in the south more vivid colours
than in the west of Europe ; while the common Toads of
Italy have more uniform colours than usual, and the body
is rough with spines. Slight differences exist between
the Greek Tortoise of Italy, of Greece, of Syria, and of
the north of Africa. The common Frog often has, in
Sardinia, the body covered with large obsolete spots : in

The same thing is remarked in the Tigers of the north of Asia,
compared to those of Bengal, or even of Sumatra and Java ; similar
phenomena are remarked in certain plants with smooth leaves, which,
carried into a cold climate, become clothed with hairs, to defend them
from the cold.

t Japan, situated under the same parallel as the south of Europe,
produces Foxes of a strong make, and of a beautiful fur, but much re-
sembling our European Fox ; of which a fine variety is also known in
the north of America (Canis argentatus, Geoff).

I Species have been created on a pretended difference in the num-
ber of the grinders — an observation which it is scarcely necessary to
refute.

208

ON THE OEOaEAPHICAL

Greece our Slow-worm has the body sprinkled with dark
points, and is then the Anguis punctatissima of Bibron.
Finally, I could cite a great number of analogous facts
drawn from the class of Insects ; but this would lead me
into an abyss, through which I might never be able to see
my way.

The study of the geographic distribution of animals in
Africa offers a number of facts extremely curious, and of
the highest importance to physical geography, and even to
descriptive zoology. There is not, perhaps, a country on
the earth which furnishes such striking proofs of the re-
lations which subsist between animals and the places they
inhabit. In studying, then, the constitution of that great
continent, we may, in some degree, divine the nature of its
productions. The predominant feature of Africa is the
presence of vast arid plains ; whether they form true
deserts of sand, or present them under the aspect of ter-
raced table lands, elevated sometimes to a height of several
thousand feet above the level of the sea, and decked with
vegetation only during a short period of the year. A soil
of that nature, perpetually scorched by rays of a vertical
sun, is ill adapted to furnish vapour, which, condensing in
the atmosphere, may again fall in rain, snow, or hail, to fer-
tilize the earth. These conditions, and the absence of lofty
mountains in that part of Africa, modify the nature of its
fresh waters, or of its streams in general. Hence, the
rivers of that continent are in all respects inferior to those
, of other continents ; they but rarely form the grand ac-
cumulations of fresh water, which are so favourable to the
formation of vapours ; their banks are not usually covered
by that luxuriant vegetation which attracts such multi-
tudes of all classes of animals ; those rivers, swollen in
the rainy season, during a short period, by the sudden in-
crease of their waters, retire after this period within their
beds, where they are sometimes so much reduced as
scarcely to merit the name of a stream or a river. It re-
sults from what we have said, that Africa, being neither
watered by large rivers, nor covered with an abundant ve-
getation, being denuded of great forests, ought to support
but a small number of those animals that inhabit fresh

DISTEIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

209

waters or woods ; while the animals intended especially to
inhabit plains should be there found in abundance ; and
these views are confirmed by experience. We see in
Africa, instead of deer, many species of antelopes, wan-
dering in vast herds in open regions. Squirrels are there
found in small numbers, and the species which are there
met with generally depart from the true squirrels by their
terrestrial habits. The great number of the Rodentia that
people that continent almost all belong to terrestrial spe-
cies ; many of them even live in open countries, and, being
unprovided with means of defence. Nature has attended to
their preservation, by developing their organs of locomo-
tion, so as to make them true leapers ; and it is in this
manner that these animals possess the faculty of escaping,
by a sudden flight from the pursuit of their enemies. We
observe the same fact in certain mammifera of the insecti-
vorous order. — The Eeptiles of that part of the world af-
ford still more striking examples of what we assert.
Africa alone supports a greater number of land tortoises
than all other parts of the world put together ; but the
fresh- water tortoises are in such small numbers, that we
only know a single species of Emys, and possibly one or two
species of the genus Trionyx. Another observation worthy
of notice, is the small number of Batrachians proper to this
continent. There exist but a few toads, some species of
Bombinator, as many of the frog, and one or two species
of tree-frogs (Hyla.) The same fact presents itself as re-
gards tree and aquatic serpents. The Dryiophis and the
Homalopsis are entirely wanting ; and there exists only
two species of the genus Dipsas, two of the Dendrophis,
and one or two of the Tropidonotus. The most striking
example, however, is the almost total absence of fish in the
fresh waters of Southern Africa. — But the general ob-
servations which we have made on the physical constitu-
tion of Africa cannot be applied to every country of that
part of the world. At the point of greatest breadth in
that continent, the great plateau which occupies all the
southern part, descends rapidly towards the desert plains
of the north, and is prolonged, on one side, beyond the
Quorra, in Upper Soudan ; whilst the terraces of that same

s

210

ON' THE OEOaKAPHICAL

plateau surround, on the other side, the Alps of Abyssinia.
It is from those lofty mountains, or, from the northern
slope of the grand plateau of Africa in general, that the
largest rivers of that continent arise ; it is at the foot of
these mountains or terraces, where those wooded marshes
called kulla are formed, which surround, in the centre of
Africa, that grand basin of fresh waters which may be com-
pared to an interior sea. Presenting a more fertile soil,
the regions now under consideration are covered with a
more abundant vegetation than the rest of Africa; and
there the soil, and the rivers by which it is fertilized sup-
port a greater variety of animals, often belonging to very
different genera. This diversity in the physical constitu-
tion of different regions of Africa must necessarily exercise
a considerable influence on the geographical distribution
of the animals which dwell therein. The animals which
are more especially intended to inhabit the elevated plains
of the southern part of that continent, are often found on
every point of the grand plateau which combines the con-
ditions necessary to their existence. This is the reason
why many of the animals of the Cape of Good Hope have
been observed on the coast of Guinea, and even as far as
Abyssinia. Sometimes these animals are found to be
exactly the same, in regions very distant from each other ;
at other times they present in one or other situation, minute
differences, which are often nothing more than slight
variations in the shades and vivacity of their tints, or per-
haps only in their distribution ; sometimes it happens that
these animals constantly differ, and in such an essential a
manner, as to justify the elevation of those different repre-
sentatives to the I’ank of species. On the other hand, we
observe a certain identity between many of the animals of
Abyssinia and of the Senegambia : those two regions very
often support the same species, the representatives of the
same animal forming sometimes local varieties, at other
times distinct species. The productions of those countries
shew sometimes an affinity with those of intertropical Asia ;
and we there even find several species of animals which
are also found in some parts of Asia, and even in Malayan
Asia, This identity is more remarkable still between the

BISTKIBUTIOK OF OMIBIAKS.

211

animals wliicli inhabit the countries situated to the north
of the grand plateau of Africa, and those which inhabit
Western Asia as far as Hindustan. It is true, that in
both continents these animals choose as their abode deserts
which appear to be continuous. The regions of Africa,
indeed, that border on the Mediterranean, support some
animals which are natives of all the coast of that sea, and
which, consequently, are found also in some parts of Europe.
Before commencing a detail of the geographical distribu-
tion of African serpents, I may be permitted to strengthen
my remarks, by citing several curious facts drawn from
the distribution of other animals inhabiting that continent.
The number of animals scattered over the surface of
Africa, without exhibiting local differences, appears to be
rather limited, and these animals belong to species of great
size, such as the elephant, the giraffe, the hippopotamus,
the common crocodile, the lion, &c. Among the animals
common to most parts of the grand African plateau, a
great number of ruminants are chiefly distinguishable ;
such, for example, are the Cape Buffalo, of which
M. BiippELL brought home the spoils from Abyssinia; the
Antilope strepsiceros, which inhabits the Cape, Abyssinia,
and the coast of Guinea ; the Antilope equina of Senegal,
probably identical with the Ant. leucophoea of the Cape ;
the Antilope oreotragus, which is found at the Cape, in
Ashantee, and in Abyssinia ; the Ant. pygarga (of which
the young is Ant. personata), which is found at the Cape,
and on the Gold Coast, &c. Many other animals are
equally found in lands very distant from each other ; as,
for example, the Phascochoerus communis, which is the
same at the Cape and at Senegal ; the Sciurus setosus is
equally proper to those two regions ; as are also Myoxus
murinus, Canis pictus, Gulo mellivorus (the Batel), the
Geometric Tortoise, and others. A no less considerable
number of animals, on the other hand, present, in those
different African localities, local varieties sometimes very
curious. Thus, we find the Cape Jackal, Canis mesomelas,
replaced in the northern parts of Africa, by a variety with
bright tints, without the black on the back (Canis varie-
gatus et Anthus?) of the Frankfort Museum ; the Hyrax

212

ON THE aEOOEAPHICAL

and Zorilla of the Cape do not differ from those of the
north of Africa, but by deeper colours ; the Genette of
the Cape (Viverra Genetta et Felina^) inhabits also Spain;
but it is replaced in Senegal and Abyssinia, by a local va-
riety remarkable for its very pale hue (Viverra Senegalen-
sis) ; the Ichneumon of Egypt (Herpestes Ichneumon) is
replaced at the southern extremity of Africa by a local va-
riety with a darker fur (Herpestes Cafer et Griseus) ; the
same is the case with Ichneumon versicolor of Abyssinia,
which has tints less clear than at the Cape of Good Hope.
The Antilope mergens of the Cape is represented in Sene-
gambia by Ant. grimmea, and in Abyssinia by Ant. Ma-
daqua (Rupp. Neue Wirbelth.^ p. 7, fig. 1) ; the Antilope
oreotragus or Lalandei of the Cape, by the Ant. redunca
of Senegal and Abyssinia ; the Ourilibi (Antil. montana)
of Abyssinia shews slight differences from the Antelope of
the Cape (Antil. scoparia), and is the same as the Oryx of the
former country (Ant. Beisa, Rupp.), which forms a race
distinguished by a different disposition of colours from that
of Ashantee and of the Cape. It sometimes even happens,
that there exist, in each region of which I am treating,
races representing the same species as the Antilops sylva-
tica, scripta, and decula, which are mutually represented
at the Cape, at Senegal, and in Abyssinia ; as the Ant.
Mhorr of Barbary, there replaces Ant. Hama, of which the
real country is Kordofan, Nubia, &c. Other animals, in
fine, vary in these diverse places, in a manner so peculiar as
perhaps to merit elevation to the rank of species :f such,
for example, are the Phascochoerus ^liani, which represents
in Abyssinia the Phasco. communis of the Coast of Guinea
and the Cape ; also the Sciurus rutilans, the representa-
tive in Eastern Africa of the Sciurus setosus of the Cape
and Senegal, and several others. Facts analogous to these
we have given are remarked in the classes of Birds and of
Reptiles ; but fearing to give too great an extent to my
work, I shall confine myself in what follows to the classes of

^ The difference between these two mammifera is reduced to a shade
in their colour, which appears to me purely periodic.

t The Hyaena villosa of the Cape differs not from H. striata, except
in its long and tufted fur, and its deeper colours.

