John, a distinguished mechanist, architect, and civil engineer, was born on the 7th of June 1761, at Phantassie, in the parish of Prestonkirk, in the county of East Lothian. His father, a highly respectable farmer, died in 1766, leaving a widow and nine children, of whom John was the youngest. The first rudiments of his education were acquired at the village school; and as it frequently happens that some trifling circumstance in early life gives a bent to the pursuits and fixes the destinies of the future man, so it fired with young Rennie. The school was situated on the opposite side of a brook, over which it was necessary to pass by means of a rustic bridge of stepping-stones; but when the freshes were out, the only alternative of crossing the stream was by means of a boat, which was kept at the workshop of Andrew Meikle, an ingenious mechanic, well known in Scotland as the inventor of the thrashing-machine, and many improvements in agricultural implements. In passing through the workshop, which stood on his family property, young Rennie's attention was forcibly drawn to the various operations that were in progress, and a great part of his leisure and holiday time was passed therein. The sons of Meikle and the workmen, seeing the great delight which he appeared to take in examining their labours, were in the habit of indulging him with their tools, and showing him their various uses. His evenings were chiefly employed in imitating those models which had particularly attracted his attention in the workshop; and it is known in the family that, at little more than ten years of age, he had constructed the model of a windmill, a pile-engine, and a steam-engine. That of the pile-engine is still in existence, and is said to be remarkably well made.

Having continued at Preston school till twelve years of age, he had about that time a quarrel with his schoolmaster, whom he deemed incompetent to give him further instruction, and therefore entreated that he might be permitted to leave the school. But his active mind soon became restless; for the first time he felt the hours hang heavily on his hands; and having expressed a wish to be placed under his friend Meikle, he employed himself with this ingenious mechanic for about two years; but his mind expanding with his growth, he began to feel that the progress of his intellectual faculties was likely to be retarded by a constant application to manual labour. He therefore at length determined to place himself under the tuition of Gibson, an able teacher of mathematics at Dunbar, where he soon distinguished himself in so particular a manner that David Loch, general inspector of the fisheries in Scotland, in de- scribing a visit which he paid to the school at Dunbar in 1778, notices the great proficiency displayed by young Rennie, prophesying that at no distant period he would prove an honour to his country. (Loch's Essays on the Trade, Commerce, Manufactures, and Fisheries of Scotland, vol. iii., p.211.) From this school, in less than two years, he returned to Meikle, with a mind well stored with every branch of mathematical and physical science which Gibson could teach him. About this time, Gibson being appointed master to the public academy of Perth, he earnestly recommended young Rennie to succeed him at Dunbar. But his views were of a more aspiring cast. As a matter of favour, he undertook the management of the school for about six weeks, when he returned to his family, occasionally visiting and assisting his friend Meikle, but mostly improving himself in drawing and making models of machinery. His first essay in practical mechanics was the repairing of a corn-mill in his native village; and he erected two or three others before he was eighteen years of age.

Resolved, however, that these mechanical occupations should not interfere with his studies, he laid his plans so that he should be able to proceed occasionally to Edinburgh with a view of improving himself in physical science. He there attended the lectures of Professors Robison and Black, and formed that acquaintance with the former of those gentlemen which was gradually raised into friendship, and which perhaps may be said to have laid the foundation of his future fortune; for by him he was introduced to Messrs Bolton and Watt of Soho, near Birmingham. With these gentlemen he remained but a few months for the purpose of receiving explanations respecting the plan of the Albion Mills, then erecting, the machinery of which he superintended. This exactly suited his views; for, conscious of his own powers, he deemed the capital the proper theatre to try his strength, and in this he was not mistaken.

In proceeding from Edinburgh to Soho, he had taken the route by Carlisle, Lancaster, Liverpool, and Manchester, for the purpose of visiting the different mills and public works in those great commercial and manufacturing towns; and the remarks which he made on the bridge then building over the Lune at Lancaster, on the docks at Liverpool, and more particularly on the Bridgewater Canal, are distinguished by great sagacity, and were of essential use to him afterwards. On leaving Soho, he again made a tour through the manufacturing districts of Leeds, Sheffield, Rotherham, and Newcastle.

For some time after he was settled in London the Albion Mills, of which Bolton, Watt, and Wyatt were the projectors and leading proprietors, and who engaged him to superintend the execution of the mill-work, occupied a great share of his attention. Watt, in his Notes to Professor Robison's Account of the Steam-Engine, says, that "in the construction of the mill-work and machinery they derived most valuable assistance from that able mechanician and engineer Mr John Rennie, then just entering into business, who assisted in placing them, and under whose direction they were executed." He also says that the machinery, which used to be made of wood, was here made of cast-iron, in improved forms; and thinks that this was the commencement of that system of mill-work which has proved so beneficial to this country. In fact, Rennie's mills are the most perfect species of mechanism in that way that exist, distinguished by a precision of movement and a harmony and proportion of parts that now serve as models throughout the empire. His water-mills are so accurately calculated that every particle of water is effectively employed, and none of it lost, as in the common mode of constructing water-wheels. There is reason to believe that the difficulties which occurred at the Albion Mills with regard to the ebb and flow of the tides, and which required all the ingenuity of that extraordinary genius Watt, first led Rennie to the study of that branch of civil engineering connected with hydraulics and hydrodynamics, and in which he soon became so celebrated as to have no rival after the death of Smeaton, in whose steps, he always used to say, he was proud to follow.

Our limited space will not permit us to enter upon even an enumeration of all his great works, much less to give any detailed account of them; we must therefore content ourselves by mentioning some of the most important designs and undertakings in his threefold capacity of mechanist, architect, and civil engineer; three branches of art so intimately blended as scarcely to admit of a separation.

First, as a mechanist. Immediately after the completion of the Albion Mills, in 1786 or 1787, Rennie's reputation was so firmly established in everything connected with mill-work that he found himself in a very extensive line of business. To him the planters of Jamaica and of the other West India Islands applied for their sugar-mills, which he constructed in a manner so superior to the old ones that he soon obtained almost a monopoly of these expensive works. The powder-mill at Tunbridge, the great flour-mill at Wandsworth, several saw-mills, the machinery for various breweries and distilleries, were mostly of his manufacture; and wherever his machinery was required to be impelled by steam, the incomparable engines of his friends Messrs Bolton and Watt supplied the moving power; but, contrary to what has been stated in some of the public journals, he never had the least concern in directing, contriving, or advising any one part or movement of the steam-engine. He also constructed those beautiful specimens of machinery, the rolling and triturating mills, at the Mint on Tower Hill, to which Bolton and Watt's engines give motion; and at the time of his death he was engaged in the construction of a rolling-mill, and similar machinery, for the intended mint at Calcutta.

As a bold and ingenious piece of mechanism, which may be considered as distinct from positive architecture, there was nothing in Europe that could bear a comparison with the Southwark Bridge. The three immense arches, the centre one of 240, and each side arch of 210 feet span, consist entirely of masses of cast-iron, of various forms and dimensions, put together on the same principle as a similar fabric of hewn stone; a method of employing iron which may be considered to form a new epoch in the history of bridge-building. Various sinister predictions were entertained against this light and beautiful bridge, which was to be rent in pieces by the expansive power of the first summer's heat, or, if it escaped that, by the contraction of the first winter's cold; but it has stood the test of many winters and summers, and appears not to feel either. Rennie was applied to by the East India Company for the design of a cast-iron bridge to be thrown over the River Gooey at Lucknow, at the desire of the nabob vizier of Oude. It consisted of three arches of cast-iron, the centre arch 90, and each of the other arches 80 feet span. The arches were cast, and a superintending engineer sent out with them; but on their arrival, the nabob, in one of those moments of caprice to which eastern despots, even in their impotency, are so liable, changed his mind, and would not allow it to be put up.

Secondly, as an architect. Since there are few parts of civil engineering that do not occasionally require the aid of architecture, Rennie, at a very early age of his progress, was called upon for a display of his skill in this line. Amongst his first undertakings in either line was that of the Lancaster Canal, which presented many difficulties, and amongst others, that of carrying it by an aqueduct over the Lune, so as not to interrupt the navigation of the river. Being one of the largest fabrics of its kind in Europe, and of a pleasing design, it is an object that arrests the attention of strangers, and is very generally admired. The bridges of Leeds, Musselburgh, Kelso, Newton-Stewart, Boston, New Galloway, and a multitude of others, attest the architectural skill, the solidity, and, we may add, the good taste of Rennie; whilst a thousand smaller ones, with the various locks, wharf-walls, quays, embankments appertaining to canals, rivers, and harbours in every part of the United Kingdom, are so many proofs of his diversified talent, and his skill in adapting the means to the end. The breakwater in Plymouth Sound can scarcely be called an architectural work, but it is constructed on true hydrodynamical principles, and so gigantic in its dimensions, and cyclopean in its structure, as to defy equally the force of the waves and the ravages of time. To Whidby, who zealously superintended the execution of this immortal work, the highest praise is also due; nor was the plan finally determined on without his advice and assistance.

But the architectural work which, above all others, will immortalize the name of Rennie, is the Waterloo Bridge, a structure which, even according to foreigners, had no parallel in Europe (and if not in Europe, certainly not in the whole world) for its magnitude, its beauty, and its solidity. That a fabric so immense, presenting a straight horizontal line, stretching over nine large arches, should not have altered more than a few inches, not five in any one part, from that straight line, is an instance of firmness and solidity utterly unknown, and almost incredible; but all Rennie's works have been constructed for posterity. The bridge of Neuilly, which the French ranked as superior to that of Waterloo, actually sunk 23 inches. Rennie made nothing slight; nor would he engage in any undertaking where, from an ill-judging economy, a sufficiency of funds was not forthcoming to meet his views. Another work, executed from a design of his, is that of the stone bridge over the Thames, by which the old London Bridge, so long the disgrace of the metropolis, was replaced. His design, which was selected by a committee of the House of Commons, out of at least thirty that were offered, consisted of a granite bridge of five arches, the centre one of 150 feet span, being one of the largest stone arches in the world which has been constructed in modern times. Of the bridges which connect the banks of the Thames, three have been built from the designs of one man; a fact which must throw a lustre on the name of Rennie, and be regarded with a feeling of pride by the most distant connection of his family.

Thirdly, as a civil engineer. The first great attempt in this line of his profession was the survey and execution of the Crinan Canal, a work remarkable for the multitude of practical difficulties that occurred throughout the whole of this bold undertaking, it being necessary in many places to cut down through solid rock to the depth of 60 feet; and it is rather remarkable that the second undertaking, the Lancaster Canal, was also replete with difficulties, and called for the exercise of his skill as an architect, as we have already seen in noticing the aqueduct over the Lune. But these two works established his reputation as a civil engineer, and his opinion and assistance were required from all quarters. His faculties were now called into full play, and they expanded with the demands made upon them. The following are some of the most important of those the execution of which he personally attended:—Aberdeen, Brechin, Grand Western, Kennet and Avon, Portsmouth, Birmingham, Worcester, besides many others. But the resources of his mind were displayed in all their vigour in the plans and construction of those magnificent docks which are at once an ornament to the capital, and of the utmost utility to commerce and navigation. Nor are these splendid and useful works confined to the metropolis. The docks at Hyll, Greenock, Leith, Liverpool, and Dublin attest his skill; and the harbours of Queensferry, Berwick, Howth, Holyhead, Dunleary (now called Kingstown Harbour), Newhaven, and several others owe their security and convenience to his labours. But even these works, splendid as they are, must yield to what he has planned and executed in her Majesty's dockyards at Portsmouth, Plymouth, Chatham, and Sheerness. The last was a mere quicksand of 40 feet in depth, mixed with mud and the wrecks of old ships; the whole of which was excavated, and a magnificent basin constructed, with a beautiful surrounding wall of granite, with which three of the finest dry docks in the universe communicate; and that important dockyard, which may be said to command the mouths of the Thames and the Medway, from being an unhealthy and detestable place, and wholly inefficient for its purpose, is now, by being raised many feet, laid out with skill and judgment, one of the most convenient in the kingdom. He also planned the new naval arsenal at Pembroke, which is considered as a perfect model for a building-yard. The repairing of the pier-head at Ramsgate harbour was a remarkable instance of his skill. The violence of the waves, acting upon the bad quality of the stone, had so completely undermined it that the stability of the whole pier began to be endangered. It was from 10 to 13 feet below the level of low-water, spring-tides; yet, by means of the improved diving-bell and its apparatus, the pier-head was not only effectually secured, but rendered more solid and durable than it originally had been. In the harbour of Howth the diving-bell was of the utmost use; and it is remarkable enough that the masons who have been for a little while accustomed to work under water prefer it—at least the Irish masons do—to working in the air, it being cooler in summer, and warmer in winter; though an increase of pay for submarine work is probably the real cause of preference.

The last effort of Rennie's genius to which we shall advert was the drainage of that vast tract of marsh land bordering upon the rivers Trent, Witham, New Welland, and Ouse which for centuries past had baffled the skill of some of the ablest men in that department of civil engineering. Upon the same principles, he laid down a grand scheme for draining the whole of that immense district known by the name of the Bedford Level, which has in part been carried into execution by the completion of the Eau-brink Cut, near Lynn. The estimate he made for draining the whole amounted to £1,200,000.

Rennie's industry was very extraordinary; though fond of the society of his select friends, and of rational conversation, he never suffered amusement of any kind to interfere with his business, which seldom engaged him less than twelve hours, and frequently fifteen, in the day. His conversation was always amusing and instructive. He possessed a rich fund of anecdote, and, like his old friend James Watt, told a Scotch story admirably. As a travelling companion, he was highly entertaining; he knew everybody on the road, and everybody knew John Rennie. Of an ardent and anxious mind, and naturally impetuous, he was gifted with the most perfect self-control; and the irritation of the moment was seen but as a light summer's cloud passing across his finely-marked features, which were on so large a scale, though blended with much mildness as well as dignity, as to obtain for his noble bust by Chantrey, when exhibited in Somerset House, the name of Jupiter Tonans.

Rennie possessed considerable skill in bibliography; and being a zealous and liberal collector, he succeeded in forming a very valuable library, consisting of the best and rarest books in all the branches of science and art, of voyages and travels, and many curious books in the black letter; whilst in his own department it contained every work of the least merit, in whatever language it might be written. He had, besides, a good collection of mathematical and REPTILIA:

These form the third great division of the animal kingdom, and in systematic works on natural history occupy an intermediate position between the class of birds and that of fishes.

As in tracing the modifications of various organs, from the zoophitical and radiated animals to the molluscous, from these to the articulated classes, and onwards through the fishes to the reptile tribes, it is among the last named that we first perceive the passage from the truly aquatic to the terrestrial or air-breathing animal,—so the respiratory organs of such tribes are naturally those which excite the greatest and most peculiar interest. Among the more important classes of animals, respiration is effected in one or other of two ways; 1st, either by certain internal cellular sacs, for the reception of air, called lungs, which communicate with the mouth and nose by means of the trachea or windpipe; or, 2ndly, by external organs called gills, which require either to float in water, or to be in some other way continually immersed in that fluid. The object of both contrivances is to subject the blood to the influence of vital air, and this end is obtained very admirably, though in a different way, by each. All mammiferous animals, including whales, all birds, and all reptiles (in the perfect state), possess the first form of the respiratory organs; all fishes, and several reptiles in their adolescent condition, are distinguished by the second. But even among such as are furnished with true lungs we observe different modifications of the circulating system.

The principal characteristic of reptiles in general consists in this, that only a portion of the blood is transmitted through the lungs, the remainder being projected by the heart directly to the other parts of the body, without being specially subjected to the influence of the respiratory organs; whereas, in the higher classes, such as man, the rest of the mammalia, and birds, the whole of the blood must pass by the lungs before it is retransmitted to the more distant parts of the circulating system. The amphibious habits of such reptiles as are provided with gills result in a great measure from the power which they thus possess of carrying on a partial circulation of the blood independent of respiration. The respiration of animals, or the process by which the blood is oxygenated, becomes weaker and less

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1 The natural history of reptiles is frequently treated of under the term Herpetology, from ἑρπετόν, reptile, and σύστημα, discourse. The verb ἑρπετόν signifies to creep.

2 See Animal Kingdom. Reptilia frequent in proportion to the diminution which takes place in the quantity of blood transmitted to the lungs, compared with that which passes directly from the heart; and as it is respiration which warms the blood, and produces in the fibres their susceptibility of nervous irritation, it follows, as observed by Cuvier, that the blood of reptiles is cold, and their muscular strength much less than that of birds and quadrupeds. The seat of their sensations is also much less centralised than in the last-named classes, and hence many of them exhibit life and motion long after their heads have been severed from their bodies.

A truly amphibious animal, according to the proper meaning of the term (which is derived from ἀπό, on both sides, and βάτραχος, frog), ought to possess the power of breathing under water like a fish, and of respiring atmospheric air like a land animal. According to this interpretation, neither seals, nor beavers, nor even whales, are truly amphibious, for they cannot sustain their existence under water except by the use of a certain portion of air which they have previously inspired at the surface. In like manner, neither the frog nor the tadpole is amphibious (unless it may be for a short intermediate period, or state of transition); for the former seeks the water merely as a place of temporary resort, in which it cannot breathe, and the latter is entirely aquatic, being unprovided with lungs, and consequently unable to respire, except through the medium of water. A frog, therefore, can only be said to be amphibious in as far as it possesses, at two different periods of its life, the faculty of living first in the water and then on the land.

Born with gills, and destitute of external members, its form and functions are originally rather those of a fish than of a reptile; but as it advances in growth, the four limbs become developed, the tail decreases and disappears, the jaws are formed, and the gills absorbed, and their functions supplied by lungs. But the peculiar structure of the heart, already mentioned, enables these and other species to remain submerged for a great length of time.

Among the many wonderful anomalies, however, with which the kingdom of nature presents us, there exist two truly amphibious animals, the proteus and the sirens, both of which are provided at one and the same time with the gills of a fish and the lungs of a terrestrial creature. But their propensities are decidedly aquatic. The former inhabits certain subterranean waters in Carniola, the latter rejoices in the muddy marshes of South Carolina. Both will be hereafter noticed.

The amount of respiration is by no means so fixed or determinate among reptiles as it may be said to be in quadrupeds and birds, but varies with the proportion which the diameter of the pulmonary artery bears to that of the aorta. Thus, turtles and lizards respire much more than frogs and others of the class; and from this results a much greater difference in energy and sensibility between different tribes of Reptilia, than exists among the members of the class of quadrupeds or birds. Reptiles also may be said to exhibit a much greater variety of form, aspect, and condition, than either of the classes just named; and it is in their production that nature (as we are wont to term the powers of the Omnipotent Creator), has invented the most extraordinary forms and modifications which exist among the vertebrated division of the animal kingdom.

No reptile is known to hatch its eggs, and in the Batrachian order (frogs, toads, &c.) fecundation does not take place till after the female has excluded the so-called ova, which in such cases are covered merely by a slight and simple membrane, bearing no resemblance to a shell. The young of this Batrachian order, on leaving the egg, bear the general form of fishes, and are, moreover, furnished with gills, which a few of them retain even after acquiring lungs, and assuming the other attributes of maturity. Among several of the egg-laying species, the included young are not only formed, but far advanced at the period of laying; while a few, such as vipers and certain lizards, are actually born alive, being hatched within the body of the mother. Hence the expression by which these are designated, of ovo-viviparous. Some even of those which usually lay eggs may be rendered viviparous by a short retardation of the process of laying, as effected by M. Geoffroy in the case of certain snakes by merely depriving them of water.

Although many reptiles are active leapers, and even run with rapidity for a short distance, the coldness of their blood, and proportional want of muscular power, induce on the whole an indolent habit. They are probably, of all vertebrated animals, the least perfectly endowed with the power of migratory movement. The brain is proportionally very small, a sea-tortoise, for example, weighing twenty-nine pounds, having been found to possess brains to the weight only of two drams, that is, equal to not more than an eighteen hundred and fifty-sixth part of the entire animal. Now, we know, that in several small birds and quadrupeds, the brain exceeds a thirtieth part of the remainder of the body. In reptiles, indeed, the brain seems less necessary than among other vertebrated beings, to the exercise of the animal and vital functions, and their sensations are less referable to a common centre. Connection with the nervous system is also much less necessary to the contraction of their fibres, and a portion of their flesh possesses its irritability long after separation from the rest of the body. The heart beats for several hours after being extracted, and the said extraction does not prevent the body itself from moving about for a considerable time. The cerebellum in several species is extremely small, a fact regarded as being in exact accordance with their indolence of movement.

The small size of the pulmonary vessels admits of reptiles suspending their respiration without arresting the course of the blood, and they can accordingly dive more easily, and continue submerged for a longer time, than either mammiferous quadrupeds or birds. The cellsules of the lungs being less numerous, as having fewer vessels to lodge upon their parietes, are much wider, and these organs have sometimes indeed the form of simple sacs scarcely cellular.

They are all provided with a trachea and larynx, although many are entirely mute. Their blood being naturally cold, they have no need of such integuments as fur or feathers to retain the heat, and are covered either by scales or a naked skin.

Although no portion of the organ of hearing is external in reptiles, yet among crocodiles there is an appearance of an outer meatus auditorius, owing to the skin forming a thick cover over the tympanum. This peculiar formation is sufficient to explain a passage in Herodotus, who states, that the Egyptians were in the habit of suspending jewels from the ears of the crocodile.

The digestion in reptiles is extremely slow, and all their sensations are obtuse. In cold, and even in temperate climates, they fall into a state of torpor during the prevalence of chilly weather, being more than any other class of creatures under the influence of temperature,—“frigida restaurantium animalia?” and what is truly singular, is the fact mentioned by Humboldt, that the inverse cause produces a corresponding effect on some of the species of tropical climates, the caymans or crocodiles of South America becoming torpid, and entombing themselves in mud, during the prevalence of the hottest season.

Indeed, among the more singular features in the economy of the reptile race, may be numbered their power of enduring long-continued abstinence, and the lethargic state, infinitely more profound than the winter sleep of quadrupeds, into which they yearly fall. In connection with this subject, Mr Jacobson of Copenhagen has recognised in reptiles a special arrangement of certain vessels which constitute a peculiar venous system. This system may be said to exist more or less in all the race; but, rudimentary in the tortoises and crocodiles, it shows its chief development among the other Saurians, and the Ophidian and Batrachian groups. “It is composed of the veins of the abdominal members, the pelvic or caudal veins, the hinder veins of the kidneys, the veins of the oviductus, a great portion of the veins of the skin, of those of the muscles of the abdomen, and of those of certain organs peculiar to the reptiles. These veins combine, and form one or many trunks, which proceed either into the vena porta or the liver, or into both. What especially distinguishes this system is, that in it a part of the veins of the organs of locomotion, and of the skin, proceed to distribute themselves into the liver. There is no other example of this among the vertebrated animals. Certain special organs appear connected with this venous system in a peculiar manner, and are regarded by Mr Jacobson as proper for secreting and preserving a nutritive juice, destined to be re-absorbed in the rigorous months of the severe season, during the hybernal slumber of these animals.”

In regard to the geographical distribution of reptiles in general, we shall here briefly observe, that they augment in number as we advance towards the equatorial regions. While Sweden possesses scarcely a dozen snakes and lizards, about three or four frogs and toads, and not a single tortoise, the temperate parts of Europe produce about forty snakes and lizards, and several of the tortoise tribe. In Scandinavia, however, although the species are so few in number, the individuals are much more abundant than in Britain; from which we infer, that it is rather the want of strong continuous summer heat than the actuality of our winter’s cold, that is unfavourable to the production of reptiles in our cloudy clime. As soon as we gain the southern extremity of Spain, the number of species in these tribes greatly increases, and in Andalusia the African complexion of the country is still further manifested by the frequent appearance of the chameleon. On proceeding further south, not only does the number of reptiles increase, but they also augment in size, splendour, and ferocity, till from the Tropic of Cancer onwards and beyond the line, we meet with crocodiles, caymans, boas, and other giants of the reptile race. Several species, however, even in sultry latitudes, are subjected by their peculiar position to the influence of severe cold. Thus the ocelot of Mexico occurs in the chill waters of lakes elevated above 8000 feet from the surface of the sea; and the salamander (a water newt) of Europe is frequently found frozen up in ice in early spring, without being destroyed. Indeed, Dufay has remarked, as a singular circumstance, that those very animals of which it once was fabled they could withstand the fiery flames, are in reality endowed with the almost equally surprising power of resisting frost, so generally fatal to the life of reptiles.

Although we have now endeavoured to state a few of Reptilia, what may be regarded as the generalities of the reptile class, yet it must be borne in mind, that no great division of the animal kingdom exhibits such a singular diversity of form and aspect, or is more liable to exceptions from whatever features we may incline to consider as general characteristics. “Aussi les reptiles,” says Baron Cuvier, “présentent-ils des formes, des mouvements, et des propriétés beaucoup plus variées que les deux classes précédentes (quadrupèdes et birds); et c’est surtout dans leur production que la nature semble s’être jouée à imaginer des formes bizarres, et à modifier dans tous les sens possibles le plan général qu’elle a suivi pour les animaux vertébrés, et spécialement pour les classes ovipares.” Among no animals indeed do we meet with beings of more singular forms than in the class Reptilia, many of which exhibit an aspect so unusual, so grotesque, and even so formidable, that it would be difficult for the imagination of the poet or the painter to exceed the “dread realities” of nature. Although the majority are oviparous, some, as we have said, produce their young alive. Many have four legs, some only two, which vary from an anterior to a posterior pair, while the entire tribe of serpents have no legs at all. Some have their bodies more or less closely beset by scales, varying in size from extreme tenuity to the strength and thickness of mailed armour; many, as the numerous tribes of frogs, are defended only by a soft and mucous skin; as many more are shut up in a strong bony box-like covering, within which they dwell, as in an impregnable castle. The greater number possess a tail, but several entirely want that organ. Numerous tribes live unceasingly in the water, others pass their infancy in moist abodes, their maturer years on terra firma, provided in the former case with gills, in the latter with lungs for respiration. Marshes and muddy swamps, the dry and desert sands, the umbrageous woods, the upland mountains, the “resounding shores,” are all alike pervaded by one or many of the numerous forms of reptile life. The subterranean proteus fears the light, though dealing in no deeds of darkness; the agile lizard, “all scaled silver bright,” basked delighted beneath the beams of the most brilliant sun, “no cloud in heaven.” Some are fierce and carnivorous, others gentle and herbivorous. The most deadly poison is distilled by many, while entire tribes are quite innocuous; and while some are resplendent in burnished gold and azure, “like mailed angels on a battle-day,” as many exhibit the last stage of ugliness in worse

Than fables yet have feigned or fear conceived, Gorgons, and hydras, and chimeras dire.

It has been observed, that in the popular superstitions of various countries, the reptile race have been almost always clothed in revolting attributes, and that the worship accorded them was one not of gratitude, but fear. Victor or vanquished, they seem ever to have borne a cruel and pestilential character, in opposition to the welfare of the human race; and the prowess both of gods and men was called into frequent and vigorous exercise for their subduction. “Glorious Apollo” pursued the enormous Python with his unerring shafts; the dreadful Acheloüs was strangled by the son of Jove, in spite of folds “voluminous and vast;” the Hesperian gardens and the golden fleece were protected by fierce dragons; Perseus, from the dripping head of Medusa, sowed with serpents the arid Libyan sands; and gorgons and furies, discord and envy, are armed by the poets with snakes, “as appropriate emblems of their ministry of vengeance.”

It was chiefly on the comparative consideration of the amount of respiration, and of the organs of movement, that Reptilia.

Chelonia. M. Brogniart founded the four great orders of the class Reptilia, which are now so generally adopted in the works of systematic authors. They are as follows:

1st, The Chelonian Reptiles (turtles, tortoises, &c.), of which the heart is provided with two auricles, and the body, borne on four legs, is contained as it were within an upper and an under buckler, formed by a peculiar structure of the ribs and sternum.

2d, The Saurian Reptiles (crocodiles, lizards, &c.), which have likewise two auricles and four legs, but the body is covered with scales.

3d, The Ophidian Reptiles (or serpents), which have a heart furnished with two auricles, but the body is destitute of legs.

4th, The Batrachian Reptiles (frogs, toads, &c.), in which the heart has only a single auricle, the body is naked, and the majority of species undergo a kind of transition as they advance in age, from the form of a fish with gills to that of a quadruped with lungs. Some, however, as already mentioned, never lose their gills, and a few have only a single pair of legs.

Our notices of the various genera of the different orders must be here extremely brief; and in the following slight sketch we shall adhere, as we have done in most of our zoological treatises, to the systematic exposition of Baron Cuvier.

Order I.—Chelonia. Chelonian Reptiles.

The various groups of this order are known to English readers by the general names of tortoise and turtle—the former appellation being usually bestowed on those which dwell on land, the latter on such as inhabit water. The heart is composed of two auricles, and of a ventricle with two unequal chambers communicating with each other. The blood from the body enters into the right auricle, that from the lung into the left; but both streams mingle together more or less in passing by the ventricle.

All the species of this order are distinguished at first sight by the peculiar armature in which the body is contained, and which consists of an upper and under buckler, nearly meeting along their edges, and permitting only the head, limbs, and tail to appear externally. The upper Chelonia buckler, called the carapace, is formed by the ribs, which amount to eight pair, extended and united by toothed sutures between, and having bony plates adhering to the annular portion of the dorsal vertebrae, and so connected that all these parts are rendered motionless. The under buckler is called the plastron, and is composed of portions which represent the sternum, and which are usually nine in number. A kind of lateral edging or frame-work, consisting of osseous pieces, bearing some analogy to the sternal or cartilaginous portion of the ribs, and which in one sub-genus even continue cartilaginous, surrounds the carapace, binding and uniting together the ribs by which it is composed. Thus the cervical and caudal vertebrae alone retain the power of distinct movement. (See Plate I., fig. 1.)

These two bony envelopes being covered immediately by skin or scales, the shoulder-blade and all the muscles of the neck and fore-arms, instead of having their attachments over the ribs and spine, as in other animals, are supported from beneath these parts; and the same peculiarity occurs in relation to the bones of the lower extremity and the muscles of the thighs, so that, as Baron Cuvier observes, a turtle may be termed "un animal retourné," as if it had been turned inside out.

The vertebral extremity of the shoulder-blade articulates with the carapace; and the opposite end, which may be regarded as analogous to the clavicle, articulates with the plastron in such a manner that the two shoulders form a ring through which the oesophagus and wind-pipe pass. A third bony branch, larger than the other two, and directed downwards and backwards, represents, as in birds, the coracoid process, but its posterior extremity is free.

The lungs are much expanded, and lie in the same cavity with the other viscera. The thorax being immovable in the majority of species, it is by the play of the mouth that the Chelonians respire,—holding the jaws closed, and alternately lowering and raising the hyoid bone. The first movement permits the air to enter by the nostrils, and then the tongue closing the interior opening, the second movement forces the air into the lungs.