DISTEIBUTIOK OF OPHIDIAI^-S.

213

Mammals and of Keptiles, which, besides, are more adapted
to furnish convincing proofs. The Monitor exanthemati-
cus, and M. niloticus of Egypt and Senegal, are replaced
at the Cape by local varieties, with colours more deep, and
a pattern more marked ; they are then the Tupinambis
albogularis of Daudijv, and the Lacerta capensis of Spar-
man.* The Vipera arietans of the Cape has paler tints
than that of Nubia or Abyssinia ; the same holds good
with the Toad of the Cape (Bufo pantherinus, Boie), which
there replaces the Bufo Arabicus of Egypt, with a less
agreeable system of colouring ; the Naja Haje of Egypt is
represented at the Cape by the Naja nivea ; and there is
found at the Cape a variety of the Agile Lizard (Lacerta
pardalis), which is a native of France and Spain. Certain
Tortoises afford extremely curious examples of the influ-
ence of climate f on animals, or of the differences which are
often presented, in different countries, by species which are
modelled on a single type. The great Land Tortoise of
the Cape (Testudo pardalis, Bell) has also been brought
from Senegal and Abyssinia ; but, instead of having its
shield ornamented with a beautiful design in black and
yellow, this part is of an uniform yelloAvish-grey, a tint
which pervades all the rest of the body ; in fine, all the
appendages of the skin have acquired, under the influence
of so genial a climate, a stronger development ; so that
the scales of the fore feet have all been transformed into
points or even into spines : this local variety is known un-
der the names of Testudo sulcata or T. calcarata. The
Testudo angulata of the Cape, which is also found at
Sierra Leone, has undergone, in the latter place, changes
analogous to those which I have mentioned as taking place
in the T. pardalis ; but, in the Tortoise, of which we now
speak, this influence of a different climate is especially ex-

* See the review of the genus Monitor in the third number of my
AbbildungeUf where I have corrected the errors committed by naturalists
in determining the species of this genus.

t I trust that no one will compare my mode of considering the ex-
pressions, mce, local variety^ or what depends on climate, with the ideas
of Buffon, who would willingly unite into one species all the hares in
the world ; or still less those of Lamarck, -who attempts to prove the
possibility of transmutation of the orang-outan into the human species.

214

ON THE OEOaRAPHICAL

erted on the development of the shield and its edges : (this
race forms the genus Kinnjxis of Bell.) We shall, in the
last place, make mention of a no less curious difference
between the Emys, found at the Cape, in Senegal, and in
Madagascar : we may regard the Emys galeata of the Cape
as the typical form, being one of the best characterized
species of the genus : this Emys is replaced in Abyssinia by
the Emys Gehafie of Buppell, which differs from it only
in some slight but constant characters.^ At Madagascar
we see, instead of these two varieties, a different race,
the Sternothoerus nigricans ; which, though modelled on
the same type, is constantly distinguished from its repre-
sentatives by a more heavy form, a shield less broad, and a
cuirass partially moveable, f In recapitulating what we
have said on the influence of climate on the animals of
Africa, and thence deducing general principles, we arrive
at this result, that the difference among animals, which
mutually represent each other in Southern and Northern
Africa, often resolves itself into a development of certain
parts more or less complete, and into a diversity of colour ;
those inhabiting the latter regions ordinarily exhibit a
livery of yellow or pale grey,^ — a colour most suitable for
animals inhabiting those desert places,! and which I would
willingly name the Colour of the Desert. The limited state
of our knowledge respecting the animals of Africa in gene-
ral does not permit us to give an exact table of the geo-

^ The characters are confined almost wholly to slight differences in
the form of the pieces of the cuirass ; a difference so frequent in Che-
lonians.

t I liope that I have shewn in my work on the Chelonians, inserted in
the Fauna of Japan, the small importance of the characters drawn from
the mobility of the cuirass, and demonstrated that very often this character
is purely accidental, or the effect of age. In every case, and adopting even
the specific difference of this last species of Emys, I believe that we should
destroy the natural affinities, if we elevate this animal from an isolated
character to the rank of a species, and thus separate it from its African
representatives. We may state, that this Emys is to its representatives,
what the Emys Pennsylvanica is to the Emys scorpioidea of Surinam.

i As for example, most of the Antelopes of the North of Africa, the
numerous species of Foxes of those countries, the Dipsas, the Ilare^,
and several Gnawers ; besides a great number of birds and of reptiles, as
the Agami of the Desert, the Cameleon, the Eryx, the Cerastes, &c.

DISTRIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

215

graphic distribution of serpents in that quarter of the
world, and still less to assign to each species the precise
limits which determine the habitats which Nature has
assigned to each; not knowing in an exact manner, so
to speak, more than the productions of the three or four
principal points^ of this continent which have been explored,
we find ourselves constrained to limit our indications of
species, and of the places where they have been observed.
Africa is, in general, much less rich in reptiles, and notably
in serpents, than Asia and America. The number of
genera is equally circumscribed in that continent ; but
we find among reptiles the same phenomena which are
observed in the other animals and plants of that part of
the world ; namely, that the species of certain genera are
extremely numerous, and that these different species often
inhabit the same places : a fact which applies also, though
less extensively, to New Holland. These are, in general,
animals inhabiting plains, the number of species of which
is multiplied in Africa. It is thus we see at the southern
extremity of that continent three or four species of Land
Tortoise, four species of serpents of the genus Coronella,
as many of the genus Naja, and three of the genus Vipera.
The other genera of serpents there produced, have only
a single species to represent them. These snakes, almost
without exception, pertain to species peculiar to that con-
tinent. Some are found on the coast of Guinea ; such as
the Lycodon of Horstock, and the Naja rhombeata ; the
Psammophis moniliger is also found there ; but it forms a
local variety approaching to that inhabiting Egypt. In Se-
negambia, three species of Tree- Snakes of the genus Ben-
drophis are found, different from those of the Cape, one
of which, B. picta, is spread over a great part of Asia,
even to New Guinea. The intertropical regions of Africa
support the Two-rayed Python, the native country of which
extends even to China, and the Island of Java. The
Lancing Viper of the Cape, Vipera arietans, is also found
in Abyssinia, where it forms a local variety with pale

* Egypt as far as Abyssinia, Algeria, one part of Senegambia, and of
the coast of Guinea, the Cape Good Hope.

216

ON THE OEOaRAPHICAL

tints. Northern Africa produces several species of ser-
pents differing from those of the rest of Africa ; such as
the Eryx and the Vipera Echis, which are found also in
Hindustan, the Cerastes, the Dipsas, and several Colubri.
Other species, like the Naja Haje, the Psammophis moni-
liger, differ more or less from their representatives in
Southern Africa. The regions of that continent, border-
ing on the Mediterranean, support several species which
are also found in Southern Europe ; and this analogy,
between the animals in these two parts of the world, is
particularly sensible on comparing those of the coasts of
Barbary with the animals of Spain and Portugal, countries
which, by the nature of their productions, approximate more
to Africa than to Europe.^ No serpents have yet been ob-
served in the islands situate in the meridian of Africa ;
and it may be considered as certain that the Canaries do
not furnish a single species. t

The large island of Madagascar appears to belong to
Africa only in its western part, or on that side of the chain
of mountains which passes through the whole length of
that unexplored land. It resembles India in the produc-
tions of its eastern side, the only part of which we know
any thing. This vast island, however, presents a Fauna
altogether peculiar in many respects ; and we might per-
haps apply the same remark to the adjacent islands. In
those regions, the Dodo was formerly discovered; and there
also are found the Lemurs, and the anomalous species
known under the name of Cheirogaleus, the Aye-aye, the
Cameleon with a forked nose (in which the nasal promi-
nences are subject to variation, and which has been intro-
duced into several other isles), the Ptyodactylus fimbriatus ;
and, with the exception of the Tropidonotus schistosus,
which also inhabits a great part of Asia, all the serpents
of this country belong to peculiar species. We may cite

* The Iberian peninsula produces the Cameleon, the Genette, an Am-
phisbcena, and many birds unknown to the rest of Europe.

t I should here observe, that the reptiles of Teneriife belong to Euro-
pean species ; but that all the Saurians of that Island have colours ex-
tremely dark : there is found the ocellated Schink, the Wall-Lizard, and
the common Frog.

DISTEIBUTION OP OPHIDIANS.

217

the Langaha, an anomalous and very curious species of
Dryiopliis, the Herpetodryas Goudotii, and H. rhodogas^
ter, the Dipsas Gaimardi ; all peculiar to Madagascar.
The Mascarine Isles produce a very handsome Coluber,
C. miniatus, and a small Boa of a gracile form, and slender
tail (Boa Dussumieri). Only a single serpent of the genus
Psammophis is known in the Seychelles.

If we except the two Indian peninsulse, Asia is not very
abundant in reptiles. This observation would appear
correct, although some other parts of Asia have not been
so often explored as those already named. This is readily
explicable by the position of Asia, a large portion of
which is situate in the temperate and frigid zones, re-
gions little favourable to the multiplication of reptiles.
Northern Asia, or rather Siberia, produces a great many
animals that occur also in Europe ; and the same holds
good with serpents.* A curious Ophidian, peculiar to
the southern parts of Siberia, is the Trigonocephaliis
halys, intermediate in structure between the Vipers of
Europe, and the Trigonocephali with plates covering the
head. The deserts south of the Caspian Sea, which are
prolonged to the borders of Hindustan, on the one hand,
and, on the other, stretch by Iran to Arabia and Syria,
to join those of Africa, produce a small number of rep-
tiles, which equally inhabit the similar deserts of the lat-
ter continent. There have been observed the Monitor
exanthematicus, the Stelliones, the Agama of the desert
(Lacerta aurita, Pallas), the Vipera echis, the Psammophis
lacertina, and the Eryx, which extends to Siberia, but
forms in India one or more local varieties or distinct
races. We are in absolute ignorance with regard to the
reptiles of the rest of Central Asia ; but the known ani-
mals of China, at least those of the neighbourhood of
Canton, often present a strong analogy to the productions
of the Islands of the Great Indian Archipelago. Before

^ Most travellers agree that our Tropidonoti, our Viper, our Lizards,
&c., are found in Siberia ; but not admitting facts into my work that are
not founded on dissections of the subjects themselves, or on good figures
of the animals, I have but rarely availed myself of the remarks of tra-
vellers.