The Chelonians have no teeth, but their jaws are furnished with a horny substance like the mandibles of birds, with the exception of the Chelydes, in which they are cover-

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1 Essai d'une Classification Naturelle des Reptiles, Paris, 1805. 2 The following are some of the principal works on reptiles in general. We do not here name those systematic writers who have treated of the class in question merely in the course of their universal exposition of the animal kingdom, although they are elsewhere referred to in the progress of the present treatise.

J. N. Laurenti, Systema Medico-Animalium exhibens Synopsis Animalium et Reptilium Austriacorum, 1768. This work has been since attributed to M. Winterl, a chemist of Vienna, who is merely named by Laurenti, on the terminal page, as having been a co-labourer in his therapeutical experiments. Lacépéde, Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes Ovipares et des Serpens, 2 vols. 4to, 1788-90. The Abbé Bonnatere is the author of the text which accompanies the plates of reptiles in the French Encyclopédie, under the title of Tableau Encyclopédique et Méthodique des trois Régnes de la Nature (Encyclopédie ou Philosophie). 1789-90. L. J. M. Dambenton composed Les Quadrupèdes Ovipares et les Serpens, in Dictionnaire des Animaux Vertébrés, tom. iii. part. de l'Encyclop. Mithod. J. G. Schneider, the celebrated Greek scholar, has not published any general work on reptiles, but has written extensively on various groups. His productions are the following:—Amphibiorum Physiologia Specim. i. and ii. 1777. Amphibiorum naturalis et litterarum Fasciculus primus, continens Ranae, Calamitas, Bufones, Salamandrae, et Hydrae, in genere et species descriptae notoque suis distributis, 1799. Fasciculus secundus, continens Crocodilus, Scincos, Chamaeleonem, Boas, Pseudoboa, Elaphe, Anguinae, Amphibiorum Catalogus, 1801. Latreille, Histoire Naturelle des Reptiles, four vols. small 4to, 1801. Dr Shaw, General Zoology, vol. iii.—Amphibia, 1802. F. M. Daudin, Histoire Naturelle des Reptiles, eight vols. 8vo, 1802-3. Alex. Brogniart, Essai d'une Classification Naturelle des Reptiles, 2 vols. Opus. Diss. Dissertatio de Genere Cheloniae, 1811. Blasius Merrem, Tentamen Systematis Amphibiorum, one vol. 8vo, 1820. A. H. Haworth, A Letter on the Battery Arrangement of the Class of Reptiles, in the Philosophical Magazine for 1825, p. 372. F. J. Fitzinger, Neue Classification der Reptilien, 4 fasc. folio, vol. 4to, 1826. Ritgen, A Classification of Reptiles, in Nova Acta Acad. Nat. Cur. for 1828. Bory St Vincent, Résumé d'Entomologie, en Hist. Nat. des Reptiles, 12mo, 1828. J. Wagler, Naturliches system der Amphibien, one vol. 8vo, 1830. We have also by the same author Icones et Descriptiones Amphibiorum, two fascic. folio, 1830, as well as some explications and critical remarks on Saba's plates of reptiles (Jahrs. 1833, ninth cahier, p. 885). J. E. Gray, Synopsis Reptilium, part 1st, 1831; and later in the same year, Synopsis of the Species of the Class Reptilia, in Griffith's Animal Kingdom, end of vol. ix. John Müller, Beiträge zur Anatomie und Naturgeschichte der Amphibien, in Zeitschrift für Physiologie von Tiedemann, &c., No. 19, p. 180, 1832. H. T. Schinz, Naturgeschichte und Abbildungen der Reptilien, 4 fascic. large 4to, 1833. We conclude the list with a reference to a work already named, and frequently hereafter quoted, the Erpetologie Générale, ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles, de Messrs Dumeril et Bibron. The best and latest work on one class of Reptilia, the Serpents, is Essai sur la Physionomie des Serpens of M. Schlegel, superintendent of the Museum of Natural History at Leyden, published in two 8vo volumes and a folio volume of plates, at the Hague in 1837. A partial translation of it, by Professor Trall, appeared at Edinburgh, 1842. Their tympanic cavity and palatine arches are fixed to the cranium, and immovable. The tongue is short, and beset with fleshy filaments. The stomach is simple and strong, the intestines of medium length, and unfurnished with a cecum. The bladder is very large. The females in this order produce eggs provided with a hard shell. The males of many species may be recognised by the greater concavity of the plastron.

The limbs of Chelonian reptiles being so confined between the carapace and plastron, their powers of locomotion, at least on land, are very limited. They can scarcely raise their bodies above the surface of the ground, and they advance by a slow, awkward, and apparently embarrassed action. But the aquatic species being provided with fin-like members, and dwelling amid a fluid well adapted to their use, the flat and smoothly expanded bodies of these creatures glide along with great ease and considerable swiftness. Such of the land species as inhabit temperate countries pass the colder seasons of the year in a state of torpidity, having previously excavated or taken possession of some secure and subterranean retreat. They are supposed to be extremely long lived. The marine species are more tropical in their distribution; and we are not aware that any hibernation takes place among them. They are often met with many hundreds leagues from land. They deposit their eggs on sandy shores, where they are hatched by the heat of the sun,—the process of laying being usually carried on during the night.

The dimensions of animals of this order exhibit a great range, some being only a few inches in length, while others attain to a gigantic size, and weigh many hundred pounds. They are all extremely tenacious of life,—whether under the effects of long-continued abstinence while being conveyed from distant regions, or when suffering from the infliction of grievous wounds. Indeed they will live for months, or, as it is alleged, even for years, without any food, and will show decided symptoms of life and locomotion for several weeks after their heads have been severed from their bodies.

The whole of this order was formerly contained in the old and unrestricted genus Testudo of Linnæus, divided by Cuvier into the five following generic groups, of which the distinctive characters are mainly derived from the form and covering of the carapace, and from the feet.

Genus Testudo, Brongn. Tortoises. Carapace bulged, supported by a solid bony frame-work, and soldered by the greater portion of its lateral edges to the plastron. Legs as if truncated, the toes extremely short, and united almost to the nails, of which there are five to the fore-feet, and four to the hinder, all thick and conical.

The species, most of which subsist on vegetables, are too numerous to be here described, but we shall indicate a few of the more noted or remarkable.

The Greek tortoise (T. Graeca, Linn.) is the most common of the European kinds, and occurs in most of the countries which surround the Mediterranean, and in several islands of that sea. It is distinguished by its broad and equally bulged carapace, its relieved scales, granulated in the centre, striated on the margins, and spotted, or rather marbled, with black and yellow; in the centre of its posterior margin there is a small prominence slightly curved over the tail. The Greek tortoise lives on leaves, fruits, and insects. It sleeps throughout the winter, pairs in spring, and lays four or five eggs resembling those of a pigeon. It seldom attains to the length of twelve inches, its general extent being from six to eight. This species has been known to reach an extraordinary old age. One of the most remarkable instances has been often recorded. It is that of a tortoise which was introduced into the archiepiscopal garden at Lambeth in the time of Archbishop Laud, about the year 1633, and continued there till 1753, when it died, as was supposed, rather from accidental neglect than the effect of old age. Its shell is preserved in the library of the palace. The Greek turtle is used as an article of food in some of the southern countries of Europe. According to Forskal, it retires under ground in September, and re-appears in February. In this country it hibernates later, and does not emerge so soon. It lays its eggs in June, in a small hole, which it scratches in some sunny spot, and the young are hatched in autumn, being on their first exclusion about the size of walnuts.

Of the foreign species, one of the most remarkable for size is the Indian tortoise (T. Indica, Voss.), first described by M. Perrault. It has been taken on the coast of Coromandel, and sometimes measures four feet and a half from the nose to the tail, with a height or convexity of fourteen inches. The shell is brown, reflected or turned upwards over the neck; and there is a tubercle on each of the three anterior scutella.

Other species are less remarkable for size than for the beautiful distribution of the colours by which they are adorned. Such is the geometrical tortoise (T. geometrica, Linn.), which is easily distinguished by the symmetrical regularity with which the yellow rays, and the alternate lines of brown and yellow, are disposed upon the scales of the upper shield. Certain species have the anterior part of the shield moveable, while in others the posterior portion is in that condition. The former constitute the genus Pyxis of Mr Bell, while the latter pertain to the genus Kinixix of that author.

Genus Emys, Brongn. Fresh-water tortoises.

The species of this genus are not distinguishable from those of the preceding by more important characters than the greater separation of the toes, which are terminated by longer nails, and have their intermediate spaces filled up by membrane. The number of the nails is the same, but the form of their feet enables them to indulge in more aquatic propensities. Their envelope is generally of a flatter form than that of the terrestrial species, and the majority live on insects, small fishes, &c. (See Plate I., fig. 2.)

One of the best known of this group is the speckled tortoise (T. Europaea, Schm.; T. orbicularis, Linn.), a small species, pretty widely distributed over the southern and eastern countries of Europe. Its carapace is of an oval form, but slightly convex, rather smooth, of a blackish colour, beset with innumerable small yellow spots. Its length seldom exceeds ten inches. This creature inhabits lakes, marshes, and muddy places. Its flesh is esteemed as food, on which account it is sometimes kept in ponds appropriated to the purpose, and fattened with lettuce leaves, bread, and other substances. It may also be kept in a cellar, and fed with oats scattered on the floor. These it eats readily, especially when they have begun to germinate. Its natural food, however, is said to consist of insects, slugs, &c. It deposits its eggs in warm and sandy places, and Marsigli alleges that an entire year elapses before they are hatched.

Another species of this genus is la Bourbeuse of the French (T. lutaria, Linn.), commonly called the mud-tortoise. It is a small animal, with a flattish brown-coloured shield, and a tail of considerable length, which, instead of being kept bent inwards, is stretched out in walking. It is well known in France, and is particularly plentiful in Languedoc and many parts of Provence. It has been known to occur in such abundance in a lake of about half a league in width in the plain of Durance, that the neighbouring peasantry, on one occasion, almost entirely sustained themselves Chelonia upon them continuously for three months. Though the species is aquatic, it always lays its eggs on land. When the young are first hatched they do not measure above six lines in diameter. Like most other tortoises, it may be tamed, and its love of slugs and snails makes it a useful adjunct to a garden. Yet it must be borne in mind, that however beneficial to the horticulturist, it is a dangerous inmate of the fish-pond, where it attacks and destroys the inhabitants, first biting them till they become enfeebled through loss of blood, and then dragging them to the bottom, where it quietly devours everything but the bones and some of the cartilaginous parts of the head. The air-bladder also is often left, and, swimming on the surface, gives notice of the depredation done below. The mud-tortoise walks with greater quickness and activity than the ordinary land species, especially on even ground.

The painted tortoise (T. picta) likewise pertains to this genus. It is a beautiful little creature, with a smooth, rather flatish shield, of a brown colour, and each compartment bordered by a yellow band. It is a North American species, often seen congregated in clear sunny weather along the sides of rivers on stones and trunks of fallen trees, from which it plunges into the water on the slightest disturbance. It swims swiftly, but walks slowly, and is said to be very voracious, sometimes even destroying ducklings, by seizing their feet and dragging them below the water.

A few species with the neck more elongated (such as T. longicollis, Shaw) form the genus Hydraspis of Bell. There are also some peculiar species called tortues à boîte by the French, in which the plastron or lower shield is divided into two by a moveable articulation. These tortoises can close their carapace, and so shut themselves up as in a box, after having drawn in their head and legs. Such is the close tortoise (T. clausa, Gmel.), so called on account of the peculiarity just alluded to. The shell is of great strength, and although the creature itself rarely exceeds a few inches in length, it remains uninjured under a weight of five or six hundred pounds. It occurs in different parts of North America, being usually found in marshy places, though sometimes seen in dry and sultry situations. It feeds on insects, mice, and even snakes, which it is said to seize by the middle, and crush to death by drawing them within its shell.

Others have the tail and limbs by much too large to be withdrawn into the shell. Such is the long-tailed tortoise (T. serpentina, Linn.), a fresh-water species, native to the warmer parts of North America, where it is known under the name of snapping turtle. It is of considerable size, sometimes weighing twenty pounds, and seizes upon its prey (fish, ducklings, &c.) with great force and rapidity, stretching out its neck, and uttering a hissing sound. Its grasp is so tenacious that it will suffer itself to be lifted up by a stick rather than quit its hold. The tail is almost as long as the body, and is beset by sharp raised ridges. The plates of the shield assume a somewhat pyramidal form. (See Plate I., fig. 3.)

Genus Chelonia, Brehm. Turtles, or sea-tortoises. This group differs from all the preceding in its long, flat, fin-like feet, with the toes closely united, and enclosed within the membrane. The first two toes of each foot alone are furnished with nails, one or other of which often drops off at a certain term of life. The different portions of the lower shield do not form a continuous plate, but are variously dentated, and have large intervals covered by cartilage alone. The ribs are narrow, and separate from each other at their outer portion; but the circumference of the shield is occupied throughout by a circle of pieces corresponding to the sternal ribs. The interior of the oesophagus is entirely beset by sharp cartilaginous points directed towards the stomach.

To illustrate the prevailing habits of these curious creatures, we shall extract the following notices regarding several species of sea-turtle, from one of those delightful pets with which Mr Audubon has enlivened his Ornithological Biography. That gentleman's observations were made chiefly among the Tortugas, a group of low uninhabitable islands, or rather banks of shelly sand, which lie about eighty miles from Key West, off the peninsula of the Floridas. As usual, the author intermingles his minute notices of natural history with very pleasing sketches of the general features of the surrounding scene. "If you have never seen the sun setting in those latitudes, I would recommend you to make a voyage for the purpose; for I much doubt if, in any other portion of the world, the departure of the orb of day is accompanied by such gorgeous appearances. Look at the great red disk increased to triple its ordinary dimensions! Now it has partially sunk beneath the distant line of waters, and with its still remaining half irradiates the whole heavens with a flood of golden light, purpling the far-off clouds that hover over the western horizon. A blaze of rufilgent glory streams through the portals of the west, and the masses of vapour assume the semblance of mountains of molten gold. But the sun has now disappeared, and from the east slowly advances the gray curtain which night draws over the world." "Slowly advancing landward, their heads alone above water, are observed the heavily-laden turtles, anxious to deposit their eggs in the well-known sands. On the surface of the gently rippling stream, I dimly see their broad forms, as they toil along, while at intervals may be heard their hurried breathings, indicative of suspicion and fear. The moon, with her silvery light, now illumines the scene, and the turtle having landed, slowly and laboriously drags her heavy body over the sand, her 'flappers' being better adapted for motion in the water than on shore. Up the slope, however, she works her way, and see how industriously she removes the sand beneath her, casting it out on either side. Layer after layer she deposits her eggs, arranging them in the most careful manner, and, with her hind paddles, brings the sand over them. The business is accomplished, the spot is covered over, and with a joyful heart the turtle swiftly retires towards the shore, and launches into the deep." "There are four different species, which are known by the names of the green turtle, the hawk-bill turtle, the loggerhead-turtle, and the trunk-turtle. The first is considered best as an article of food, in which capacity it is well known to most epicures. It approaches the shores, and enters the bays, inlets, and rivers, early in the month of April, after having spent the winter in the deep waters. It deposits its eggs in convenient places in two different times in May, and once again in June. The first deposit is the largest, and the last the least, the total quantity being at an average about two hundred and forty. The hawk-bill turtle, whose shell is so valuable as an article of commerce, being used for various purposes in the arts, is the next with respect to the quality of its flesh. It resorts to the outer keys only, where it deposits its eggs in two sets, first in July, and again in August, although it 'crawls' the beaches of those keys much earlier in the season, as if to look for a safe place. The average number of its eggs is about three hundred. The loggerhead visits the Tortugas in April, and lays from that period until late in June three sets of eggs, each set averaging a hundred and seventy. The trunk-turtle, which is sometimes of an enormous size, and which has a pouch like a pelican, reaches the shores latest. The shell and flesh are so soft, that one may push his finger into them, almost as into a lump of butter. This species, therefore, is considered as the least valuable, and indeed is seldom eaten, unless by the Indians, who, ever alert when the turtle season commences, first carry off the eggs, and afterwards catch the turtles themselves. The average number of eggs which it lays in the season, in two sets, may be three hundred and fifty." The loggerhead and the trunk turtles are the least cautious in choosing the places in which to deposit their eggs, whereas the two other species select the wildest and most secluded spots. The green turtle resorts either to the shores of Maine, between Cape Sable and Cape Florida, or enters Indian, Halifax, and other large rivers or inlets, from which it makes its retreat as speedily as possible, and betakes itself to the open sea. Great numbers, however, are killed by the turtles and Indians, as well as by various species of carnivorous animals, as cougars, lynxes, bears, and wolves.

The hawk-bill, which is still more wary, and is always the most difficult to surprise, keeps to the sea-islands. All the species employ nearly the same method in depositing their eggs in the sand; and as I have several times observed them in the act, I am enabled to present you with a circumstantial account of it. On first nearing the shores, and mostly on fine calm moonlight nights, the turtle raises her head above the water, being still distant thirty or forty yards from the beach, looks around her, and attentively examines the objects on shore. Should she observe nothing likely to disturb her intended operations, she emits a loud hissing sound, by which such of her many enemies as are unaccustomed to it are startled, and so are apt to remove to another place, although unseen by her. Should she hear any noise, or perceive indications of danger, she instantly sinks and goes off to a considerable distance; but should everything be quiet, she advances slowly towards the beach, crawls over it, her head raised to the full stretch of her neck, and when she has reached a place fitted for her purpose, she gazes all around in silence. Finding "all well," she proceeds to form a hole in the sand, which she effects by removing it from under her body with her hind flappers, scooping out with so much dexterity that the sides seldom if ever fall in. The sand is raised alternately with each flapper, as with a large ladle, until it has accumulated behind her, when, supporting herself with her head and fore part on the ground fronting her body, she with a spring from each flapper sends the sand around her, scattering it to the distance of several feet. In this manner the hole is dug to the depth of eighteen inches, or sometimes more than two feet. This labour I have seen performed in the short period of nine minutes. The eggs are then dropped one by one, and disposed in regular layers to the number of a hundred and fifty, or sometimes nearly two hundred. The whole time spent in this part of the operation may be about twenty minutes. She now scrapes the loose sand back over the eggs, and so levels and smooths the surface, that few persons, on seeing the spot, could imagine anything had been done to it. This accomplished to her mind, she retreats to the water with all possible despatch, leaving the hatching of the eggs to the heat of the sand. When a turtle, a loggerhead, for example, is in the act of dropping her eggs, she will not move although one should go up to her, or even seat himself on her back, for it seems that at this moment she finds it necessary to proceed at all events, as she is unable to intermit her labour. The moment it is finished, however, off she starts; nor would it then be possible for one, unless he were as strong as a Hercules, to turn her over and secure her." Persons who search for turtles' eggs are provided with a light stiff cane, or a gun-rod, with which they go along the shores, probing the sand near the tracks of these animals, which, however, cannot always be seen, on account of the winds and heavy rains that often obliterate them. The nests are discovered not only by men, but also by beasts of prey, and the eggs are collected or destroyed on the spot in great numbers, as on certain parts of the shores hundreds of turtles are known to deposit their eggs within the space of a mile. They form a new hole each time they lay, and the Chelonia second is generally dug near the first, as if the animal were quite unconscious of what had befallen it. It will readily be understood, that the numerous eggs seen in a turtle on cutting it up could not be all laid the same season. The whole number deposited by an individual in one summer may amount to four hundred, whereas, if the animal is caught on or near her nest, as I have witnessed, the remaining eggs, all small, without shells, and as it were threaded like so many large beads, exceed three thousand. In an instance where I found that number, the turtle weighed nearly four hundred pounds. The young, soon after being hatched, and when yet scarcely larger than a dollar, scratch their way through their sandy covering, and immediately betake themselves to the water."

"The food of the green turtle consists chiefly of marine plants, more especially the grass-wrack (Zostera marina), which they cut near the roots, to procure the most tender and succulent parts. Their feeding grounds, as I have elsewhere said, are easily discovered by floating masses of these plants on the flats, or along the shores to which they resort. The hawk-billed species feeds on sea-weeds, crabs, various kinds of shell-fish and fishes; the loggerhead mostly on the fish of conch-shells of large size, which they are enabled, by means of their powerful beak, to crush to pieces with apparently as much ease as a man cracks a walnut. One which was brought on board the Marion, and placed near the fluke of one of her anchors, made a deep indentation in that hammered piece of iron that quite surprised me. The trunk-turtle feeds on mollusca, fish, crustacea, sea-urchins, and various marine plants. All the species move through the water with surprising speed; but the green, and hawk-billed in particular, remind you, by the celerity and ease of their motions, of the progress of birds through the air."

We shall add a few brief notices, chiefly to connect the preceding observations, and such as follow, with the systematic names bestowed by naturalists.

Our first species is Chelonia mydas, commonly called the green turtle, not so much by reason of its external colour, as because its fat, beloved by aldermen, assumes, when the creature is in high condition, a decidedly greenish hue. This tint is by some regarded as derived from its marine pastures, particularly Zostera marina, or turtle-grass, of which it is particularly fond. The shield of this species consists of thirteen plates, which do not lie over each other after the manner of tiles. Those of the central or upper line are almost in the form of regular hexagons. The green turtle is a reptile of gigantic proportions, sometimes measuring six or seven feet in length, and weighing seven or eight hundred pounds. Its flesh forms an agreeable and healthy aliment to sea-faring men in most of the seas of the torrid zone, and is still more highly prized by epicurean landsmen. Its eggs are also most excellent as articles of diet. The introduction of turtle into Britain, as an article of luxury, is believed to be of no very distant date.

"Of the sea-turtles," says Catsby, "the most in request is the green turtle, which is esteemed a most wholesome and delicious food. It receives its name from the fat, which is of a green colour. Sir Hans Sloane informs us, in his History of Jamaica, that forty sloops are employed by the inhabitants of Port Royal, in Jamaica, for the catching them. The markets are there supplied with turtle as ours are with butchers' meat. The Bahamians carry many of them to Carolina, where they turn to good account; not because that plentiful country wants provisions, but they are esteemed there as a rarity, and for the delicacy of their flesh. They feed on a kind of grass growing at the bottom of the sea, commonly called turtle-grass. The inhabitants of the Ba-

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1 Ornithological Biography, ii. p. 370. hama Islands, by often practice, are very expert at catching turtles, particularly the green turtle. In April they go in little boats to Cuba and other neighbouring islands, where, in the evening, especially in moonlight nights, they watch the going and returning of the turtle to and from their nests, at which time they turn them on their backs, where they leave them, and proceed on, turning all they meet; for they cannot get on their feet again when once turned. Some are so large that it requires three men to turn one of them. The way by which the turtle are most commonly taken at the Bahama Islands, is by striking them with a small iron peg of two inches long, put in a socket at the end of a staff of twelve feet long. Two men usually set out for this work in a little light boat or canoe, one to row and gently steer the boat, while the other stands at the head of it with his striker. The turtle are sometimes discovered by their swimming with their head and back out of the water, but they are oftentimes discovered lying at the bottom, a fathom or more deep. If a turtle perceives he is discovered, he starts up to make his escape, the men in the boat, pursuing him, endeavour to keep sight of him, which they often lose, and recover again by the turtle putting his nose out of the water to breathe; thus they pursue him, one paddling or rowing, while the other stands ready with his striker. It is sometimes half an hour before he is tired; then he sinks at once to the bottom, which gives them an opportunity of striking him, which is by piercing him with an iron peg, which slips out of the socket, but is fastened with a string to the pole. If he is spent and tired by being long pursued, he tamely submits, when struck, to be taken into the boat or hauled ashore. There are men who by diving will get on their backs, and by pressing down their hind parts, and raising the fore part of them by force, bring them to the top of the water, while another slips a noose about their necks.

"The sea-tortoises, or turtles, in general," continues our author, "never go on shore but to lay their eggs, which they do in April. They then crawl up from the sea above the flowing of high water, and dig a hole above two feet deep in the sand, into which they drop in one night above an hundred eggs, at which time they are so intent on nature's work that they regard none that approach them, but will drop their eggs into a hat, if held under them; but if they are disturbed before they begin to lay, they will forsake the place and seek another. They lay their eggs at three, and sometimes at four different times, there being fourteen days between every time, so that they hatch and creep from their holes into the sea at different times also. When they have laid their complement of eggs, they fill the hole with sand, and leave them to be hatched by the heat of the sun, which is usually performed in about three weeks."

A still more gigantic species is the loggerhead-turtle (Ch. caretta, Gm.), distinguished by fifteen dorsal plates, of which the central are raised into a ridge. The upper portion of the muzzle is bent or beak-shaped, the anterior pair of feet are longer and narrower than in the allied species, and the two tails are persistent and better marked. It inhabits the tropical seas along with the preceding species, but extends to nearer northern latitudes, occurring occasionally in the Mediterranean. In a commercial point of view it is of little or no value, the flesh being coarse and rank, and the shell of no estimation. It furnishes, however, a useful lamp-oil. The loggerhead is said to be a bold and voracious reptile, feeding on shell-fish and other animal products, which it crunches with its strong bony beak. Al-

drowndus alludes to one which he saw exhibited alive in Chelonia, his days in Bologna. He held a thick walking-stick towards it, which it immediately bit in two.

The imbricated turtle (Ch. imbricata, Linn.) is so named on account of the mode in which its dorsal plates, thirteen in number, lap over each other, after the manner of tiles. (See Plate I, fig. 4.) Its muzzle is more prolonged than in many species, on which account it is sometimes named the hawk's-bill. Its mandibles are serrated. It measures from two to four feet, and occurs in the tropical seas. The flesh is disagreeable, and occasionally even dangerous, but the eggs are excellent; and its shield yields the finest quality of that valuable material in the arts called tortoise-shell. The lamellae or plates are thicker, stronger, clearer, and more beautifully mottled than in any other species. The colours consist of an elegant undulation of white, yellow, red, and rich deep brown; but the article is too well known to require any detailed description. It is obtained by raising the fine external coating from the bony portion which it covers, by placing fire beneath the shell, which causes the plates to start and become detachable. They vary in thickness with the age and dimensions of the individual, and measure from an eighth to a fourth of an inch in thickness. A large turtle is said to afford about eight pounds weight of tortoise-shell; and Mr Schoepf states the range to be from five to fifteen or twenty pounds, adding, that unless the animal itself has attained the weight of a hundred and fifty pounds, the shell is of little value.

"In order," says Dr Shaw, "to bring tortoise-shell into the particular form required on the part of the artist, it is steeped in boiling water till it has acquired a proper degree of softness, and immediately afterwards committed to the pressure of a strong metallic mould of the figure required; and where it is necessary that pieces should be joined, so as to compose a surface of considerable extent, the edges of the respective pieces are first scraped or thinned; and being laid over each other during their heated state, are committed to a strong press, by which means they are effectually joined or agglutinated. These are the methods also by which the various ornaments of gold, silver, &c. are occasionally affixed to the tortoise-shell."

"The Greeks and Romans appear to have been peculiarly partial to this elegant ornamental article, with which it was customary to decorate the doors and pillars of their houses, their beds, &c. In the reign of Augustus this species of luxury seems to have been at its height in Rome."

"The Egyptians," says Mr Bruce, in the supplement to his Travels, "dealt very largely with the Romans in this elegant article of commerce. Pliny tells us the cutting them for veneering or inlaying was first practised by Carvillius Pollio; from which we should presume that the Romans were ignorant of the art of separating the laminae by fire placed in the inside of the shell when the meat is taken out. For these scales, although they appear perfectly distinct and separate, do yet adhere, and oftener break than split, where the mark of separation may be seen distinctly. Martial says that beds were inlaid with it. Juvenal, and Apuleius in his tenth book, mention that the Indian bed was all over shining with tortoise-shell on the outside, and swelling with stuffing of down within. The immense use made of it in Rome may be guessed at by what we learn from Valerius Paternarius, who says, that when Alexandria was taken by Julius Caesar, the magazines or warehouses were so full of this article that he proposed to have made it the principal ornament of his triumph, as he did ivory afterwards.

One of the most remarkable modes of capturing turtles is that mentioned by Mr Salt. When that gentleman was at Mozambique he received a present of a fish of the genus Echeneis, which the inhabitants assured him they were in the habit of employing, by securing it by a cord to a boat, after which it would fasten itself by a sucker on the head to the breastplate of the first turtle it met with, and so firmly that the latter might be drawn towards the boat and captured.

General Zoology, iii. 91. But of all the marine tortoises, the coriaceous turtle (Ch. coriacea, Linn.) seems to attain to the greatest size, individuals having been met with measuring eight feet in length, and weighing about a thousand pounds. It differs from the rest of its tribe, as well in its more lengthened form and tapering termination, as in the softer or more leathery texture of its shield, which is not formed into distinct plates, but rather marked all over with small obscure subdivisions or lineations, which do not interfere with the general smoothness of the surface. There are also three raised longitudinal ridges, which run from above the shoulders to the posterior portion of the shield. (See Plate I., fig. 5.) This species inhabits the Mediterranean Sea, has been frequently taken even along the outer coasts of France, and occasionally makes its way to our own island shores. In the month of August 1729 a specimen was taken about three leagues from Nantes, near the mouth of the Loire. It measured above seven feet in length, and is said, when taken, to have uttered a scream so loud and hideous as to have been heard at the distance of a mile. Its mouth "foamed with rage, and exhaled a noisome vapour." It no doubt, and very naturally, objected to being lifted into a stinking slimy boat, from its own beautiful translucent sea. In the year 1778 a specimen was captured off the coast of Languedoc, which measured seven feet five inches; and, in 1736, another was taken on the Cornwall coast, which, Dr Borlase says, "measured six feet nine inches from the tip of the nose to the end of the shell, and ten feet four inches from the extremities of the fore-fins extended, and was adjudged to weigh eight hundred pounds." According to Lacepede, the coriaceous turtle is the species with which the Greeks were best acquainted, and he supposes it to have been particularly used in the formation of the ancient harp or lyre, which was originally constructed by attaching strings or wires to the carapace of one of these marine reptiles. "We may add," says Dr Shaw, "that the ribs or prominences on the back of the shell bear an obscure resemblance to the strings of a harp, and may have suggested the name of luth or lyre, by which it is called among the French, exclusive of the use to which the shell was anciently applied." This turtle is reputed to be extremely fat, and it is eaten by the Carthusians, although its flesh is coarse and bad.

GENUS CHELYS, Duméril. Wide-mouthed turtles. This little group resembles the preceding genus Emys in the feet and claws. The carapace is much too small to admit of the withdrawal of the head and limbs, which are proportionally large. The muzzle is prolonged into a little trunk, but the most marked and peculiar character consists in the deeply cleft transverse gape, which is not armed with cornaceous mandibles, as in the other Chelonians, but rather resembles that of the Batrachian genus Pipa.

The best known and most noted species is the matamata (T. fimbria, Gm.), an animal of a very singular and rather repulsive aspect, first described by M. Bruguière. It measures about a foot and a half in length. Its carapace is oval, with raised pyramidal plates pointing backwards. The neck and other parts of the body are furnished with peculiar projecting fringes, or wart-like appendages. This reptile is native to Guiana, and was once common in Cayenne; but its numbers were long ago much thinned by the fishermen, who prize it as an excellent and nutritious food. It feeds on aquatic plants, and is said to wander by night to some distance from the banks in search of pasture. The specimen described by M. Bruguière was brought to him alive, and was sustained for some time on bread and herbs. It afterwards laid five or six eggs, one of which produced a young turtle.