r

218

Oisr THE aEOGEAPHICAL

speaking of the two Indian peninsulas, which it is con-
venient to approach from Malayan Asia, I must say a
few words on the islands composing the empire of Ja-
pan, which approximate in their productions to the tem-
perate regions of Asia and to Europe ; while their south-
ern parts ' exhibit an identity with intertropical Asia. The
study of the animals of Japan offers the most beautiful
results for the justification of my method of investiga-
tion ; namely, the grouping together the animals which
being modelled on the same type, are the mutual repre-
sentatives of each other in the different countries of the
globe ; and comprehending them under the same specific
name, admitting, as sub-divisions, the local varieties, or
those due to climate. The results wdiich we obtain by
means of this mode of study, will serve at the same time
to destroy the prejudice, that allied species are so rigor-
ously separated from each other, that we can establish
perfectly distinctive characters for each. Several Mammals
of Japan^^ are not distinguishable from those of Europe :
there exists in that empire a badger, absolutely the same
as ours, but with darker tints, and a less powerful form ;
the Mole of Japan differs from that of Europe by a
colour somewhat lighter ; the Pine-Martins of that country
have the spot under the throat more yellow than in ours ;
the Fox and the Otter are entirely similar to ours ; the
Squirrel approaches to that variety of squirrel living on
lofty mountains of Europe. Other mammifera of that
country differ from those of Europe ; thus, in the Island
of Jezo is found a large Bear, probably allied to the
Grizzly Bear of the Bocky Mountains ; while in the other
isles of that empire are found the Bear of Thibet ; an Ape
(Innuus speciosus) ; a new and very curious Dog (Canis
viverrinus) ; two species of Flying Squirrel (Pteromys),
one of which is very large ; a Chamois analogous to the
Antilope Sumatrensis, and A. montana of the Rocky

* The numerous researches made in Japan by M. Von Siebold, and
more lately by Mr Burger, have put us in possession of most of the
productions of that empire : having a great number of specimens of
each species before my eyes, we may be sure of the facts which are ad-
vanced in the following pages.

DISTEIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

219

Mountains ; and lastly, several unpublished mammifera of
small size. The number of Birds which inhabit both Japan
and Europe, amount to more than one hundred species :
many of them, as the aquatic birds and birds of passage,
are absolutely identical with ours ; but the stationary
species, or those that lead a nomadic life, without quitting
the larger islands under consideration, often present differ-
ences, more or less marked : the Jay of Japan has an ar-
rangement of tints somewhat different from ours, and it
also differs from the variety found in the Himalaya
Mountains. The Titmice, Parus major, P. laudatus, &c.,
are considerably less in Japan than with us ; the colours
are slightly different, and the last species also recedes
from our variety, inasmuch as it suspends its nest from
the branches of trees, almost like our Parus pendulinus ;
the Japanese individuals of the Wagtail (Motacilla alba),
are of the variety known by the name of Mot. lugubris ;
the Quail, the great Curlew, the Sylvia cisticola of Japan,
exhibit differences when compared to those of Europe,
&c. Lastly, many other birds of Japan differ more or
less from those of Europe, but they often shew differ-
ences so slight, that ornithologists even have not always
believed it necessary to particularize them (see Temminck,
Manuel^ III. p. 50, et seq.) I need not speak of
the fresh-water Fishes of Japan, many of which represent
our European species ; these last often exhibiting differ-
ences between one district, or one river, and another, it
would be useless to indicate the difficulty of determining,
with exactness, those of Japan. The Beptiles of that
country furnish the very remarkable fact, that the Sauri^
ans and Ophidians, without a single exception, belong to
species which do not occur in Europe ; whilst we find,
among the two other orders of reptiles, analogous races
of the same species in both countries : such are our two
Frogs and the Tree-Frog (Bana esculenta, B. tempo-
raria, and Hyla arborea), which are absolutely identical
with those of Japan; then our Common Tortoise, Emys
vulgaris, known also under the name of Emys Caspica,
and E. lutraria, forms in Japan a constant local variety;
the Toad of Japan^ although very nearly allied to ours in

220

Oisr THE GEOG-EAPHICAL

form and colour, differs, however, in several points of
structure. The Snakes of Japan, besides the Hydrophis,
may be reduced to three species of the genus Coluber,
two of Tropidonotiis, and one Trigonocephalus. The pre-
sence of this last, as also that of a Trionyx, of the Musk
Shrew, and of the Great Flying Squirrel, recall the Indian
Fauna; while several others, as the five-rayed Scink, se-
veral Salamanders, &c., demonstrate that there also exist
relations between the Fauna of North America and that
of Japan. An examination of the productions of the two
peninsulse of India, comprehending the Island of Ceylon,
shews us, that a great analogy exists between those coun-
tries and the isles of the Great Indian Archipelago ; and
this analogy becomes much more striking, when we compare
the animals of the nearest points of the countries we have
mentioned ; as, for instance, those of the peninsula of
Malacca to those of Sumatra. This analogy, however,
is not so evident in respect to mammifera^ as to birds,
to reptiles, to fishes, and especially to the productions of
the vegetable kingdom ; and there exist in the peninsula
on this side the Ganges, several reptiles peculiar to that
region, and even pertaining to genera which are not
found in Malayan Asia ; as, for example, Cameleons,
Vipers, &c. The Isle of Ceylon, although very near the
coast of Coromandel, supports several animals t which do
not inhabit the latter country : among serpents there are
the Tortrix maculata, the Calamaria scytale, the Lycodon
carinatus, and two Trigonocephali, the T. hypnale, and
T. nigromaculatus. It is in those latitudes that we first
detect the genus Hydrophis ; interesting ophidians that
inhabit exclusively the sea, and occur, from this point, in
all intertropical latitudes east of Malabar, even to Poly-
nesia. The number of serpents which are found in the
two peninsulae of, the Ganges, without occurring in
Malayan Asia, appears to be very limited : such are the

^ The Monkeys of Malayasia, for example, belong, without exception
almost, to species different from those of Bengal, of the Indian Penin-
sula, or of Ceylon.

t The Fjion- Tailed Monkey, or Ouanderou, and several Seninopi-
theci.

DISTEIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

221

Eiyx, tlie Coronella Eiisseli, and Cor. octolineata, several
species of the genera Coluber and Lycodon, the Dipsas
trigonata, several Tropidonoti, the Elaps trimaculatus,
and several Vipers. The productions of the Indian Pen-
insula beyond the Ganges having been very little studied,
we pass on to Malayan Asia, which offers one of the most
curious regions of the globe for studying the geographic
distribution, not only of animals, but also of vegetables ;
and the results obtained by this study will greatly contri-
bute to confirm the ideas which we have so often stated in
our work, on the innumerable modifications which animals
of the same stock present, in the diverse countries they in-
habit. The islands which compose the Great Indian Ar-
chipelago belong to islands of the first order, and are sur-
rounded with numerous reefs or islets, more or less con-
siderable. Situated under the tropics, covered with a
luxuriant vegetation, and peopled with a vast number of
animals of all classes, they are separated from each other
by arms of the sea, mostly very narrow, but which form
an insurmountable obstacle to the majority of animals.^
At once, then, on observing on several of those isles the
same species, we may be certain that the animals on dif-
ferent islands having no communication with each other,
would form on each of these isles an isolated family, the
individuals of which living since their creation, or at least
since those isles received their present form, in places
differing more or less in their nature, should exhibit mo-
difications more or less sensible. Experience, in fact,
proves the truth of what I state. It often happens that
the same species of animal has been discovered in Su-
matra, Java, Borneo, Timor, Celebes, and even in the

Besides the Archipelago of Malayan Asia, that of the Great Antilles
is the only other point on the globe which offers a favourable position
for the comparative study of individuals of the same species, inhabiting
at once several countries separated by the sea ; but these last islands
are almost all situated under the same parallels ; they are neither so
numerous, nor so large, nor so distant from each other, as those of
Malayan Asia ; besides, they are much less rich in objects of natural his-
tory, and have been but little explored, in comparison with the Isles of
Malayan Asia, which have, for more than twenty years, been the object of
the assiduous researches of our travellers.

222

ON THE aEOaEAPHICAL

Philippines, or on the continent of Asia ; and that it
shews, in each of those places, differences, indeed often
very slight, but usually constant. We ask, how are we
to dispose of these local varieties ? Are we to consider
them as such, or as races of the same species, or are they
deserving of being elevated to the rank of species ? The
attempts which I may be said to have made to accommo-
date my views to Nature, lead me to conclude, that to
designate each of such petty varieties under a proper and
specific name, would tend to the confusion of science ; and
that it would be more profitable to recognise one only of
the conditions which modify the nature of animals, than to
augment the catalogue of them with many new names.
I know that my readers will have difficulty in forming
an idea, from description, of all the minute modifications
which the same species undergoes in different places, and
that it is often difficult to indicate them ; but not being
able to place before their eyes those immense collections,
and those numerous series of individuals of the same spe-
cies, in a wordj the materials which have served as the
basis of my work, I am obliged to state some facts in
justification of my manner of viewing the question. Let
us take our examples first from the Mammifera.

The most common monkey, that most widely spread
through the Indian Archipelago, is the Macaque of
Bupfox, the Hare-lipped Monkey of Pennant, Cerco-
pithecus cynomolgus. The ordinary variety of this spe-
cies comes from the Island of Java ; it is constantly of a
greenish tint, and the hairs of the head are a little ele-
vated into a sort of tuft ; the specimens from Timor re-
semble those of Java in all respects, except that they have
deeper tints, and that their fur is more close, which gives
them the appearance of having the limbs less slender
than the individuals from Java : those from the Island of
Sumatra often have the back of a reddish tint ; their face
is somewhat more black than usual ; the hairs of the
head shorter, and incapable of being raised into a tuft :
the race of the Island of Borneo is, in some measure, in-
termediate between that of Sumatra and Java, having the
tint of the fur of those of Java, and resembling those of

DISTRIBUTION" OF OPHIDIANS.

223

Sumatra in the want of the tuft, and in the colour of the
face : lastly, we have received from Siam a monkey quite
analogous to the Javanese variety of our Macaque, but
the tail of which is a little longer than in the latter.
Not having an opportunity of examining a complete series,
I am doubtful whether the slight differences that exist
between the individuals of the Civets (Viverra zibetha) of
Java, of Sumatra, of Siam, of Borneo, and of Amboina,
which I have seen, are constant or accidental. Similar
reasons restrain me from announcing my observations on
the Viverra Lisang, of which we possess specimens from
Siam, Sumatra, and Java. The Paradoxurus typus is
spread over Bengal, Siam, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Am-
boina, Timor, &c., and forms, in those different places,
numerous varieties, which are chiefly distinguishable by
the tint and distribution of the colours, but sometimes also
differ in size : in Sumatra, for example, the species is
stronger than in Java ; in Java stronger than in Timor,
&c. there appears to exist in several places a variety
with a white tip to the tail ; and the individuals from
certain parts of the Island of Java have a pale yellow fur,
with three stripes down the back. The Sciurus bicolor
has a fur less variegated with white in Sumatra and
Malacca ; in Java and in Siam it has the back of an
uniform blackish-brown. The Squirrel of Baffles has,
in Malacca and Siam, the body variegated with very pure
white : in the specimens from Borneo, on the contrary,
this colour is constantly mingled with a darker tint.
The numerous varieties of the Great Indian Squirrel
(Sciurus maximus) which inhabits Bengal, Malacca, and
Sumatra, are in a great measure accidental. I was never
able to establish any specific distinction between the
Tupajas of different parts of Asia, of which I have exa-
mined a number of individuals brought from the continent
of India, from Sumatra, from Borneo, and from Java ;

The series of specimens of this species which is exhibited in the
galleries of the Museum of the Low Countries, alone presents a special
object of study, and points out to us what materials are required for
giving a complete idea of a single species, when we desire to know
more than the name, and the principal distinctive characters.

224:

ON THE aEOGEAPHICAL

and I dare not decide this difficult question, on account of
the great changes which these animals undergo from age,
especially in the form of the cranium ; it is, however,
proper to state, that the Tupajas of Java never arrive at
so great a size as those of Sumatra and Borneo. The
Common Boar of India, Sus vittatus, has been brought
by navigators from Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and from
Timor ; but the differences which exist among individuals
from those different places are so triffing, that it is not
worth the pains to distinguish them. The Stag of the
Moluccas is of a size considerably inferior to that of
Java, Cervus russa, although it evidently belongs to the
same species. The Small Cat of India, Felis minuta,
Javanica, or Sumatrensis, presents in its tints discrepan-
cies, more or less marked, according as. the species in-
habits Java, Sumatra, Malacca, Siam, or Bengal ; and
we observe, besides, a great number of accidental varie-
ties. The Pigmy Indian Musk, Moschus javanicus, be-
comes a little larger, and presents darker tints in Suma»
tra, Moschus napu. It is also found in the Isle of
Bangka, Penang, and the Peninsula of Malacca ; the in-
dividuals from Borneo attain a larger size, and those of
Siam shew a different disposition of colours, although the
physiognomy of that race is quite the same as that of
Java. The Dwarf Squirrel, Sciurus melanotis (which, by
its extremely small size, is to the other squirrels what
the Falco coeruleus is to the rest of the Falcons) inhabits
Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, and presents, in these differ-
ent countries, local varieties, more or less constant. One
of the squirrels most common in India is the Sciurus
nigrovittatus, which, during certain seasons of the year,
losing the greyish-black colour of its belly, then forms
the nominal species introduced into systems under the
names of Sciurus plantani, S. ginginianus, and S. biline-
atus : this squirrel lives in Java, Sumatra, Malacca,
China, &c. ; it presents, in these different parts of the
world, many varieties, but their characteristics are so
minute, that I should not dare to describe them, without
having examined a great number of individuals of each
variety. Lastly, I shall only mention the differences, often

DISTRIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

225

very marked, which the same species of the Cheiroptera
present in different countries ; and I may add, that there
exist among them differences, even in the essential cha-
racters, as in the length of the muzzle, &c. — See Vol. II.
of The Monographies of M. Temminck.

As to Birds, there exist a great number of species
which live at the same time in different islands of the
Archipelago, there forming local varieties, sometimes very
curious, but which are chiefly confined to differences in
size, and the system of colours. — The class of Beptiles
presents analogous facts to those observed among mam-
mifera. The Emys of Spengler is often seen under forms
so different, that the study of this animal serves only to
confuse the idea attached to the word species.^ The two-
rayed Monitor, Mon. bivittatus, which is found in Suma-
tra, in Java, in Borneo, in Celebes, and also in the Isle
of Lu^an, varies more or less, according to the place which
it inhabits ; whence several naturalists have considered it
as constituting different species, although their differences
often resolve themselves into trifling discrepancies in the
system of colouring. The same observation, perhaps, is
also applicable to the Indian Basilisk that inhabits
Celebes, Amboina, and the Philippines. The Scink of
Kuhl appears to be spread over India, from Bengal to the
Philippine and Marianne Islands : the individuals from
Bengal, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Celebes, offer no sen-
sible differences ; but those from Timor have more vivid
and more decided tints. As to the Dracones, it is scarce-
ly possible, in a few words, to give an abstract of all the
differences which each species presents, according to the
different place it inhabits.!* The Spotted Gecko (Lacerta
Gecko, Linn.) of Timor presents tints a little darker than
that of Java. The Crab- eating Frog and Kana leucomys-
tax, which are absolutely identical in all the Sunda Islands,
and also in the Philippines, depart from the typical race at

^ All that we might offer, to prove our assertions, would be super-
fluous: dissection can alone justify our ideas on this point.

t We beg leave to refer to the third number of our AbMldungen, where
we have very amply treated of this subject.

226

Olf THE HEOGEAPHICAL

Timor, by a slightly different system of colouring, and
thus form a constant variety, either local or climatal.
The Najas of the Sunda Isles constantly differ in several
characters from those of Bengal and of the Philippines.
The Ceratophrys of Sumatra forms a local variety or a race,
different from that of Java. The Serpents are not less
fertile in examples of this nature than the other orders of
Reptiles. We find that individuals of the Tortrix rufa of
Celebes are distinguished from those of Bengal and of Java,
by a back of an uniform tint, and by two small spots on
the occiput. The Calamaria oligodon found at Java, pre-
sents, at Sumatra, a disposition of colours a little different
on the back, and forms, at Ceylon, and in the Philippines,
a third very handsome local variety. Analogous differences
exist between the Coronella Baliodeira of Java and Suma-
tra. The Lycodon Hebe of Java has a less size, and tints
a little different, and less bright, than those of Bengal ; the
specimens from Timor are smaller than those of Java, and
have a deeper colour. The beautiful black-tailed snake,
Coluber melanurus, inhabits Java, Sumatra, and Celebes ;
but individuals from the latter have the nape constantly
ornamented by an angular black mark, while those of Su-
matra have the back rayed with black. The Herpetodryas
oxycephalus is of a fine grass-green in Java; this tint verges
on brown in specimens from Borneo, and those from Celebes
have all the upper parts of a very deep blackish-brown.
It will sufilce to say, that the Dendrophis picta inhabits
most of the intertropical countries of Asia, and from the
Senegal even to New Guinea, to enable us to guess how this
species must vary in countries so far distant from each other.
TheHryiophis nasuta, which usually comes from Bengal and
the Marianne Isles, has the belly streaked with yellow at
J ava. The Dryiophis prasina, common in the Isles of the
Straits of Sunda, forms a local variety at Celebes ; the
Tropidonotus quincunciatus, which is one of the most wide-
ly spread serpents in India, shews at Java confluent spots,
so that the upper parts are streaked with black. The
Tropidonotus chryargos of Sumatra is distinguished from
that of Celebes, and both from that of Java ; and this dif-
ference, produced by a different arrangement of the colours,

DISTRIBUTIOlf OF OPHIDIANS.

227

appears to be constant in all these localities. The Homa-
lopsis of Schneider, which inhabits India even to New
Guinea, presents, in these different localities, numerous
petty differences, of which the greatest number appear ac-
cidental. The Great Two -rayed Python comes from the
Straits of Sunda, and from China ; it inhabits the two pe-
ninsulaB of India, the isle of Ceylon, and is found even in
Senegambia, probably existing in a great part of intertro-
pical Africa. I consider all those Pythons as pertaining
to the same species ; but I know not if several naturalists
may not perhaps discover various differences between indi-
viduals from these different places, sufficient, in their eyes,
to establish several subspecies, which will necessarily in-
volve the establishment of the species as a subgenus. The
Elaps furcatus and E. bivirgatus present, at Sumatra, a
different arrangement of colours from those in Java.
Finally, I could fill a separate volume in describing all the
minute modifications experienced, in those different regions,
by each isolated family of the same species of animals, of
which the number is so immense in that part of the world.
Each of these regions, however, produces species which
are peculiar to itself, or which are only found in some
of them. All the world knows that the islands of Su-
matra and Borneo produce several animals, and some of
those too of large size, which are not found in any other
point of that Archipelago, not even in Java, which, on the
other hand, produces certain animals which do not appear
to inhabit the other islands. One is tempted to consider
the geological constitution of the land as determining the
distribution of animals ; but experience shews us, that it
has only a secondary or indirect influence, inasmuch as it
modifies the nature of the soil, or as it determines the age
of those islands or regions. The climate, which does not
always influence even the distribution of plants, does not
generally present an obstacle to that of animals, particularly
where there is a concurrence of the other conditions neces-
sary to their existence, and when they can find, throughout
the year, the food which Nature designed for them.^ It is

* The Orang-outan and the Semnopithecus nasutus, for example, live

228

OF THE OEOaEAPHICAL

wrong, tlien, to suppose, that a being which inhabits a
country of volcanic origin, can never be found but in soils
of a similar kind ; or that soils of a primitive formation
ought to nourish only particular species. Supposing,
even, that this should be the case, as in Java compared to
Sumatra and to Borneo, it would be unsafe to attribute
these differences to the different age of the former isle, and
to the defect of a soil or of a food proper to the existence
of the animals. It is, therefore, difficult, if not impossible,
to class these countries, according to their productions, into
cantons, or to seek to establish regions, as has been done
for the distribution of plants, on the surface of certain
countries. As to the Great Indian Archipelago, we find
that the islands of the Straits of Sunda offer, in their pro-
ductions, many analogies with the neighbouring parts of
the Asiatic continent, and even with those of Bengal, and
the Indian Peninsula. The isles of Sumatra and of Bor-
neo support a vast number of animals, and some of great
size, which are not found in Java ; but there is also, in the
animals of small size, a very great analogy between the
southern part of Borneo and the island of Java. This last
isle produces several animals that are also found in the
southern parts of China, and probably also in the chain of
islands that extends eastward to Timor. It is in the vast
island of Celebes, that several forms of animals, unknown
in the islands of the Straits, begin to shew themselves ;
these novel forms become more numerous in the Moluccas,
and assimilate to those peculiar to New Guinea, which in
several instances recall, in their turn, the heterogeneous
productions of New Holland. The Philippine Isles offer
an analogy with those of the Straits of Sunda ; and, what
is curious, we there observe several animals of Ceylon
and of India. In confining ourselves to the observa-
tions suggested by the classes of Mammifera and of Rep-
tiles, we see that the principal characters that distinguish
the Fauna of these islands are the following : — The

in Sumatra and Borneo, in places entirely analogous, and never frequent
situations of another nature ; they do not diffuse themselves over the
whole island, although they are not hindered to do so by any physical
obstacle : it is thus also with most other animals.

BISTKIEUTIOF OF OPHIDIANS.