GENUS TRIONYX, Geoff. Soft turtles. These have no plates or scales, but merely a soft skin enveloping their carapace and plastron, neither of which are completely supported by the bones, the ribs not reaching to the margins of the shield, nor being united to each other except by a portion of their length, and the parts analogous to the sternal ribs being replaced by simple cartilage, and the sternal pieces, partly toothed as in the marine species, by no means filling up the whole of the under surface. The feet, as in the fresh-water tortoises, are palmated though not elongated, and only three of the toes are furnished with nails. The corneous portion of the beak is clothed externally with fleshy lips, and the snout is prolonged. The tail is short. The species of this genus dwell in fresh waters, and the flexible margins of their carapace are of use in swimming.

The Egyptian species or tyre, the soft turtle of the Nile (Test. triangulatus, Forskal, Tr. Ægyptiacus, Geoff.), sometimes attains the length of three feet. Its shield is flattish, and of a green colour, spotted with white. This reptile devours young crocodiles the moment they are hatched, and, according to Sonnini, is more serviceable in this way than even the ichneumon.

An American species (Tr. feror, Guich.) inhabits the rivers of the new world, from Guiana as far north as the southern parts of the United States. It lies concealed in reeds and rushes, seizes on birds and reptiles, preying also on young caymans, and being in turn frequently devoured by the elder members of that powerful family. It is itself sought after as an article of food even by the human race, its flesh being by some esteemed equal to that of the green turtle. This species has been described as possessing considerable vigour and swiftness in its motions, and as springing forward when attacked to meet its assailant with fierceness and alacrity. It measures about a foot and a half in length, and seems to have been first described by Dr Garden in his correspondence with Pennant.

ORDER II.—SAURIA. SAURIAN REPTILES.

In this order the heart is composed, as among the Chelonians, of two auricles and a ventricle, the latter being sometimes divided by imperfect partitions. The ribs are moveable, partly attached to the sternum, and are capable of being raised and depressed for the purposes of respiration. The lungs extend more or less towards the hinder portion of the body, and frequently enter far into the lower part of the abdomen. Those in which the lungs are large possess the singular faculty of changing the colour of their skin, according as they are excited by their wants or passions. The eggs are enveloped by a more or less consistent covering, and the young are produced in the perfect state, that is, they merely increase in size, without undergoing metamorphosis. The mouth is always armed with teeth; and the toes are furnished with nails, with very few exceptions. The skin is clothed with scales, or with little scaly granules. All the species have a tail, varying in length in the different kinds, but almost always thick at the base. The majority have four legs, although a few have only a single pair.

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1 Journal d'Hist. Nat. 1792. 2 Phil. Trans. lxii. 266. The chief works on the Chelonian reptiles are the following: J. G. Wallbaum, Cheloniographia oder beschreibung einiger Schildkröten, 1782. J. G. Schneider, Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Schildkröten, nebst einem Systematischen berzehnisse der einzelnen arten, 1783. J. D. Schopf, Historia Testudinum iconibus illustrata. A. F. Schweigger, Monographia Testudinum (in the Archives de Königsberg for 1812). Thomas Bell, F.R.S., Monograph of the Testudinata. J. Spix, Species Novar Testudinum et Reptilium quae in itineri, &c., 1824. The various species are also enumerated by Mr Gray in his Synopsis Reptilium. The Saurian order of reptiles was included by Linnæus under two genera, Draco and Lacerta. The latter has been greatly subdivided, in accordance with the number of the feet, the form of the tongue, tail, and scales; and the formation of several separate families has resulted from the consideration of these important features. None of the saurian reptiles are venomous, although the bite of several of the larger kinds is to be avoided rather than otherwise. They all appear to be what may be called carnivorous; that is, they feed on living prey. Many assume the torpid state during the colder seasons of the year; but in their more active condition they affect, according to the species, a great diversity of situation; some haunting obscure and humid places, others rejoicing in a dry and sandy soil, exposed to the influence of the most radiant sun. Several are aquatic; while many climb trees, or, avoiding "leafy umbrage," seek the surface of exposed and barren rocks. Their form and outward adornment are as varied as their habits. Some are remarkable for beauty of shape and brilliancy of colour, while others present a repulsive aspect and a lurid hue. Many are extremely small, entirely innocent, and naturally familiar and confiding in their mode of life; others are of gigantic size, and distrustful and dangerous in their disposition. How great the difference between the beautiful, bright-eyed lizard, which suns itself beside a cottage window, and the huge cayman of America, stretched like a blackened log along the desolate shore of some forsaken river!

FAMILY I.—CROCODILIDÆ. CROCODILES IN GENERAL.

The Crocodilidae take the first place in the Saurian order, a distinction to which they are well entitled from their great magnitude and strength, and a ferocity which has obtained for them the appellation of the tyrants of the fresh waters, both in the old and new world. They often attain the size of ten and twelve feet, frequently that of fifteen and twenty, and, more rarely, even that of twenty-five and thirty. Inhabiting the margins of the mighty streams of tropical climates, they are the terror of all who approach them; they prey upon every animal which comes within their reach; and man himself is not free from their attacks, for instances are by no means rare, both in ancient and modern times, of their suddenly seizing upon human beings, and carrying them off to their watery haunts. Hence these formidable animals are never witnessed, especially in temperate climates, but with the deepest interest. In the year 58 before the common era, the edile Scaurus exhibited at Rome five crocodiles from the Nile; on another occasion, Strabo mentions that the inhabitants of Denderah brought many to the great capital of the world; but the most astonishing spectacle of this sort ever witnessed was when the Emperor Augustus caused the Flavian Circus to be filled with water, and there displayed thirty-six crocodiles, which were killed by an equal number of men accustomed to fight with these monsters. Popular curiosity continues unabated; and the intimate connection of the creatures in question with geological investigations has more recently conferred upon them a very different but not less important interest.

The Crocodilidae form an exceedingly natural group, closely associated by many common characters, of which the following are the most striking. They all attain a great size. Their tail is compressed laterally. The fore-feet have five toes; the hind four, the three internal of which are furnished with nails, but all of them are more or less united by membranes. There is a single row of teeth in each jaw. The tongue is fleshy, flat, and attached by nearly the whole of its margin, a circumstance which led the ancients to believe that crocodiles were destitute of this member. The back and tail are covered with great scales or plates, which are often pointed in their centre; the scales on the abdomen are not so thick and strong.

The nostrils of these amphibious creatures open at the end of their snout by two small apertures, which shut with valves. The lower jaw is prolonged behind the cranium, which gives the appearance of motion to the upper jaw when the mouth is opened, an idea entertained by the ancients.1 Their external ears are shut at will by two fleshy lips; their eye has three eyelids, two horizontal, like our own, and the third, a membrana nictitans, capable of being drawn from within outwards over the whole front of the globe. Beneath the lower jaw, on either side, is a gland, whose duct opens by a small slit a little within the lower edge of the jaw; it secretes an unctuous matter of a strong musky smell, and is supposed by Mr Bell (Phil. Trans. 1827) to be a bait for attracting fish towards the sides of the mouth. This gland, with others of a like nature situated elsewhere, confers a smell which pervades the whole animal. The vertebrae are to the number of sixty; seven are cervical, and these are so connected with each other by bony processes that they impede lateral movements, so that it is difficult for the animal to change its direction; and hence, when a person is pursued, he may easily escape by turning. Of all the Saurians, they are the only ones which are destitute of clavicles. Besides the ordinary supply of ribs, they have some which protect the abdomen without ascending to the spine. Their lungs do not descend into the abdomen, as in other reptiles of their order; and this, with their heart of three cavities, where the blood from the lungs does not mix with that from the body so freely as in the rest of the Reptilia, associates them somewhat nearer to warm-blooded animals.

It would be interesting, did space permit, to enlarge upon these physiological details. It is not a little curious, that in the animals belonging to this group, two openings are found, leading from the surface to the internal cavity of the abdomen, a structure similar to that which prevails in a few animals further down the scale. M. Geoffroy St Hilaire supposes that the superior energy of the crocodile in water is due to this penetration of that fluid, and the consequent conversion of the peritoneum into an additional respiratory surface. Another singular circumstance is, that these animals, as in some higher up the scale, are in the habit of swallowing great stones. An officer in the Colombian navy, who mentions this, tells us, that being somewhat incredulous on the point, he was satisfied of the fact by Bolivar, who, in order to convince him, shot several alligators with his rifle, and in the stomachs of all of them were found stones varying in weight according to the size of the animal. The largest killed was about seventeen feet in length, and had within him a stone weighing from sixty to seventy pounds. Upon their dispositions and habits we cannot greatly dilate.

In relation to the geographical distribution of the Crocodilidae, we may here remark, that they are entirely foreign to Europe, and do not occur in New Holland, but are else-

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1 The peculiar structure of the jaws, and the nature of their movement, among these reptiles, have formed the subject of frequent argument. The fact, or rather the knowledge of it, although controverted by Ferrault and Duverney, is as old as the time of Herodotus; and Aristotle asserts that they can move both jaws. Enfin, nous révélendrons encore sur la circonstance, tout-à-fait particulière, qui permet à la mâchoire supérieure, ou plutôt à toute la masse supérieure de la tête, de s'élever en bascule, et de se mouvoir ainsi sur la mâchoire inférieure quand celle-ci repose sur le terrain ou sur un plan fixé." (Erpétologie Générale, iii. 25.) See also Annales du Mus. ii. 381. where extensively spread over various regions of the earth. The caymans are peculiar to America, the crocodiles properly so called, are common to both worlds, and the gavials have hitherto been found only in Continental India. The following table will show the distribution of the family, and the amount of species, in all the great divisions of our globe:

| | Asia | Both Asia | Africa | America | Doubtful | |----------|------|-----------|--------|---------|----------| | Cayman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | | Crocodile| 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | | Gavial | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Total species | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2=14 |

**Genus Gavialis**, Cuv. and Geoff. We begin with the very limited genus Gavial, which, so far as known, is confined to the old world, if not to the Asiatic continent. The first description of one of these animals was given by our celebrated countryman Edwards. Count Lacépéde introduced the native name Gavial into our systematic works. The most recent researches of Cuvier have scarcely succeeded in determining whether there is more than one living species; there appear, however, to be several fossil, and hence additional interest is excited.

In this genus the snout is slender, and very much prolonged; the teeth are nearly uniform and alike; the fourth of the under jaw, when the mouth is closed, locks not into a foramen in the upper jaw, but into a lateral groove only; the hind feet are denticulated on the outer margin, and palmated to the extremity of the toes; and there is a deep depression behind the eye.

*G. longirostris*, Cuv.; *Crocodilus longirostris*, Schn.; *Lacertia Gangeticus*, Gmel. **The Great Gavial.** The muzzle of this species is almost cylindrical, and somewhat bent at its extremity; its head is singularly broad, especially towards the back part; the length of its muzzle to that of its body is as one to seven and a half. Its dental formulary is $\frac{3}{3} = 106$. Its scales, as in all its congeners, supply excellent specific characters. This animal appears to attain a great size. Baron Cuvier received from Dr Wallich a specimen of an individual captured near Calcutta, which was seventeen feet long; and from a fragment in the Paris museum, it is calculated it must sometimes attain to nearly double that size. Notwithstanding its great bulk, the very slender form of its muzzle renders it much less formidable than the other and more numerous genus (Crocodilus), which also frequents the Ganges. It feeds wholly upon fish, and is not regarded as dangerous to man, a fact confirmatory of Elliot's observation, that "there are two kinds of crocodiles in the Ganges, the one innocent, the other cruel." Though it has not hitherto been observed in other Asiatic rivers, it may reasonably be supposed to exist elsewhere than in the Ganges.

*G. tenuirostris*. Though the materials possessed by Baron Cuvier did not enable him to come to a definitive conclusion regarding the existence of the small gavial, yet upon the whole he favoured its claims to being something more than the young of the preceding species; the existence of some nearly allied fossil kinds favouring the conclusion. There is no difference in the shape and arrangement of the teeth or scales; and the greater narrowness of the upper and back part of the head, and of the orbital foramina, are the only specific differences supplied. Its average size has not been ascertained. Like the preceding, it frequents the Ganges.

**Genus Crocodilus**, Cuv. The generic characters of the true crocodiles are sufficiently distinct. They do not possess the slender beak of the gavials; the head is oblong, and not half as broad as it is long; the muzzle is oblong and depressed; the teeth, which are somewhat unequal in their dimensions, are fifteen on each side in the lower jaw, and nineteen in the upper; the fourth, which are the longest, pass into furrows, and are not lodged in distinct foramina of the upper jaw; the hind feet have usually a denticulated crest at their outer margin; and the interval of their toes, at all events the external ones, are palmated. There is a deep hollow behind each eye.

Different species of crocodile are found in the hot regions of Asia, Africa, and America. Many bear a very close resemblance to each other, but about eight seem to be satisfactorily established. These are, the species called *chamae*, or *teusach*—the common crocodile of the Nile; the *biporatus*, or double crested; the *aenius*, *rhombifer*, *galeatus*, and *caphractus* (Cuv.); to which are to be added the *Gracilis* and *Jourel* (of Bory de St Vincent). We begin with that which has been longest, and perhaps is best known, the famous crocodile of the Nile.

*C. vulgaris*, Cuv.; *Tensach* of the modern Egyptians; *Lacerta crocodilus*, Linn. The length of the head of this species is double that of the breadth; the snout is very rugged and unequal, especially in the old; its eyes are more asunder than in other species. Without entering into minute details of the number and arrangement of the scales on the neck, back, tail, &c., we shall only state, that six rows of nearly equal-sized plates run all along the back, giving it the appearance of mosaic. The colour is a bronzed green, speckled with brown; underneath it is a yellowish-green.

These animals sometimes attain the enormous size of thirty feet; "and if we except," says Lacépéde, "the elephant, the hippopotamus, some cetacea, and a few enormous serpents, they have no equal in nature." The female lays her eggs twice or thrice in the year, but only during the hot weather, and deposits them in the sand, where they are hatched by the sun. They amount to about twenty; and are said to be hatched after fifteen or twenty days. They are about twice the size of the goose's egg; and it is stated that the mother takes no charge whatever of them. Indeed we believe that this maternal carelessness is characteristic of the reptile race.

This species is frequently designated the crocodile of the Nile, a name far from happy,—because other species may inhabit its waters, and the one in question may be more common elsewhere. There seems, indeed, to be no doubt that this same animal abounds in the Senegal and other rivers of Western Africa; probably even in all the rivers of that continent, and certainly in those of Madagascar. Formerly it used to frequent the Nile as far down as the Delta, but now we must ascend to its less frequented portions before it is encountered. It was probably in reference to an individual of this species that Mungo Park relates the fact, that one of his guides across the river Gambia was suddenly seized by a crocodile and pulled under water. The negroes, however, are so familiar with these creatures, and so skilful in meeting their attacks, that they generally escape. On this occasion the negro thrust his fingers in the crocodile's eyes with so much violence that it quitted its hold; but seizing him again, he resorted to the same expedient, and with more success, as it again released him, appeared stupified, and swam down the river. Although its flesh has a strong musky smell, yet the inhabitants of the districts wherein it abounds frequently attach a high value to it, as, according to the testimony of Herodotus, did also some of the ancient Egyptians. A common method employed by the Africans for destroying the crocodile is to thrust the arm, well defended with ox-hides, down its throat, and then to plunge a dagger into its vitals. The European traveller will probably prefer avoiding such a close encounter.

Although we have hitherto treated of the common crocodile as one and distinct, yet it seems beyond doubt, that in the wide habitat assigned to it, many varieties at least exist. Cuvier remarks, that from the Senegal to the Ganges, and even beyond it, there are crocodiles very like the common one, which have the muzzle somewhat longer or narrower, and have slight differences in the scales of their neck and back, but which it is very difficult to distribute into distinct species. He himself was not able to establish any; nor could he with satisfaction adopt the four proposed by his eminent colleague M. Geoffroy, viz. *C. suchus*, *margaritatus*, *lacustris*, and *complanatus*. Of these, by far the most famous is the *suchus*, which the last-named naturalist considers identical with the *sacred crocodile* of the ancient Egyptians. His theory is, that there existed a species of a small size, having a narrow snout, and a disposition which was wholly gentle and inoffensive, which affected the margin of the river, and was thus the precursor of its inundations; and that it was to this species that the Egyptians rendered divine honours. The opposing view, advocated by Cuvier, is that the favoured crocodile did not belong to any one species or variety more than another, and, far from being less, was even more ferocious; but that it was the custom of the priesthood to entertain, not a host of crocodiles, but only one, or a few, of any given variety, under the name of *suchus*, as the idol of a divinity who was represented by a crocodile's head; and that it was to this individual especially that divine honours were paid, in the same way as *apis* was the name of the sacred ox at Memphis, and *mnevis* at Heliopolis. This favoured animal was always nourished and adorned with extreme splendour, and after its death was buried in the subterranean cells of the Labyrinth; whilst throughout the district where these honours were paid, the whole race of crocodiles were respected and preserved. Cuvier assigns the following among other reasons for the accuracy of his views, which we think conclusive: First, the crania of the buried and embalmed crocodiles do not belong to any one variety, but to all of them; and, 2dly, there is the strongest historical proof that the crocodiles in those districts where they were worshipped, far from being less savage, were even more so than in others, because from their impunity they became more bold. Thus Ælian reports, that in the district of Tyntyrites, where they unsparingly destroyed the crocodiles, the inhabitants could bathe and swim in the river securely, whilst at Arsinoë they could not safely walk, far less draw water from the river's banks. The evidence that individuals, when taken young, may be completely tamed, is equally satisfactory. Thus Bruce relates, that on the western shores of Africa, the negroes bring up crocodiles, which become so gentle as to let children play with them and ride upon their backs; a fact which satisfactorily corroborates the accounts of those religious processions, &c., in which the sacred crocodile performed so essential and conspicuous a part.

*C. biporcatus*, Cuv. Dum.; *C. porosus*, Schn. Double crested crocodile. This species is the common crocodile of India and its archipelago, frequenting the Ganges and other great rivers which empty themselves into the ocean, as also those of Corea and China, Ceylon, Java, Timor, &c. It has a strong resemblance to the Egyptian species; but the cervical scales are differently arranged, and the dorsal are smaller, more numerous, and differently shaped. (See Plate I., fig. 6.) The appearance of the pores between the scales is much more conspicuous than in the other species, and grows with their growth. Its colour is brownish, with black bands on the back, and spots on the side. In the Paris museum, there is one seventeen feet long, from the Ganges. In the account of Macassar, or Celebes, we read, that in the great river of that island, there are crocodiles so ferocious that they do not confine themselves to making war on fish, but assemble in troops to watch the boats, and endeavour to overturn them, that they may devour those who are in them. It is the opinion in Java that these animals do not devour their prey on capturing it; but bury it for a time in the mud, that it may decay. This remark is so generally made of other species in different parts of the world, that it would appear to be a prevailing habit among them.

*C. acutus*, Cuv. Dum. The slender-snouted crocodile, or crocodile of St Domingo. This slender-snouted crocodile is extremely common in the island of St Domingo, as well as in Martinique, and the northern parts of South America. Its most remarkable specific characters are the length of the muzzle, which is bulged at its base; and the scales of the back are differently disposed from those of the preceding. The upper part of the body is of a deep green colour, spotted and marbled with black; the under part is pale green. Dr Descourtils states that this animal is more flexible than is usually supposed, for it can introduce the extremity of its tail into its mouth. On the same respectable authority we learn that the males are not so numerous as the females; that they fight furiously at the season of reproduction; that the males are fit for generation at the age of ten, and the females at that of eight or nine, their fecundity not lasting more than four or five years,—a statement which may well be questioned. The eggs are deposited in spring, and hatched in a month. On issuing, the young are only nine or ten inches long; their growth continues for about twenty years, and some are as long as sixteen feet. At the time of the escape of the young, the female comes to scrape away the earth and let them out. She conducts, defends, and feeds them, by disgorging her own food for about three months, a space of time during which the male would seek to devour them.

*C. rhombifer*, Cuv. Dum. Lozenge-scaled crocodile. The habitat of this species has been ascertained only of late years. It occurs in the island of Cuba, and probably inhabits the other Antilles. Its specific characters are well marked. Its chanfrin is extremely prominent, forming a semicircle, whilst in the common crocodile it is only a gentle elevation; and the extremities are clad with much stronger and more projecting scales than in the other species. Its ground colour is green, bespeckled with small and very distinct brown spots.

*C. galeatus*, Cuv. Dum. Helmeted crocodile. The helmeted crocodile has been hitherto found only in Siam, and is remarkable for two bony triangular crests implanted, the one behind, the other on the middle line of the head. It has been taken ten feet long. *C. biscutatus* is now regarded as an anomalous variety of *C. acutus*. *C. cataphractus*, the cuirassed crocodile, may be witnessed in the museum of the London Royal College of Surgeons, and it is very different, according to Cuvier, from all the others described. The source from whence it was obtained is unknown. Its muzzle is longer and narrower than that of the St Domingo crocodile, whose peculiar chanfrin it wants. It is most easily distinguished by the armour on its neck; there are first two oval plates, then a row of four, then scaly bands common to the neck and back, which together form a cuirass as strong as that of any of the gavials or alligators.

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1 These seem all to be now regarded as varieties of the common Egyptian crocodile,—*C. vulgaris*, Cuv. and Dum. See Erpétologie Générale, iii. 104.

2 A specimen of a young individual was presented to the Paris museum as having been obtained from "le grand Galba, rivière qui coule près de Sierra de Leone." There still remain two other true crocodiles, described by M. Graves, and which he regards as new; the C. Gravesi and Jouruet of Bory de St Vincent. Both of them are in the Bordeaux museum. The habitat of the former is believed to be the Congo, and of the latter America. All the bones of the Gravesii are as if pierced with small holes, a character they possess in common with some of the alligators. Its head is of the shape of a slender isosceles triangle; the extremity of the snout is rounded, and its surface covered with great obtuse tubercles, having no regular arrangement. The ninth, tenth, and eleventh teeth of the lower jaw are received into a furrow, as well as the fourth. The colour of the upper part is a dark deep brown, that of the lower a dull yellow. The snout of the Jourueti is very slender, approaching to that of the gavials; it is convex as well as long, and near its extremity is almost cylindrical. The back of this species is of a deep yellowish green; the flanks are yellowish, and the belly yellow.

GENUS ALLIGATOR, Cuv. The alligators are by far the most common representatives of this group in the new world; although, as we have already seen, there are true crocodiles in St Domingo, and probably in many other localities. In most parts of America they are known by the title of cayman, a name apparently of African origin, and applied by the negroes, not to the alligators only, but indifferently to every species of the group. It does not seem to be yet ascertained whether any true caymans are found in the old world. Adanson thought he discovered one in the Senegal; M. de Beauvais states that he saw one in Guinea; and Cuvier thinks it most probable that they have their representatives in our hemisphere. They possess all the power and ferocity of the true crocodiles, and in many places are found in astonishing numbers.

The head of the alligator is not so oblong as that of the true crocodile; the snout is broad and obtuse; the teeth are somewhat unequal, the number ranging from nineteen to twenty-two on each side of each jaw; the fourth of the under jaw is received, not into a lateral furrow of the upper one, but into a distinct foramen. Their feet are only semi-palmed, and are not denticulated.

A. lacustris, Cuv.; Croc. Cuvieri, Leach. Pike-muzzled alligator. This is peculiarly the alligator of the southern parts of North America, including Carolina, the Floridas, and Louisiana. In the Mississippi it ascends as far as the thirty-second degree north, a higher latitude than any species reaches in the old world. In these countries they frequent the muddy banks, and quite bury themselves in the cold season, falling into a lethargic state before the setting in of the frost. This sleep is so profound that they may be almost cut to pieces without manifesting any sign of life; when the warm weather returns, they are soon roused into activity. According to Bosc, their eggs are white, and not larger than those of the turkey. They are good eating, and are prized by the natives, though they partake of the musky smell of the animal. As soon as they escape, the young betake themselves to the water; but the vast majority become the prey of turtles, fish, and amphibious animals, not excluding the older of their own species. During the first year they feed upon insects and very young fish. Bosc states that he preserved a brood of fifteen. They ate only living insects; and never captured them except when moving, upon which they darted at them with great velocity. They appeared quite gentle when he took them in his hand. At the end of the first year they are still very feeble creatures; during the second they acquire their formidable teeth. The duration of their existence is not precisely ascertained, but is supposed to equal that of man. They never cast their skin; and on acquiring their full size, few animals can injure them. They can fast long. They live on frogs, fish, aquatic birds, on dogs, hogs, cattle, and any animal they can catch; when these go to the river to drink, they seize them by the muzzle or leg, and draw them into the water to drown them. "I used often," adds the traveller last named, "to amuse myself, bringing them from their retreats by making my dog bark. Sometimes I used to advance and strike them with my stick, at which they were little disturbed. They never thought of attacking me, and deliberately retired when they found their hunting promised no success." Though slow on land, they swim with great velocity. In Carolina they make deep burrows, where they pass the whole winter, and even the entire day in summer. Though usually met with on the edges of rivers and lakes, they are sometimes also found in ponds in woods. Bosc often attempted to take them with every kind of strong snare; but these were invariably broken to pieces. They are commonly taken with a strong hook baited with a bird or small quadruped, and connected by a chain to a tree. The Indians eat the tail only. At the time of reproduction they fight furiously with each other, and bellow as loud as bulls. They avoid the salt water and proximity to the sea, because they are there exposed to the attacks of sharks and the great turtle. In very warm districts in the Floridas, the rivers are sometimes quite crowded with them, so that they almost interrupt the navigation.

The specific characters of the pike-headed alligator are a flat snout, the sides of which are nearly parallel, uniting in front in a regular curve. There are eighteen transverse rows of scales on the back. The colour above is a deep greenish brown, beneath white tinged with green, and the flanks are regularly striated with the two colours. Catsby has seen them fourteen feet long. Its hide, except at particular spots, resists a musket ball; it is most vulnerable at the inferior part of the belly, and round the eye.

The great alligator of North America certainly forms one of the most remarkable features in the zoology of the United States. Whatever may be said of the African or South American species, this huge reptile is usually neither shy nor dangerous. Its ordinary motion on land is slow and sluggish, a kind of laboured crawling, which leaves the track of a lengthened trail upon the mud, like the keel of a small vessel. When met with at any distance from the water, it immediately squats, that is, lies as flat as it can, with its nose upon the ground, and staring around with rolling eyes. "Should a man approach them," says that accurate and admirable describer Audubon, "they do not attempt either to make away or attack, but merely raise their body from the ground for an instant, swelling themselves, and issuing a dull blowing sound, not unlike that of a blacksmith's bellows. Nor the least danger need be apprehended; you either kill them with ease, or leave them." As if conscious of their incapacity of self-defence, they seldom travel except during the night, being then less subject to disturbance, besides "having a better chance to surprise a litter of pigs, or of land-tortoises, for prey." "In Louisiana," Mr Audubon observes, "all our lagoons, bayous, creeks, ponds, lakes, and rivers, are well stocked with them; they are found wherever there is a sufficient quantity of water to hide them, or to furnish them with food; and they continue thus in great numbers as high as the mouth of the Arkansas river, extending east to North Carolina, and as far west as I have penetrated. On the Red River, before it was navigated by steam-vessels, they were so extremely abundant, that to see hundreds at a sight along the shores, or on the immense rafts of floating or stranded timber, was

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1 Ann. Gén. des Scien. Physiques, t. ii. p. 343. 2 An individual, however, was observed by Messrs Dunbar and Hunter in latitude 32° north, in the month of December, while the weather was very cold. quite a common occurrence, the smaller on the backs of the larger, groaning, and uttering their bellowing noise, like thousands of irritated bulls about to meet in fight; but all so careless of man, that unless shot at or positively disturbed, they remained motionless, suffering boats or canoes to pass within a few yards of them without noticing them in the least. The shores are yet trampled by them in such a manner that their large tracks are seen as plentiful as those of sheep in a fold." It was in the Red River, it seems, that so many thousands of these reptiles were killed, while a mania prevailed for wearing boots and shoes made of crocodile leather. This had fairly become an article of trade, many of the squatters following for a time no other business. But this leather, though handsome and pliant, exhibiting all the regular lozenges of the scales, and capable of receiving the highest polish, is not sufficiently firm or close-grained to prevent for any length of time the ingress of damp or moisture.

The power of this alligator lies chiefly in his jaws and tail. The latter is admirably adapted to serve as an ally to the former, because when curved into a semicircle it sweeps everything towards the enormous mouth. "Woe be to him who goes within the reach of this tremendous instrument; for, no matter how strong or muscular, if human, he must suffer greatly if he escapes with life. The monster, as he strikes, forces all objects within the circle towards his jaws, which, as the tail makes a motion, are open to their full stretch, thrown a little sidewise to receive the object, and, like battering-rams, to bruise it shockingly in a moment. The alligator, when searching after prey in the water, or at its edge, swims so slowly towards it as not to ruffle the water. It approaches the object sidewise, body and head all concealed, till sure of his stroke; then, with a tremendous blow, as quick as thought, the object is secured." When these giant reptiles are engaged in fishing, the flapping of their tails upon the water may be heard at half a mile. In the vicinity of Bayou Creek, on the Mississippi, there are extensive shallow lakes and marshes, yearly overflowed by the dreadful flooding of that mighty river, and stored with myriads of fish of many different kinds—trouts, white perch, cat-fish, alligatorgars or devil-fish. Thither, in the heats of early autumn, after a burning summer sun has exhaled a quantity of water, the squatter, planter, hunter, all proceed in search of sport. The lakes are then not more than two feet deep, with a fine sandy bottom, and much grassy vegetation bearing seeds, keenly sought for by vast multitudes of water-fowl. In each lake is a deeper spot, called the Alligator Hole, because dug and dwelt in by these reptiles. There they may be seen in numbers lying close together. "The fish that are already dying by thousands, through the insufferable heat and stench of the water, and the wounds of the different winged enemies constantly in pursuit of them, resort to the alligator's hole to receive refreshment, with a hope of finding security also, and follow down the little currents flowing through the connecting sluices; but no! for as the water recedes in the lake, they are here confined. The alligators thrash them and devour them whenever they feel hungry; while the wood-ibis destroys all that make towards the shore. The hunter, anxious to prove the value of his rifle, marks one of the eyes of the largest alligator, and as the hair-trigger is touched, the alligator dies. Should the ball strike one inch astray from the eye, the animal bounces, rolls over and over, beating furiously with his tail around him, frightening all his companions, who sink immediately; while the fishes, like blades of burnished metal, leap in all directions out of the water, so terrified are they at this uproar. Another and another receives the shot in the eye, and expires; yet those that do not feel the fatal bullet pay no attention to the death of their companions till the hunter approaches very close, when they hide themselves for a few moments by sinking backwards." So disinclined are they to attack the human race, that Mr Audubon and his companions have waded waist-deep among hundreds of them. The cattle-drivers may often seen beating them away with sticks before crossing with their beasts, for they will readily attack cattle, and swim after such animals as dogs, deer, and even horses.