229

Island of Sumatra is tlie only one of all tlie isles of Ma-
layan Asia that produces the Elephant ; the Indian Ta-
pir'^ is also found in Borneo ; and these animals at the
same time inhabit the Asiatic Continent. The Great Stag
of Sumatra, Cervus hippelaphus, Cuv., is found in Borneo,
and probably also in the Peninsula of Malacca. The Hy-
iobates syndactylus and Semnopithecus melalophos, from
which the S. flavimanus does not appear to differ, have
yet only been found in Sumatra ; but it is asserted that
the Lar of Baffles, Hylobates Bafflesii, to which it is
necessary to refer the Ilylob. agilis and H. variegatus, in-
habits also the isle of Celebes. The Gymnurus, a great
terrestrial insectivorous animal, and the great black Cha-
mois, Antilope Sumatrensis, have never yet been seen ex-
cept in Sumatra ; but the curious Gnawer, described by
M. Temminck under the name of Nyctocleptus, and the
Long-tailed Porcupine, inhabit also Malacca. It appears
that the island of Sumatra has a peculiar species of Bhi-
noceros, if perhaps the Bhinoceros of Borneo does not
belong to the same species. Several other animals are
found at the same time in Sumatra and Borneo, which have
not been observed in the other Malayasian islands ; such
are the Orang-outan, the Semnopithecus nasicus and S.
cristatus, the Innuus nemestrinus, the Felis macrocelis,
the Ursus Malayanus, which also inhabits Celebes ; besides
several squirrels, belonging partly to new species, some
few of which are found in Malacca, Siam, and China, but
have not yet been found in Java. The isle of Sumatra
has several Chelonians in common with Borneo ; but the
Saurians and Batrachians belong, for the most part, to spe-
cies also inhabiting Java. In glancing at the picture
which we have sketched of the geographic distribution of
Ophidians, we see that the serpents of Sumatra also inhabit
Java, almost without exception, and that a good number
of them are equally found in India and Bengal. The Tri-
gonocephalus Wagleri, on the contrary, appears to be found

^ It should be understood, that the observations on the absence of
certain animals, in certain regions, cannot always be regarded as positive.
We can only judge from what we know ; and new discoveries may doubt-
less produce modifications of these assertions.

230

OK THE GEOGEAPHICAL

in no other island of Malayasia, but Sumatra and Borneo,
where our travellers discovered it. Java^ the most beau-
tiful and best known of the Malayasian isles, differs from the
other regions of this grand archipelago in this, that it pro-
duces several animals which are peculiar to it, whilst it wants
a good number of those which are common in Sumatra, in
Borneo, and even in the continent of Asia. We have no
certain proofs that the Elephant ever lived in Java ; the
Indian Tapir, the Orang-outan, the Semnopithecus nasicus,
the Hylohates syndactylus, the Malayan Bear, the Innuus
nemestrinus, and many other animals of Sumatra and
Borneo, do not inhabit it. No Antelopes are found there.
The Two-horned Bhinoceros of Sumatra is there represent-
ed by a one-horned and very different species, which seems
to have a great affinity with the Bhinoceros of continental
Asia. The Stag of Sumatra is there represented by a less
beautiful species, Cervus Bussa ; the Leopard of Sumatra
and of Borneo, Felis macrocelis, is represented by a spe-
cies resembling the African Leopard, but with very small
spots, with a long tail, of a less size,^ which appears to be
peculiar to Java. Exclusive of the Hylohates syndac-
tylus of Sumatra, each of the isles or the principal re-
gions of intertropical Asia, appears to sustain a single
species of the genus Hylohates, more or less differing from
each other. The Hylohates Lar of Sumatra is represent-
ed at Java by the Wou-Wou, Hylohates leuciscus ; and
this is replaced at Borneo by a race with darker tints, the
Hylob. concolor, or H. Harlanii. None of these species
ever appear to be found on the continent of India ; for the
Hylohates which have been brought from Siam, and some

* I can assert that all the Leopards of Java belong to the species called
by M. Temminck, Felus Pardus, and that the true Leopard, which is
distributed over a great part of Africa, from Barbary to the Cape of Good
Hope, and which is said also to inhabit India, is never found in Java ;
but there exist in that isle also individuals of the Pardus, with the tail
much shorter than ordinary, and thus approaching nearer to the common
Leopard ; this is in favour of the opinion that the Leopard of Java
should be considered as a race or local variety of the other. This opi-
nion is, on the other hand, strengthened by the existence of several
local varieties or races of the Lion in Africa, and in Asia, of the Leo-
pard of Africa, &c.

DISTRIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

231

otlier points of the peninsula beyond the Granges, belong to
a species known under the name of Hylobates albimanus,
which is the great Gibbon of Buffon, or the true Lar of
Gmelin. Of the two Semnopitheci common in the Isle
of Java, one, the Semn. mitratus, is peculiar to that
island ; but there is found in Siam a monkey entirely
analogous, though with darker tints ; the other, the Semn.
maurus, has never been observed in any other part of the
globe ; but this species is evidently replaced in Sumatra
and Borneo by the Semn. cristatus or pruinosus, which
appears not to differ from the Maurus but by its fur being
mingled with grey. A third species is said to exist in the
eastern part of Java, but we have not yet received from
that island the Semn. auratus^ or pyrrhus, which ap-
pears to belong to a species that inhabits the Isle of Borneo.
Java is far less rich in squirrels than the other isles of the
Straits ; we there find the Sciurus bicolor, S. nigro-
vittatus, S. insignis, and S. melanotis, but none of these
species are peculiar to that island. The Tiipajas do not
there attain the great size of those of Borneo and Suma-
tra. The Boyal Tiger, which does not seem to inhabit
Borneo, nor any other isle of Malayasia, with the excep-
tion of Sumatra, here forms, as in the latter island, a local
variety, with very short hair ; and this variety forms the
extreme opposite to the Tiger of the North of Asia, to
which the long fur gives a very different appearance. f The
Island of Java breeds a fine Boar of very large size, Sus
verrucosus, differing much from another species, Sus
vittatus, which inhabits equally Java, and almost all other
parts of Malayasia. One of the most remarkable quadru-
peds of Java is the Wild Buffalo, the Banting of the na-

* The yellowish livery of this monkey is evidently periodic, or per-
haps due to sexual difference. The specimen in the Museum of Paris
presents indications of black hairs on the extremities ; we have speci-
mens in our museum in the livery of moult ; others are wholly black,
with the exception of a yellow stripe on the inner part of the feet, and
under the tail.

t On comparing in our museum specimens of the Tiger of Corea
with those of Java, we rq.ay convince ourselves of this effect of climate,
particularly on examining the relative thickness of the tail : in the first,
this member appears about the thickness of the arm ; in those of Java
it has that of a man’s thumb.

232

OK THE O-EOaKAPHICAL

tives, wliicli is probably also found in Borneo and Suma-
tra, and appears scarcely to differ from the Gaour^ Bos
frontalis, or Sylhetanus, of Bengal, of which it probably
forms a variety.* As for Birds, we shall content our-

^ A fact worthy of notice is, that the domestic Ox of the islands of
the Straits belongs to a species totally different from this wild one.
The first, which they name Carban, and which has returned to the wild
state in Sumatra, is descended evidently from the Arni or Wild Buffalo
of Hindustan ; this renders it probable, that the introduction of that
buffalo into the Sunda Isles, remounts to the remote epoch from which
we date the introduction of the culture of rice, which they are said also
to have received from Hindustan. However this may be, the remarks
which we have made prove that the study of the distribution of the do-
mestic animals may serve to elucidate several obscure points in the his-
tory of the human race, and that it may contribute to our knowledge of
the state of civilization among the primitive inhabitants of Java, who
are believed formerly to have played so important a part. (See the
Travels of Crawftjrd, and the work of W, Voisr Humboldt, entitled
Uber die Kawaisprache.) Another fact, no less curious than that of which
we have spoken, is that the Italian Buffalo, brought into Europe in the
middle ages, appears equally descended from the Arni, which is thus
spread from China to Abyssinia, and Italy. These two facts proved,
we obtain a very curious point of comparison for studying the influence
of different climates upon these animals, which, in the European race,
seems to be especially concentrated on the curvature of the horns, and
on the cavities of the front, phenomena otherwise very common in do-
mestic animals. As to the domestic Ox of the rest of Europe, which
seems also to belong to the domestic race of Japan, and has been spread
over almost every country of the earth, since the discovery of America,
and the opening of the sea passage to India ; as to this Ox, I say, there
is reason to believe, that it also came from India in the remotest ages ;
the reasons are, 1 . That the Zebu, the most common domestic Ox in the
continent of Asia, which is, at this day, transported as our horned cat-
tle, sometimes to Java, and to other countries, belongs, without doubt, to
the same species as our ox ; and it forms a variety produced by the influ-
ence of climate in hot countries ; 2. That the Ox of the ancient Greeks
and Romans appears to have been the same as our domestic cattle ;
finally, That the only Buffalo which lives in Europe in a wild state forms
a species totally different from our Ox, and that it approaches nearer to
the Bison of North America. At least, in adopting the hypothesis that
our horned cattle are sprung from a species now extinct, and denomi-
nated Bos primigenus, we are compelled to seek a parent stock for our
Ox among the wild species of India. I have long fixed my attention on
the Gaour^ but not knowing, by dissection, any but the Javan race, I
dare decide nothing ; and I advance this opinion solely with the object
of fixing the attention of naturalists and of travellers on this interest-
ing subject. It is said that there exists in Hindustan, in a wild state,
a race of bastard Buffaloes, produced between the Gaour and the Jrni,
The history of our domestic Bog may perhaps contribute to throw light

BISTEIBUTIOK OF OPHIDIANS.

233

selves with remarking, that the Wild Peacock represents
the Argus of Sumatra and of Borneo ; the Great Hornbill
of that island, Buceros lanatus, forms a different race from
the true Buceros Bhinoceros of Sumatra and Borneo, &c.
Among reptiles, the Trionyx stellatus has never yet been
observed in any other of the Sunda Islands except Java,
where it lives equally with the Trionyx subplanatus,
which is the only Tortoise known in Borneo, Sumatra, and
Malacca. The Emys trijuga'^ appears peculiar to Java,
as also a small number of Beptiles, Saurians, and Ba-
trachians, but which all belong to species of small size. It
is a curious fact, that two of the most remarkable species
of Trigonocephalus, Trig, puniceus, and T. rhodostoma,
have hitherto never been observed except in Java ; v/hile
the green Trigonocephalus, so common in the Indian Pen-
insula, in Bengal, in Sumatra, and in Timor, does not
oxist in Java. The Bungari, which inhabit Ceylon, India,

on that of our domestic Ox. It is ascertained, that in demonstrating the
impossibility of identity between the Wolf and the Fox and our Dog, we
have at least arrived at the conclusion, that our Dog is not of European ori-
gin ; but we have searched in vain for the parent stock of this carnivo-
rous animal. I do not hesitate to adopt for such the Wild Dog of the lofty
mountains of the continent of Asia, of which specimens have been sent us
from Bengal, and which is also found in Sumatra, Java, and in Borneo ;
it is named Canis rutilans, Sumatranus, and Javanicus. In taking, for
comparison, the domestic Dog of Japan, or even our Shepherd’s Dog
(races which have degenerated the least), we find that there exists a cer-
tain analogy between these animals and the wild dogs of India, so that
it is almost impossible to doubt their identity ; there do even not
exist sensible differences between the skeletons of those animals, and
their crania are so like, as to be mistaken for each other : the same ob-
servation may be applied to the cranium of the Esquimaux Dog. Our
poultry, lastly, come without doubt from India, if not from the Wild
Cock of Java, or at least from an analogous race of Continental Asia. In
conclusion, I regret not to be able to develope the observations now made,
by publishing the extended researches which the numerous materials
collected in the galleries of the Museum of the Low Countries have af-
forded me, as I could confirm by dissection the views I here have ad-
vanced.