As soon as the cool autumnal air gives warning of the approach of frosty weather, alligators leave the lakes to seek for winter quarters, by burrowing beneath the roots of trees, or covering themselves with earth. They speedily become inactive; and to sit and ride on one, according to Mr Audubon, who never rows in the same boat with Squire Waterton, would now be no more difficult than for a child to mount a rocking horse. The negroes kill them by separating, at a single blow, the tail from the body. They are afterwards cut into large pieces, and boiled in a good quantity of water, from the surface of which the fat is collected in large ladles. A single man often kills above a dozen alligators in an evening, prepares his fire in the woods, and, by morning, the oil is rendered. This oil is used for greasing the machinery of steam-engines and cotton-mills; and formerly, when Indigo was made in Louisiana, it served (we know not how) to assuage the overflowing of the boiling juice, when a ladleful was thrown into the caldron. We would have deemed the remedy more dangerous than the disease. These reptiles emit a strong odour, and a large one may be discovered by it at a distance of sixty yards. The smell is musky, and, when strong, is insupportable. It is not, however, perceptible when they are in the water, "although I have," says Mr Audubon, "been so close to them while fishing, as to throw the cork of my line upon their heads to tease them." He adds, that he has regularly found in their interior round masses of a hard substance resembling petrified wood. He has broken these with a hammer, and found them brittle, and as hard as stones, which they outwardly resemble. "And as neither our lakes nor rivers in the portion of the country I have hunted them in, afford even a pebble as large as a common egg, I have not been able to conceive how they are procured by the animals if positively stones, or (if not) by what power wood can become stone in their stomachs." They are probably concretions formed of indigestible animal substances, or may themselves assist digestion." Mr Audubon has often amused himself, when fishing where alligators abound, by throwing an inflated bladder towards the one next him in the water. It makes for it at once, flapping it towards its mouth, and trying to seize it, but in vain. The light inflation floats aside, and in a few minutes many more of these huge creatures are seen attempting to master the elusive bladder, "putting one in mind of a crowd of boys running after a foot-ball." A black bottle is also sometimes thrown among them, tightly corked; but some one, more active than the rest, will seize it greedily, and the crushed

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1 The majority of authors who have written of crocodiles from personal observation, agree regarding the frequent cries of the younger individuals, but seem to consider the older ones as seldom giving utterance to their feelings in that way. "Au contraire," says Humboldt, "le rugissement du crocodile adulte doit être très rare, car ayant vécu pendant plusieurs années ou en couchant à l'air libre sur les berges de l'Oriénoque, nous avons été presque tous les nuits entendus des crocodiles, nous n'avons jamais entendu la voix de ceux qui ont grandi dans l'eau." (Humboldt, Hist. des Zool., tom. ii. p. 27.)

2 "Une particularité notable, mais qui paraît assez constante chez les crocodiles, puisque tous les auteurs qui en ont fait l'anatomie en ont fait mention, c'est qu'on trouve dans leur estomac des cailloux de différentes grosseurs, qui semblent devoir servir à la trituration des aliments, comme les petits pierres qui se rencontrent dans le gésier ou l'estomac musculeux des oiseaux." (Epitologie Géod. glass gives way within its ponderous jaws as easily as if ground in a coarse mill.

During the season of love, in spring, the male alligator is a fierce and dangerous animal, and possibly its observation by different naturalists, at different seasons of the year, may account for the contradictions which pervade the recorded statements of its life and manners. When thus excited, no man dares to swim or wade among them, or, as Mr Audubon quietly observes, "they are usually left alone at this season," a delicate piece of attention, which, we doubt not, like other virtues, is its own reward. The female prepares her nest about the first of June, choosing a place about forty or fifty yards from the water, in some thick bramble or cane, where she gathers leaves, sticks, and rubbish of all kinds, carrying the materials in her mouth as a hog does straw. As soon as a proper nidus is formed, she lays about ten eggs, which she covers over with more rubbish and mud; and proceeding in this manner, she deposits about fifty or sixty eggs in various layers. The whole is then covered up, matted, and tangled together with long grasses, in such a manner that it is extremely difficult to break it up. These eggs are in size like those of a goose, but of a longer form, and are protected rather by a parchment-like transparent substance than by shell. Though they are not eaten either by hogs or vultures, the female, now not only wary, but ferocious, watches near the spot, visiting the water from time to time for food. The nest is of course easily discovered, as she always goes and returns the same way, and soon forms a conspicuous path by the dragging of her giant form. According to Mr Audubon, to whom we stand indebted for these details, it is not the heat of the sun which hatches the eggs, but that of the nest itself—a perfect hot-bed, from the mode of its formation. The young, as soon as excluded, force their way through the walls of their putrescent chambers, and issue forth all as beautiful and brisk as lizards. The female then leads them to the lake, or more frequently, for greater security, to some small detached bayou; for now the males, their own ungente fathers, will swallow them by hundreds, and the wood-ibis and sand-hill cranes devour them.

A. sclerops, Cuv.; Croc. sclerops, Schin. Spectacled aligator. This is more especially the alligator of Guiana and Brazil. Its snout, though broad, has not the sides parallel, as in the preceding, and is more triangular in its shape. The lower edge of the orbits are very prominent, and a crest projecting between them gives the appearance whence their specific name is derived. Its colour is bluish-green above, and irregularly marbled green and yellow, more or less pale, below. Azara speaks of a red variety, which is the most savage of all. It acquires a great size. Cuvier has seen it fourteen feet long; and in Surinam some have attained the length of twenty and twenty-four feet. In South America it extends as far as 32° south latitude, the same distance from the equator on the one side, as the preceding species reaches on the other. It cannot run half so swiftly as man, and rarely attacks him; but when the eggs are plundered, the female defends them courageously. She lays, according to some, as many as sixty, and covers them with a few leaves or a little straw. It passes the night in water, as Herodotus states of the crocodile of the Nile, and during the day basks in the sun on the banks. It has been stated, that in certain places, when the morass is partially dried, the remaining water is so crowded with caymans that nothing is to be seen but their projecting backs.

It was probably over this species (the Yacare of Azara, Jacare noir of Spix) that Mr Waterton obtained his far-famed and well-known conquest; and of it also that he relates the following anecdote. "One fine evening last year, as the people of Angustura, said its governor, were sauntering up and down here on the bank of the Orinoco, I was within twenty yards of this place, when I saw a large cayman rush out of the river, seize a man, and carry him down, before any body had it in his power to assist him. The screams of the poor fellow were terrible as the cayman was running off with him. He plunged into the river with his prey; we instantly lost sight of him, and never saw or heard him more." The negroes of South America sometimes eat the flesh, notwithstanding its fetid and musky smell. Azara tells us that they succeed in sticking it with an armed harpoon, and after fatiguing it in the water, pull it out by main force and despatch it.

A. palpebralis, Cuv. Bony eyelid alligator. The muzzle in this species is somewhat longer and less depressed than in the preceding, and the margins of the orbits are not projecting. The character, however, which at once distinguishes it from all the other Crocodilidae is, that the upper eyelid is wholly occupied with an osseous plate, divided into three pieces by sutures. None of its congeners have more than a small osseous particle near the inner angle. Its teeth are $\frac{3}{4}$ on each side of each jaw. The interval between the two external toes is less palmated than in the other species, from which it may be concluded to be more terrestrial. This animal inhabits Cayenne, and exhibits considerable variation in its characters.

In addition to these clearly distinct species, naturalists now recognise the two following, viz. the dog-headed cayman, Al. cynocephalus, Dum. and Bib., and the black spotted cayman, Al. punctatus, Spix.

FAMILY II.—LACERTINIDÆ. LIZARDS IN GENERAL.

The members of this family are characterised by a slender extensible tongue, terminated by two filaments, like that of many snakes. All the four legs have five toes, separate, of unequal size, especially the hinder ones, and furnished with nails. The scales on the abdomen, and those beneath the tail, are disposed in transverse parallel bands. A produced portion of the skin, longitudinally cleft, and closing by a sphincter, protects the eye, beneath the anterior angle of which there is the vestige of a third eyelid. The false ribs do not form an entire circle.

The species of this family are numerous and diversified, and now constitute several generic groups. Like all other reptiles, they are much more abundant in sultry than in cold or temperate climates. "I am positive," says Mr Bruce, alluding to the lizard tribe in general, "that I can say without exaggeration, that the number I saw one day, in the great court of the temple of the sun at Balbec, amounted to many thousands; the ground, the walls, and stones of the ruined buildings were covered with them, and the various colours of which they consisted made a very extraordinary appearance, glittering under the sun, in which they lay sleeping and basking." He adds, that the desert parts of Syria, bordering on Arabia Deserta, abound with these reptiles beyond the possibility of calculation.

The genus Monitor of Cuvier contains the largest species, some of them almost approaching to the size of crocodiles. They have teeth on both jaws, but none upon the palate. The greater number have the tail compressed, which aids their aquatic propensities. Their vicinity to water brings them into the frequent neighbourhood of crocodiles and caymans, and they are said to give warning of the approach of these formidable reptiles by a shrill whistle. Hence probably their name of monitor. That of Tupinom-

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1 See "Observations on the Natural History of the Alligator," by John J. Audubon, Esq. in Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, ii. 270.

2 Erpétologie Générale, iii. 86–91. The first subdivision of the genus contains the MONITORS properly so called (genus Varanus, Dum.), distinguished by small and numerous scales on the head, limbs, beneath the abdomen, and around the tail, the last-named portion being surmounted by a kind of keel formed by a double range of projecting scales. The thighs want the peculiar range of pores observable among several other groups of saurians. The species are confined exclusively to the ancient world, although Seba, and in later years Daudin, have stated the contrary. Travellers report that they prey on the eggs of water-fowl and on those of crocodiles, and that chameleons, young turtles, and fishes, have been found in their stomachs. M. Leschenault de Latour even states that they combine together on the banks of lakes and rivers for the purpose of attacking such quadrupeds as come to assuage their thirst, and that he has seen them attempt to drown a young stag which was trying to cross a river. He moreover found the thigh-bone of a sheep in one which he dissected.

The monitor of the Nile (L. Niloticus, Linn., Varanus Niloticus, Dum.), called Ouaran by the Arabs, has the teeth strong and conical, the posterior becoming rounded by age. The general colour is brown, with paler and darker points, forming various compartments, among which are transverse rows of large ocellated spots, which on the tail become ring-like. The tail is rounded at the base, and surmounted by a keel throughout its whole length. This species grows to the length of five or six feet. A vulgar belief prevails among the Egyptians, that it is a young crocodile hatched in drier earth than usual. Its figure is engraved on the ancient monuments of Egypt, probably in connection with the fact of its preying on the eggs of the crocodile. To the monitors also belong the animal called skink (L. scincus, Merr., but not of Linn., Var. arenarius, Dum.), a small species, very abundant in Libya, Syria, Egypt, and Arabia, where it frequents rather dry and sandy soils. It is called Ouaran el hard by the Arabs. Its teeth are compressed, cutting, and pointed, the tail almost without ridge, and a great part of it rounded. Its habits are more terrestrial than those of the preceding, and it may be regarded as identical with the land-crocodile of Herodotus. The jugglers of Cairo pluck out its teeth, and then employ it in the performance of tricks. Many other monitors are found both in Africa and India.

The second subdivision of Baron Cuvier's monitors consists of such as have angular plates upon the head, and large rectangular scales beneath the abdomen and around the tail. The skin of the throat is clothed with small scales, and forms a couple of transverse folds. There is a row of pores upon the thighs.

This subdivision corresponds to the genus Tevas of Merrem, and several minor groups may be indicated in it. For example, those called Dracenae by Lacépéde have the scales raised up into ridges, as among the crocodile tribe, and forming crests along the tail, which is compressed. An edible species (Mon. crocodilinus, Merr.) occurs in Guiana, where it inhabits holes in the vicinity of marshes. It is said to swim with difficulty, to run rather swiftly, to climb trees with facility, and to bite severely. It attains the length of six feet, and is characterized by some scattered ridges of scales upon the back. Another and much smaller species (Drac. bicarinata) likewise inhabits South America. (See Plate II., fig. 1.) The little group of safeguards (Sauragardes, Cuv. the restricted genus Monitor of Fitzinger) have all the scales of the back and tail without ridges. Their teeth are dentated, although those of the back part of the mouth become rounded by use or age. Some have the tail more or less compressed, and the scales of the abdomen longer than broad. They dwell by the banks of rivers. Such is the very large variegated lizard (L. tequixte), well represented by Madame Merian at the end of her work on the insects of Surinam. It inhabits Brazil, Guiana, &c., where it attains the length of six feet. It runs rapidly, and plunges into the water when pursued, although it can scarcely be said to swim. It feeds on insects, reptiles, the eggs of poultry and of other birds, and is itself useful as an article of food. Others, distinguished by the name of Ameiva, scarcely differ from the preceding sections of the genus Tevas, except in the tail being rounded, and no way compressed, and furnished, as well as the abdomen, with transverse rows of square scales. The scales of the abdomen are rather broader than long. The species of this little group may be regarded as the lizards of America, that is, as representing in the new world the reptiles which we so designate in the old; but they differ in wanting the molars teeth, the majority have no collar, and all the scales upon the throat are small. Their heads also are more pyramidal, and they want the osseous plate above the orbits. Several different species have been confounded under the title of Lacerta ameiva. The most generally distributed is that named Tevas ameiva by Spix. (See Plate II., fig. 2.) It is of a green colour, with vertical rows of white ocelli, bordered with black upon the flanks.

The genus Lacerta, Cuv., or lizards properly so called, forms the second principal group of the Lacertine family. They have the back part of the palate armed with two rows of teeth, and are further distinguished from the Ameivas and Safeguards by a collar beneath the neck, formed by a transverse row of broad scales, separated from those of the abdomen by a space, on which there are only minute scales, as on the throat. A portion also of the bones of the cranium projects over the orbits and temples, so that all the upper part of the head is provided with a bony buckler.

Lizards are remarkable for their lively movements, and light and elegant forms. Their colours are also often brilliant. They pass the winter in a state of torpidity, and are always active and vivacious in proportion to the power of the solar heat. They are often seen stretching themselves on rocks or stones, however heated, and brandishing from time to time their forked tongues, a motion which in some countries has induced the belief of their being venomous, an unfounded idea, we need scarcely say, no creatures being more innocent. They are by no means difficult to tame, but in a state of nature we have usually found them very timorous, although M. Bory St Vincent regards them as being as bold as they are beautiful. "Nous avons vu plusieurs saisir bravement au museau des chiens d'arrêt qui les avaient surpris dans quelque pelouse sèche, et ne pas laisser prise malgré les secousses violentes et les efforts que faisaient ces chiens pour se délivrer." They are by no means devoid of intelligence, and, though shy and fearful, are decidedly inquisitive in regard to what takes place around them. When raising themselves as high as their little limbs permit, in order to enlarge their "visible diurnal sphere," they often exhibit themselves to a quiet and concealed spectator in attitudes of great beauty. They frequently show themselves more alarmed for birds and quadrupeds than for the human race, and they will even acquire a certain degree of tameness when domiciled near

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1 The term Monitor is somewhat injudiciously applied to this restricted group, in as far as it does not contain the species originally named, that is, the grande varanide d'Amérique.—Lacerta tequixte of Linn. and Shaw.