* There is found at Pondichery an analogous species, but with a head
less thick, which M. Bibron takes for the true Trijuga of Schweiger ;
Boie deceived himself, then, in applying in the Herpetology of Java that
epithet to the Javanese species, which it is now necessary to consider
as new.

U

234

ON THE aEOOEAPHICAL

and Bengal, do not appear to occur in any other of the
Sunda islands, except Java. Borneo^ the largest of Malay-
asian islands, was not known at all, as to its natural his-
tory, until the excursion which Messrs Diard, Korthals,
and MiiLLER made into the interior of that country. The
Elephant does not appear to inhabit it ; but they found
there the Indian Tapir, and they had positive proofs of the
occurrence of a Bhinoceros there, although they did not
ascertain to which species it belonged. Borneo has, in
common with Sumatra, the Orang-outan, the Semnopithe-
cus nasicus, and S. cristatus, the Felis macrocelis, the
Inuus nemestrinus, the Argus, &c. : the Hylobates of that
isle is so near that of J ava, that it cannot be considered as
a particular species ; there is also found a Semnopithe-
cus resembling the S. pyrrhus of Java ; the large Stag
approaches to the C. hippelaphus of Sumatra, and the
Ursus Malayanus has also been seen in Borneo. The
Mammifera, peculiar to the island, all belong to new species,
of small size ; and several curious animals begin to appear
there, whose real native seat is the Moluccas : such as,
among the Mammals, are the Tarsius (Didelphis macrotarsus,
Gmel.) Among the reptiles are the Basilisk and others.^

' — It is in the Island of Celebes that the forms of animals,
altogether peculiar, manifest themselves, or species of which
no trace is found in the Isles of Sunda ; such are the
Plialangers, the Babyrussa, the Harpya, the Cephalotes,
the Megapodes, the Antilope Celebica, the Emerald- Scink,
and that with a blue tail ; animals, the major part of which
inhabit also the little known neighbouring isles, the Moluc-
cas, or even (as in the case with the Little Blue-tailed
Scink) the islands in the South Sea. Among the ser-
pents of Celebes are remarked a beautiful Herpetodryas,
H. Dipsas, and the Dipsas irregularis, which is also found
in Amboina : several other species are identical with those
of Java or Sumatra ; but several among them form con-

* MM. MiiLLER and Korthals have arrived in Europe with a part
of the rich collections, formed lately hy them in Borneo : I regret not
having been able to make use of it for my work ; hut I have profited
hy the verbal communications which these gentlemen have been so good
as to make to me.

DISTRIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

235

stant local varieties, though only distinguishable by a
slightly different disposition of the colours : to this number
pertain the Tortrix rufa, the Coluber melanurus, the Her-
petodryas oxycephalus, the Dryiophis prasina, the Dipsas
dendrophila, and the Tropidonotus chrysargus. Among
the Moluccas^ there is only the Island of Amboina of which
the productions are in the least known. There are seen
three or four species of Snakes which are also seen in J ava ;
but it does not seem that the Sunda isles afford the Lyco-
don modestus, the Boa carinata, the Dendrophis rhodo-
pleuron, nor the Python amethystinus. Timor is in some
degree intermediate, as regards its productions, between
Java and the Moluccas ; we find there many animals of
the former, whilst there exist there a good number that
also live in the archipelago just mentioned. The Python
of Timor is perhaps different from that of Amboina ; a
very curious Homalopsis, H. leucobalia, has been there
discovered ; the Lycodon Hebe of that island has its tints
deeper than the variety of Java ; and the Coluber radiatus
is represented in Timor by an analogous, yet different
species. Col. subradiatus. New Guinea^ with the adjacent
islands, all shewing, more or less, analogy with the other
Malayasian Islands, on the other hand, approximates to New
Holland, by the presence of certain animals, as the Pe-
taurus. Kangaroos, the Perameles, &c. M. Muller has
discovered a very curious Zonurus, an almost blind Acon-
tias, a Typhlops of singular form, a very remarkable
horned Frog, a new Ceratophrys, a very beautiful Monitor,
a Scink of very anomalous structure, and many other very
beautiful and unknown Beptiles. There also exist in that
island several new species of Serpents, as the Tropidonotus
picturatus, the Flaps Miilleri, species which are also found
at Waigiou. It remains that I should say a few words on
the Philippine Islands^ of which the zoology is only known
by a few objects, collected in the vicinity of Manilla in the
Isle of Lu^on, the study of which has given rise to the curi-
ous remark, that there exists a great analogy between certain
productions of that island and of Ceylon. This fact is very
striking, at least in regard to serpents, of which several
species have never been observed, except in those two

236

ON THE GEOaRAPHICAL

islands. The Naja of the Philippines belongs to the
ordinary variety of the N. tripndians, which inhabits
India, and which is constantly different from that of the
islands in the Straits of Sunda. On the other hand, we
find in the Philippine Isles, several animals which probably
do not exist either in Ceylon or in Bengal : of this number
are the Basilisk, the Monitor bivittatus, and some others.

New Holland being too little explored, and the objects of
natural history brought from thence to Europe being all col-
lected at the same points, it is difficult to speak of the dis-
tribution of animals in this vast island. All have, else-
where, heard of the singular productions of that country,*
a few of which also inhabit Van Diemen’s Land, presenting
occasionally, in these different localities, differences simi-
lar to those we noticed between the same animals of seve-
ral parts of the Indian Archipelago. As to serpents,
New Holland produces species totally peculiar almost
without an exception, the greater number of which belong
to the family of venomous serpents ; no aquatic snakes have
yet been found there. The distribution of other reptiles in
that continent offers little remarkable ; but it deserves to
be noticed, that, with the exception of marine species, it
affords but a single Chelonian, the Emys longicollis : the
absence of Land Tortoises is the more remarkable, that
we find a very considerable number of them in the southern
extremity of Africa, a country which presents many affini-
ties with New Holland. We have already stated above,
that the innumerable islets scattered through the great
Pacific Ocean do not appear to produce serpents. The
Mariannes are an exception to this general rule ; and
Dampier speaks of green serpents which he saw in the
Galapagos islands.

We now come to America^ which presents several cu-
rious facts in regard to the distribution of animals. This
division of the world is naturally parted into two great
continents, each of which has a particular fauna ; but

^ The Kangaroos, the Ornithorhynchus, the Echidna, the Phas-
colomys, and Phascolarctos, the Dasyurus, the Thylacinus, the Maenurus,
the Emeu, the Phyllurus, and many others.

DISTKIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

237

central America, consisting of a narrow tongue of land
uniting those two continents, and the adjacent islands,
sustain a great number of animals, which have one or
other of the two continents as their original country. Some
species of animals, however, are common to both Ameri-
cas. Others abounding in North America are found
under the same parallels of latitude in South America,
where they also form climatal varieties. A great number
of species inhabiting the southern continent are also found
in Mexico, and the Antilles ; while there are others, com-
mon in South America, that are diffused in North Ameri-
ca, over Florida and Louisiana, where they often form
climatal varieties. Local differences are sometimes even
remarked between animals of countries less separated than
those just mentioned ; for example, Brazil and Surinam,
or Guyana in general. Lastly, the animals of the regions
situated on the western slopes of the Cordilleras, often
differ specifically from those of Brazil ; but certain species
are the same in both regions, or at most only exhibit
slight variations. South America produces a great num-
ber of monkeys, of which no race has been yet observed in
North America ; and these monkeys, the same species of
which is sometimes found over an extent of country em-
bracing more than 20° of latitude, must necessarily pre-
sent, in places so distant, differences more or less sensible,
chiefly arising from the influence of climate.^ A very great
number of other animals of South America have not
hitherto been observed in the northern peninsula of the
New Continent, such as the Llama, which may be termed

^ It is stated as a fact, that the Monkeys of Paraguay cast their hair
at certain seasons of the year, to be reinvested with a denser fur, a
species of winter robe, which does not take place with individuals of
the same species living under the equator. Add to this, first the al-
most incredible changes which some monkeys undergo from age, and
afterwards the differences which usually exist in these animals between
the sexes, and we may conceive the difficulties in the way of those who
occupy themselves with the study of those animals. I cannot sufficient-
ly recommend to cabinet-naturalists the perusal of the precious works
bequeathed to us by the late Renoger, whose observations I have often
had occasion to verify, from the numerous materials afforded by the
Museum of the Low Countries.

238

ON THE GEOaRAPHICAL

the Camel of the New World, an animal indigenous to
the Cordilleras, and which, in a domestic state, gives rise
to numerous races, distinguished by a difference of colour,
that have been considered as distinct species^ : then the
Tapir of America, the prehensile-tailed Porcupine, the
Armadillo, the Sloth, the Anteater, the Chinchilla, the
Nasuas, which I would willingly refer to the same species ;t
the Cavys, the American Ostrich Rhea, &c. Several other
animals are found as far as Mexico, and even in the
southern parts of North America ; as the Lion of America
(Felis concolor), the Jaguar (Felis On^a), in which the
length of the tail appears very variable in different indivi-
duals ; the Skunks, Viverra putorius, and V. mephites,J
&c. There exist a very few animals which are identical
in both Americas, such as the Hare, Lepus Americanus,
and L. Braziliensis. Finally, there are some that are re-
presented by others in both Americas, even though belong-
ing to different species ; such are the Deer, and several
Dogs, the Procyons, the Didelphes, &c. It should be cited
as a very remarkable fact, that in a region shrouded in

^ My researches on this subject have satisfied me that we must
reduce all the varieties of this animal to a single species, the Red
Llama.

t We never meet with two individuals of the genus Nasua perfectly
alike, which prevents me applying, for the determination of the species,
any of the characters that naturalists have assigned to the two principal
species of this genus ; not even those drawn from the skull, the form of
which changes with the age. It might be, perhaps, objected that these
two species have a diiferent mode of life, an objection which I have
often to refute by the simple observation, that many animals, when ar-
rived at a certain age, adopt a different mode of life : the young gene-
rally living in society, and undertaking journeys more or less distant ;
while the old ones isolate themselves in the recesses of deep forests, or
of mountainous regions. We may compare these habits to those of
birds of passage, among which, it is known, that the young always se-
parate themselves from the adults, on setting out on distant migrations.
I beg travelling naturalists to fix their attention on this interesting
point in the habits of animals.

J All the pretended species of this genus that I have seen appear to
belong to a single species, the fur of which is black, varied often by
brown, with the white rays more or less broad, according to the indi-
vidual, or sometimes altogether without the rays, especially in the
young, several of which have been transmitted to us under the name of
Mustela Leucauchen.

DISTRIBUTION OF OPHIDIANS.

239

deep forests, and of immense extent, as Brazil, there should
exist only a single species of Squirrel, the Sciurus sestuans :
this fact is the more remarkable, because we observe a
great number of reptiles that constantly live on trees, as
the Tree Frogs, the Leguans, the Anolius, &c. ; and be-
cause there exist several species of squirrel in North Ame-
rica.^ South America produces a very considerable
number of aquatic animals, especially in the class of
reptiles ; but it is a very remarkable fact, that among the
great number of fresh- water Tortoises, there is but one
species of Trionyx, which is called by way of eminence
the Water Tortoise^ and of which one species is found in
North America. As regards the large mammifera, those
of North America are almost all different from those of
the southern peninsula of the New World, and often have
a great affinity to those of Europe, belonging ordinarily
to the same genera. We find there, for example, two
species of Bos ; one, the Bison, appears very near the
Ursus or European Bison ; Elks and Beindeer are also
found there, different, as it seems, from those of Europe ;
the Wolves, Canis nubilus and C. latrans, probably
only form local varieties of those of Europe : the North
American Beaver, on the other hand, has specific differ-
ences from ours ; of the three Bears inhabiting America,
two, Ursus ferox, and U. Americanus, are peculiar to
that peninsula ; the third is the same as the European
species. We there find a great number of the family of
Spermophili, some of which are very like the species of
Europe and Asia. The Marmottes, the common Fox, the
common Lynx, and the Glutton of North America, do not
differ from those of Europe ; but the Badger of Labrador
is very different from ours. The Scalops and the Condy-
lurus there represent our Moles and Musk Bats. The lofty
mountains stretching along the western coasts of North

* One species of that country, the Sciurus Capistratus or S. Caro-
linensis is very remarkable for the numerous varieties which it forms :
they are white, black, grey, brown, in short, of all colours. The species
appears to inhabit even Mexico : compare them with Sciurus hypo-
xanthos of Lichtenstein.

240

OK THE aEOaKAPHICAL

America, produce several very curious animals, among
whicli we may mention the Antilope furcifer and Ant. mon-
tana. As to reptiles, this vast peninsula affords a very
great number of aquatic Tortoises, of the genera Emys and
Trionyx ; but, except in the southern parts, there are no
terrestrial Tortoises, or rather the animal which represents
them, is the Emys clausa, a species intermediate between ter-
restrial and aquatic tortoises. Saurian reptiles occur there
in very small number, in comparison to what we observe
in South America, and there are none of the species inha-
biting trees. The Batrachians, on the contrary, are there
very common ; and there we find a great quantity of Sala-
manders,^ and those singular Batrachians, which one would
take for the larvae of Salamanders, or for incomplete animals,
and which may be compared to our European Proteus ; but
the Bombintors (Bana Braziliensis, Gmel.) have never yet
been observed in North America. In comparing together
the species of reptiles, or more especially the serpents of
the two peninsulae forming the new continent, we are able
to establish very interesting parallels ; the common Frog
of North America, Bana mugiens, for example, is repre-
sented, in South America, by an analogous species, Bana
pachypus, of the same size, but with the toes entirely free.
The Toad of the United States, Bufo musicus, which also
inhabits several of the Antilles, is not found in South Ame-
rica, where it is replaced by the Bufo aqua. The Crotalus
horridus, common in all South America, is represented, in
North America, by the Crotalus durissus ; the Coronella
venustissima is there represented by the Cor. coccinea, the
Emys scorpioides by the Emys odorata, &c. The compa-
rison, however, which we have made between the reptiles
of the two Americas only applies to a small number of
species, and it often happens that one of the two peninsulas
produce species, or even genera, of which no representative
exists in the other. f The Tortrix, the Dipsas, the Den-

^ The Salamanders peculiar to the temperate regions of the northern
hemisphere, and the Csecilia, a native of tropical regions, would appear
to replace each other in these two zones.

t The Ophisaurus, which there represents our [Pseudopus, and of

DISTEIBUTION OF OPHIDIAISTS.

241

drophis, the Boa, have hitherto not been found, except in
South America, and the Antilles ; the Tropidonoti, on
the contrary, are never found there, but are common in
North America, and are also diffused in several of the An-
tilles. A small number of species of serpents of South
America have also been observed in North America ; these
are as follow : Calamaria melanocephala, Lycodon Clelia,
Coronella cobella, Herpetodryas cursor, Dryiophis Catesbyi,
Elaps corallinus, Homalopsis carinicauda. The Heterodon
platyrhinus, and the Herpetodryas sestivus, on the contrary,
which are common in North America, have also been dis-
covered in Brazil.^ The following species inhabit both
North America and the Antilles : Calamaria striatula,
Coronella coccinea, Heterodon platyrhinus. Coluber con-
strictor, Herpetodryas sestivus, and H. cursor, Tropidono-
tus bipunctatus, T. fasciatus, and T. saurita. The follow-
ing are also found in the Antilles, though their mother
country is south America : Calamaria melanocephala, Co-
ronella reginae, Lycodon clelia, Dendrophis liocercus,
Dryiophis Catesbyi, and D. aurata, Dipsas annulata, Ho-
malopsis angulata. Boa constrictor, B. cenchria, and Elaps
corallinus. There remain, then, but about four species which
are peculiar to the great archipelago of which we speak,
namely, Psammophis Antillensis, Trigonocephalus lanceo-
latus, Dendrophis Catesbyi, and Boa melanura. In com-
paring the serpents of Guyana with those of Brazil, we find
that these two countries have a great number of species in
common, of which several form local varieties more or less
distinct, as is observed in the Herpetodryas lineatus, and
H. Olfersii, the Coluber poecilostoma, &c. Several other
species appear peculiar to one or other of those countries ;
as for example, Calamaria badia, Xenodon typhlus, Coluber

whicli the colours are very subject to variation, so that they have been
divided into several species, is peculiar to North America. The genera
of reptiles peculiar to South America are more numerous ; of those we
may cite the Bombinators, the Lizards or Centropyx, the Ceratophrys,
the Ceecilia, the Amphisbsena, &c. Several of these animals are found
also in the Antilles.

* It may be remarked, that the Heterodon platyrhinus and Homa-
lopsis carinicauda form local varieties in these two distant places.

X

242

ON THE GEOORAPHICAL

Corals, Herpetodryas Boddaertii, Dendrophis aurata,Dryio-
phis Catesbyi, and D. argentea, Homalopsis plicatilis, Elaps
lemniscatus, and E. Surinamensis, &c., which have been
observed in the Guyanas, where the following natives of
Brazil are wholly wanting : Calamaria Blnmii, Coronella
Merremii, Xenodon Schotii, and X. rhinostoma, Lycodon
formosus, Herpetodryas serra, Homalopsis carinicanda, and
H. Martii, &c. Others appear to be represented in those
two points of Sonth America, so that we may place the
Coronella vennstissima, Dipsas Mikani, D. Wiegeli, I),
leucocepliala, and D. Xattereri, with the Trigonocephalus
Jacaraca, all of Brazil, in parallels with the Coronella ve-
nusta, Dipsas nebulata, D. Catesbyi, D. macrorhina, D.
punctatissima, and the Trigonocephalus atrox of the Guy-
anas. The other parts of South America are too little
known to enable us to establish a comparison between the
reptiles of the different countries of that continent ; it is
however, proper to remark, that there have been discovered
in Chile several new serpents, which do not appear to exist
on the other side of the Cordilleras.

I must conclude this review of the geographical distri-
bution of serpents, fearing that I have already abused the
patience of the reader, by entering into details which I
might have here omitted, and which I purpose to treat of
more at large in another work, which has occupied me for
a long time past.

In conclusion, I regret not to be able to add, as a sequel
to this book, some observations on Fossil Serpents. To
this time we have not discovered more than the remains of
a very small number and these remains, confined almost
wholly to a few vertebrae, often accompanied by ribs, or
at most to some isolated fragments of the cranium, are
too incomplete to serve for the exact determination of the
genera, or the families to which these beings have pertained.
The few observations made on fossil serpents appear, in-

^ Consult the labours of Morren ; also of Crvier, Ossem. Fossil., iy,
p. 180, and v. p. 2, p. 168 ; Ooldfuss, Nova Acta, xv. p. 1, pi. 3, fig. 8.
&c.

DTSTRIBUTIOIT OB OPHIDIAN'S.

243

deed, to favour the opinion that those animals were not
numerous in antediluvian epochs, and that they did not
exist at that remote period when the earth was inhabited
by those Saurians of enormous magnitude, those singular
animals known by the names of Plesiosaurus and Ichthy-
osaurus, reptiles of which such fine remains are discovered
in the Juracic and chalk formations.

SGHLEeEL’S

AREANaEMENT OE SERPENTS.

Division I— INNOCUOUS SPECIES.

Family 1st.— BURROWING SERPENTS.

Genus I. — Tortrix.

Sp. 1.

Tortrix scytale,

... 2.

... 3.

.. 4.

Eryx,

... 5.

... 6.

... 7.

Boa,

Fam. 2d.— vermiform

SERPENTS.

Gen. Calamaria.

Sp. 1.

Calamaria lumbricoidea,

. .. Jafa, &c.

... 2.

.. Java

... 3.

... Chile

... 4.

.. North America

... 5.

.. Australia

... 6.

.. Java, &c.

... 7.

.. Cayenne

... 8.

. . Cape of Good Hop*

... 9.

melanocephala^

.. America

... 10.

. . North America

246

SCHLBGSL's AERAlSraEMENT OF SEKPENTS.

Sp. 11.

Calamaria oligodon,

... 12.

... 13.

... 14.

elapsoides,

Java

... 15.

... 16.

coronata,

... 17.

Chile

... 18.

g

Fam. 3d.— terrestrial SERPENTS.
Gen, I. — CORONELLA.

Sp. 1.

Coronella venustissima, . . .

... 2.

... 3.

... 4.

Guyana, &c.

... 5.

... 6.

, 7.

... 8.

... 9.

... 10.

rufescens,

Cape of Good Hope

... 11.

... 12.

Cape of Good Hope

... 13.

...14.

Russeli,

Gen. II. — Xenodon.

Sp. 1.

Xenodon severus,

... 2.

rhabdocephalus,

... 3.

inornatus,

... 4.

... 5.

Schottii,

Brazil

... 6.

Michahellis, . . .

... 7.

... 8.

Gen. hi.—

■Heterodon.

Sp. 1.

Heterodon platyrhinus, . . .

North America

... 2.

Brazil

... 3.

Mexico

Gen. IV.-

-Lycodon.

Sp. 1. Ly codon Hebe, India, &c.

... 2 carinatus, Ceylon

SCHLEOEL’S AREAIfOEMENT OF SERPENTS. 247

Sp. 3.

Lycodon Jar a,

India

... 4.

geometricus,

... 5.

Horstokii,

Gold Coast, Cape of G. H.

... 6.

unicolor,

Guinea

... 7.

Brazil

... 8.

Clelia,

South America

... 9.

suhcinctus,

Bengal, Java

... 10.

modestus,

... 11.

Nympha,

Bengal

... 12.

... 13,

petolarius,

Gen. V.-

-Coluber.

Sp. 1.

Coluber .i^sculapii,

... 2.

constrictor,

... 3.

radiatus,

... 4.

subradiatus,

... 5.

Blumenbachii, ...

India

... 6.

korros,

... 7.

corais,

... 8.

melanurus,

... 9.

panthorinus,

... 10.

virgatus,

... 11.

quadrivirgatus, . . .

...12.

diadema,

... 13.

miniatus,

... 14.

variabilis,

... 15.

plumbeus,

... 16.

poecilostoma,

... 17.

... 18.

Sayi,

.. 19.

... 20.

viridiflavus,

... 21.

Cliffordii,

... 22.

... 23.

florulentus,

Egypt

... 24.

trabalis,

... 25.

guttatus,

... 26.

leopardinus,

... 27.

conspillatus,

Gen. VI. — Herpetodryas.

Sp. 1. Herpetodryas carinatus, South America

... 2 serra, Brazil

3

4

5

6

248

CHLEaEL S ARU.ilS'aE^ET^'T OF SERPENTS.

1. 7. Herpetodryas

80stivus,

8

tricolor,

9

Goudotii,

10

oxycephalus, ....

11

lineatus,

12

, Helena,

13

rhodogaster, ....

14

, geminatus,

15

Psammophis,

16

, Dendrophis^

17

, Dipsas,

18

, getulus,

19

. cursor,

Gen. VII. — PsAMMOPHis.

1.

Psammophis lacertina,

2.

3.

pulverulenta,

4.

5.

6.

7.

elegans,

8.

Chile

Eam. 4th TREE-SNAKES.

Genus L — Dendrophis.

. 1.

Dendrophis liocerus,

2.

Cateshyi,

3.

aurata,

4.

picta,

5.

formosa,

Sumatra, &c.

6.

rhodopleuron,

7.

ornata,

8.

prasornata,

9.

smaragdina,

...... Gold Coast

10.

colubrina,

Gen. II. — Dryiophis.

A, of the Ancient World.

Sp. 1. Dryiophis nasuta, ... India, &c.

... 2 Langaha, Madagascar

3 prasina, India, &c.

SdHLESBL S AREANGEMBET OB SERPENTS.

249

B. of the New World,

Sp. 5.

Dryiophis Catesbyi,

... 6.

argentea^

... 7.

aurata,

Gen. III.-

-Dipsas.

Sp, 1.

Dipsas dendrophila,

... 2.

multimaculata,

... 3.

trigonata,

... 4.

cynodon,

... 5.

... 6.

irregularis,

... 7.

colubrina,

... 8.

... 9.

nebulata,

... 10.

Mikanii,

... 11.

Weigeli,

... 12.

Catesbyi,

... 13.

pavonia,

... 14.

bucephala,

... 15.

Dieperinki,

... 16.

Boa,

... 17.

... 18.

Java

... 19.

...20.

macrorhina,

... 21.

... 22.

... 23.

...24.

... 25.

fallax,

Fam. 5th.— FRESH-WATER SERPENTS.

Genus I. — Tropidonotus.

Sp. 1.

Tropidonotus natrix,

... 2.

... 3.

... 4.

... 5.

Java

... 6.

... 7.

... 8.

... 9.

Japan

... 10.

... 11.

... 12.

250

SCHLEaEL S ARRANGEMENT OE SERPENTS.

Sp. 13.

Tropidonotus schistosus, ..

... 14.

Central America

... 15.

... 16.

... 17.

viperinus,

... 18.

scaher,

... 19.

mortuarius, ..

Bengal

Gen. II. — Homalopsis.

Sp. 1.

Homalopsis buccata,

... 2.

... 3.

. . - . . .lava

... 4.

•Ta.va

... 6.

... 7.

India

... 8.

America

... 9.

South America

... 10.

Brazil, New Orleans

... 11.

South America

... 12.

Louisiana

... 13.

2

... 14.

?

Fam. VI.— boaform serpents.

Gen. I.-

—Boa.

Sp. 1.

Boa constrictor,

... 2.

. . . murina,

South America

... 3.

. , . cenchria,

South America

... 4.

. . . canina,

South America

... 5.

. . . hortulana, .

South America

... 6.

. . . Dussumieri,

Mauritius

... 7.

. . . carinata,

..: 8.

. . . conica,

Bengal

... 9.

... melanura,

Cuba

Gen. II.-

Python.

Sp. 1.

Python bivittatus,

Africa, Asia

... 2.

Malacca, &c.

... a

amethystinus,

Amboina, &c.

... 4.

Australia

Gen. III. — Acrochordus.

Sp. 1. Acrochordus Javanicus,
... 2 fasciatus. .

Java

India, &c.

schlegel’s ARKAIs^GEMENT of serpents.

251

Div. II.— VENOMOUS SERPENTS.

Family 1st.— COLUBRIFOFM VENOMOUS SERPENTS
Genus I. — Elaps.

A. American Species »

Sp. 1. Elaps corallinus, Central America

2. ...

. . . lemniscatus,

Guyana

3. ...

. . . Surinamensis,

Guyana

4. ...

... Jamesoni,

South America

B. African Species.

5. ...

• • Hygeiffi,

C. Asiatic Species.

. Cape of Good Hope

6. ...

... collaris,

Indian Islands

7. ...

. . . trimaculatus,

India

8. ...

... furcatus,

Java, &c.

9. ...

... MvirgatuSj

Java, &c.

D. Australian Species,

10. ...

... Muller i,

New Guinea

11. ...

.. coronatus,

Australia

12. ...

. . . Psammophis,

Australia

Gen. II. — Bungarus.

Sp. 1,

Bungarus annularis, ...

India

... 2.

semifasciatus,

Gen.

III.— Naja.

Sp. 1.

Naja tripudians,

... 2.

Haje,

... 3.

... 4.

... 5.

porphyrica,

... 6.

... 7.

... 8.

... 9.

Elaps,

?

... 10.

252

SCHLEGEL’S AREAl^G-EMENT OE SERPENTS.

Fam. 2d.— SEA-SERPENTS.
Gen. I. — Hydrophis.

Sp. 1.

Hydrophis schistosa,

... 2.

striata,

... 3.

nigrocincta,

... 4.

gracilis,

... 5.

Pelamys,

... 6.

... 7.

colubrina,

Fam. 3d.— venomous SERPENTS, PROPERLY SO CALLED.
Gen. I.— Trigonocephalus.

A. Mead covered hy Scales.

Sp. 1. Trigonocephalus Jacaraca,

... Brazil

... 2

atrox,

. . Guyana

... 3

. . Antilles

... 4.

bilineatus,

... South America

... 5

nigromaculatus, ,

... Ceylon

... 6

.. Sumatra

... 7

viridis,

. .. Sumatra^ Celebes

... 8

. .. Java

B. With Plates on the Head.

, Java

... 10

hypnale,

Ceylon, &c.

... 11

Halys,

, .. Tartary

... 12

Blomhoffii,

... 13

cenchris,

... North America

Gen. II. — Crotalus.

Sp. 1. Ci^otalus horridus, South America

... 2 durissus, North America

... 3. miliarius, North America

... 4 mutus, South Americ

Gen. III. — ViPERA.

Sp. 1.

Vipera arietans,

... 2.

Cape of Good Hope

... 3.

cornuta,

... 4.

Echis,

India

SCHLEaEL'S ARKANaEMENT OE SERPENTS. 253

Sp. 5. Vipera cerastes,

... 6 elegans,

.. 7 berus,

... 8 aspis,

... 9 ammodytes,

. . . 10 acanthophis,

Northern Africa
India

North and Central Europe
Southern Europe
Grreece, &c.

Australia

254

SCHLEaEL’S AREAKaEMENT OE SERPENTS.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

A B, Head of Herpetodryas carinatus, shewing the designations
of the large Scales or Plates that cover the heads of Serpents.

A, Upper Sitrpace.
a Vertical
h Occipitals
c Superciliars
d Temporals
e Posterior frontals
/ Anterior frontals
g Rostral
h Posterior oculars
j Anterior oculars
k Frenal

B, Under Surface.
I Nasal

m Marginal labials
n Middle labial
o Accessory labials
p Anterior geneials
q Posterior geneials '
r Marginal labials
s Gular scales
t Gular scuta
u Abdominal scuta

Innocuous Snakes,

Fig. 1. Tortrix Xenopeltis

2. Calamaria lumbricoidea

3. Coronella Cobella

4. Xenodon inornatus

5. Heterodon rhinostoma

6. Lycodon Hebe

7. Coluber constrictor

8. Herpetodryas carinatus

9. Psammophis lacertina

10. Dendrophis formosa

11. Dryiophis Gatesbyi

12. Dipsas cynodon

13. Tropidonotus trianguli-

gerus

Fig. 14. Homalopsis Martii

15. Boa canina

16. Acrochordus fasciatus

17. Python Schneideri

Venomous Snakes.

18. Flaps Surinamensis

21. Bungarus semifasciatus

22. Naja tripudians

23. Hydrophis schistosa

24. Trigonocephalus atrox

25. Crotalus Durissus .

26. Vipera elegans

CORRIGENDA.

The volume having been printed during the absence of the
Translator, the reader is requested to make the following Cor-
rections : —

Page 21, line 22, for species to read species approaches to

... 43, line 20, note, Driophis Dryiophis

... 44, line 10, for germs gums

26, ... their the

. . . 109, note, . . . Sehlangen Schlangen,

... 117, line 18, ... it them

...144, ... 18, ... represents dorsal ... represents the dorsal

PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH.

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