2 The genera Varanus and Heloderma form a distinct family (Varanidae) in the system of MM. Duméril and Bibron. Of the former genus, four are Asiatic, two are from New Holland, one is from the Papous, one from Timor, and three are of African origin. Heloderma horridum (the sole species) is the only American member of the family. the dwelling of a gently-disposed lover of nature. They fear cats and children. Lizards change their skins, like most other reptiles, and the difference between the brightness and brilliancy of their old and new attire has caused the description by naturalists of many species which have no foundation in reality. Although belonging to the cold-blooded classes, they are warmly attached to their females, and frequent battles take place among the males for the possession of their fair companions. The eggs are covered by a pale-coloured membranous skin, and are hatched by the heat of the sun, whether in the body of the basking parent, or after exclusion. The eggs themselves increase in size considerably, as the creature contained within develops its parts. The reptiles of this group are never voluntarily found in water. They dislike that element, and avoid it, being bad swimmers; nevertheless, when pursued down steepish banks, we have seen them swim across small ditches to gain the other side and avoid persecution. One of the most singular attributes of these creatures consists in their extreme fragility. When running up a bank, or otherwise attempting to escape from danger, if even a light glove or handkerchief is cast upon them, several inches of the terminal portion of their body comes riggling off, and will twist about among the grass for a considerable period with great liveliness, while the body with its head and four legs proceeds upon its way rejoicing. The tail even appears to rest itself from riggling for a time, and if touched with a pin, or otherwise incommodeed, will then resume its movements with such an apparent character of discomposure, as if it were expressing its dislike at the annoyance.

Although several anatomists, proceeding upon their too exclusive knowledge of the higher classes of creation, in which there is no reproduction of important parts, have doubted the extent and universality of this inherent power in reptiles, there is yet no fact in natural history more satisfactorily determined. When we refer to the satisfaction of the subject, we allude chiefly to the feelings of the experimenter, those of the creatures in question being, we fear, in such a crisis, but sparingly consulted. In numerous reptiles, the limbs, and a great portion of the posterior part of the body, may be cut off without more than a temporary inconvenience, the removal being not only speedy, but complete. Blumenbach, one of our highest modern authorities, has repeated the experiment alluded to by Pliny. He destroyed with an iron point the eyes of the green lizard, and placing the poor creature in a vessel with some fresh earth, which he deposited in moist soil, he found, after the lapse of a brief period, that the organs of sight were entirely reproduced—"in integrum restitutos." Lizards and reptiles of the genus Scincus, of which the tail has been either intentionally or accidentally broken off, are found to reproduce it speedily. The newer portion is recognisable externally by the form and colour of the scales, and on dissection the vertebrae are found replaced by pieces of a more cartilaginous nature, which probably never acquire the hardness or consistency of bone. Many experiments have shown the facility with which the limbs and tail of water-newts, and other aquatic reptiles, may be reproduced. "Qu'il nous soit permis," says M. Duméril, rather winningly, "de consigner ici une de nos expériences: nous avons emporté avec les ciseaux les trois quarts de la tête d'un triton marbré. Cet animal, placé isolément au fond d'un large bocal de crystal, où nous avions soin de conserver de l'eau fraîche à la nauteur d'un demi-pouce, en prenant la précaution de la renouveler au moins une fois chaque jour, a continué de vivre et d'agir lentement. C'était un cas bien curieux pour la physiologie; car ce triton privé de quatre sens principaux, les narines, la langue, les yeux, et les oreilles, s'était réduit à ne vivre extérieurement que par le toucher. Cependant il avait la conscience de son existence; il marchait lentement et avec précaution; de temps à autre, et à des grands intervalles, il portait le moignon de son cou vers la surface de l'eau, et dans les premiers jours on le voyait faire des efforts pour respirer. Nous avons vu, pendant au moins trois mois, se faire un travail de reproduction et de cicatrisation telle qu'il n'est resté aucune ouverture ni pour les poumons ni pour les aliments. Par malheur, cet animal a péri au bout des trois premiers mois d'observations suivies, peut-être par le défaut de soins d'une personne à laquelle nous l'avions recommandé pendant une absence. Mais on a conservé le sujet dans les collections du muséum, et quand nous en parlons dans nos cours, nous le faisons voir à nu pour qu'on puisse constater la singularité du fait d'un animal qui a vécu sans tête, et surtout pour démontrer la possibilité et la nécessité, même chez les Batraciens, d'une sorte de respiration par la peau."

We may observe, that in all the tentative experiments which have been hitherto made upon this subject, it has been perceived that these renewals are favoured by warmth and retarded by cold. As an article of diet, lizards are scarcely ever used in Europe, unless in years of peculiar scarcity. Their flesh is said to possess a sudorific quality.

The species of this genus are numerous in many continental countries (from fifteen to twenty different European kinds being known to naturalists), but are few in Britain. Of the former, one of the most beautiful is the ocellated lizard (L. ocellata, Daudin), well known in Spain, Italy, and the south of France. It likewise occurs in Barbary, and, generally speaking, over a great portion of the basin of the Mediterranean; but being extremely sensible to cold, it is not likely to extend into Kamtschatka, as some suppose. It may be kept alive within doors in Spain throughout the winter (it naturally then assumes the torpid state), but will perish if dug up from its retreat, and exposed to cold approaching to the freezing point. This magnificent reptile sometimes attains the length, even in Europe, of two feet, although its more usual length is from twelve to fifteen inches. Its proportions are rather ample, that is, somewhat thicker than usual, yet it is by no means devoid of elegance; and although it can scarcely be said to be ornamented with those tints of azure, green, and gold, which Lacépède has lavished on it, with more of poetical fancy than precision, it yet is pleasingly adorned. The back is black, beset with numerous circles of green or yellow distributed in great profusion, and showing like pearly beads upon a darker ground. The head is beautifully marbled with green and black, as are also the upper portions of the thighs and feet. The tail is brownish, and all the under parts are of a greenish yellow. "Le lézard dont il est question est innocent, mais hardi; il fuit au moindre bruit, non lâchement, s'arrêtant de distances en distances pour observer la cause de sa crainte, et si on le presse de trop près il se jette sur l'assaillant en faisant entendre un certain soufflement qui rappelle en petit celui qui font entendre les oies en colère. Comme on en trouvait beaucoup aux environs d'une baronie de Saint Magne, où nous avons passé les premiers temps de notre jeunesse, et que nous en avons été souvent violen-

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1 Specimen Physiologica Comparativa, p. 34. 2 Historia Mundi, lib. xxix, chap. 38; and Elian, edit. Schneld. lib. v. 47. 3 On this very curious physiological subject the reader may consult the following works: Platertti, Su le riproduzioni delle gambe e della coda delle Salamandre aquafide. Scelt. de Opusc. interes. vol. xxvii. p. 18. Spallanzani, Sopra le riproduzioni animali, Fisica Animali e Vegetabile, 1766. Murray, Commentatio de redintegratione partium nec non soluturum vel ambulatorum, 1787. Bonnet, Sur la reproduction des membres de la Salamandre aquatique, Œuvres d'Hist. Nat. et de Philos. t. v. p. 177. 4 Erpétologie Générale, i. 209. ment mordus en leur faisant la petite guerre que l'enfance livre à tout ce qui fuit, nous pouvons affirmer que leur dent ne produit aucun mauvais effet après la douleur du moment. Il suffit d'avoir vu un seul grand lézard vert, pour s'étonner que Linné ait pu confondre cette espèce avec le lézard gris.

It has been observed by the prince of Musignano (C. L. Bonaparte), that the Linnean term *agilis* has been applied by the naturalists of different countries to that species of lizard which was most common or best known in their own. In this way several distinct kinds have been described under one name, and regarded as identical. The true *L. agilis* of Linn. is a northern species, which becomes rare in Italy, but is sufficiently common in France, and extends into Denmark and Sweden. Its history as a British reptile has been clearly illustrated only within a recent period by Mr Jenyns and others; for the so-called *L. agilis* of the generality of British authors ought not to be so named. The actual species varies as usual in colour and markings; but the most common hue of the upper parts is sandy-brown, with obscure longitudinal fasciae of a darker brown, and a lateral series of black rounded spots, each marked with a yellowish-white dot or line in the centre. "It is more timid," says Mr Bell, "and far less easily rendered familiar, than the beautiful green lizard (*L. viridis*) of Guernsey and the south of Europe. This latter species may be readily tamed, and taught to come to the hand for its food, and to drink from the hollow of the palm of any one to whom it is accustomed. It will lie coiled up between the two hands, enjoying the warmth, and not offering to escape. But it is very different from the present species, which appears not to be susceptible of any such attachment. It will indeed attempt to bite any one who handles it, which I have never known to occur with *L. viridis*. When in confinement it ceases to feed, conceals itself with extreme timidity when approached, and ultimately pines and dies." Mr Bell has bestowed the English name of sand-lizard on this *L. agilis*.

Our only other British species is the common viviparous lizard (*L. vivipara*, Jacquin, *Zootoca vivipara*, Bell) confounded with the true *L. agilis* by many authors. "This agile and pretty little creature," Mr Bell observes, "is the common inhabitant of almost all our heaths and banks in most of the districts of England, and extending even into Scotland; it is also one of the few reptiles found in Ireland. On the continent its range does not appear to be very extensive; it is not found in Italy, nor, I believe, in France, and is very probably confined in a great measure to our own latitude. Its movements are beautifully graceful as well as rapid; it comes out of its hiding-place during the warm parts of the day, from the early spring till autumn has far advanced, basking in the sun, and turning its head with a sudden motion the instant that an insect comes within its view; and, darting like lightning upon its prey, it seizes it with its little sharp teeth, and speedily swallows it." This species also varies greatly in its external aspect. The prevailing ground colour of the upper parts is greenish brown, with a dark brown dorsal line often interrupted; a broad fascia extends parallel with this on each side, commencing behind the eyes, and extending to a greater or less distance down the tail; and between these and the former are often one or more rows of black dots, and similar ones occur in many individuals in the broad lateral fascia. The under side of the body and base of the tail are orange, spotted with black in the male; in the female greyish brown without spots. In reference to Mr Bell's excellent account of this reptile, we take leave to add, that although it is no doubt entitled to the character of an ovo-viviparous species, the young are not always born at once from the body of the mother, that is, already freed from the encumbrance of the egg. We have several times kept gravid females in our possession, and on two occasions the membranous eggs were deposited unbroken, and the young lay within them for from two hours till a day and a half before they made their appearance. Their movements, however, were visible through the walls of their prison from the moment they were laid.

The more limited genus *Algyra* of Cuvier has the tongue, teeth, and pores of the lizards; but the scales on the back and tail are ridged, those on the abdomen smooth and imbricated, and the collar is wanting. In the genus *Tachydromus*, Daudin, the scales on the back, and those beneath the tail and abdomen, are square and ridged; the collar on the neck is absent, as well as the pores on the thighs, but on either side of the anal aperture there is a vesicle opening by a pore. The body and tail are both much elongated. The species run with great swiftness. See Plate II., fig. 3.)

**FAMILY III.—IGUANID.E. IGUANAS.**

In this family the general form, the lengthened tail, the free and unequal toes, resemble those parts in the lizard

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1 *Dictionnaire Classique d'Hist. Nat.* ix. 339. 2 See Jenyns's *British Vertebrate Animals*, p. 291; and Bell's *History of British Reptiles*, p. 22. 3 Mr Bell assigns as one of the generic characters by which this species differs from his restricted genus *Lacerta*, that the palate is toothless, while it is armed in that last named. 4 The great family of the *Iguanid.E* is divided by MM. Duméril and Bibron into forty-six genera, containing 146 species, the detailed descriptions of which occupy about 550 closely-printed pages in the work of those authors. (See *Erpétologie Générale*, tom. iv.) We regret that our restricted limits debar us from following their extended system, but we shall here present a tabular view of the genera and amount of species, partitioned in accordance with their geographical distribution.

| Genera | Europe | Asia | Africa | America | Australasia | Polynesia | Total Species | |--------|--------|------|--------|---------|------------|-----------|--------------| | Sub-Family PLEURODONTE.S | | | | | | | | | Polyctes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | | Lacertinae | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | | Urostrophus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Neronis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Anolis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 25 | | Corythophanes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | | Basiliscus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | | Alopensus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Amblyrhincus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | | Iguana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | | Metopocerco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Cyclura | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | | Brachylophus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | | Enyalius | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | | Opyressa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Uperanodon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |

Carry over | 0 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 0 | 55 | tribe, and the eyes, ears, and other characters are similar, but the tongue is thick, fleshy, not extensible, and, instead of being terminated by two filaments, is merely notched at the extremity.

**Sect. I.—No teeth on the palate. Agamians, Cuv.**

a. Tail surrounded by rings composed of large scales, which are frequently spiny. *Stelliones*, Cuv.

In the genus *Cordylus* of Gronovius, not only the tail, but even the back and abdomen, are furnished with large scales placed in transverse rows. The head, as in the common lizards, is provided with a bony buckler, and covered with plates. In several species the points of the scales of the tail form spinous circles, and there are also little spines on the sides of the back, on the shoulders, and outside the thighs. The last-named parts have a line of very large pores. The Cape of Good Hope produces several species, which have been long confounded in systematic works under the name of *Lacerta cordylus*, Linn. They are somewhat larger than the common green lizard of Europe, and like it feed on insects.

In the genus *Stellio* of Daudin, the spines of the tail are of medium size; the back part of the head is bulged by the muscles of the jaws, the back and thighs are here and there beset with scales of larger size, sometimes spiny, and little groups of spines surround the ears. The thighs want the pores. The tail is long and pointed. Only a single species seems distinctly known to naturalists,—*Sc. vulgaris* (*L. stellio*, Linn.), a reptile very common in Egypt, and throughout the Levant. It measures about a foot in length, and is of an olive hue shaded with black. It is the *koscordylus* of the modern Greeks (*hardun* of the Arabs), and is not unfrequently named the rough lizard, in consequence of the unusually hispid appearance of the whole of its upper surface. The Mahommedans slay this species wrathfully, from a feeling that a peculiar downward inclination of its head is in mockery of their own reverential motions while engaged in prayer. The species called *stellio* by ancient writers was so named on account of its being marked by spots resembling stars, and was probably in no way allied to the genus to which in after times the title was applied.

The genus *Doryphorus*, Cuv. (a name too nearly resembling one already bestowed upon a group of insects), resembles the preceding in the absence of pores, but the body is not beset with groups of spines. (See Plate II., fig. 4.) The azure lizard (*L. azurra*, Linn.) may serve as an example. The genus *Uromastix*, Cuv., may be described as composed of stellions, of which the hind head is not inflated; all the scales of the body small, smooth, and uniform, except those of the upper surface of the tail, which are large, spiny, and projecting. There is a series of pores upon the thighs. *Stellio spinipes* of Daudin is a *Uromastix*. It is found in the deserts which encompass Egypt, and is supposed by Belon, although without sufficient proof, to have been the *land-crocodile* of the ancients. It measures from two to three feet, has an inflated body of a fine grass-green colour, with small spines upon the thighs, as well as on the upper portion of the tail.

b. Scales on the tail imbricated. *Agama*, Daud.

In the ordinary or restricted genus *Agama*, scales raised into points or tubercles beset different parts of the body, and especially the ears, with spiny projections, isolated or in groups. There is sometimes a row upon the nape of the neck, but not forming a compressed crest as in *Calotes*. The skin of the throat is loose, transversely folded, and susceptible of dilatation. A species from New Holland (*Ag. barbata*, Cuv.) is remarkable for its size and extraordinary formation. A series of large spiny scales, disposed in transverse bands, prevails along the back and tail. The throat, often much inflated, is furnished with long pointed scales, forming a kind of beard-like appendage; and similar scales beset the sides, and form two oblique crests behind the ears. There are yellow spots upon the abdomen, bordered with black. Another of this genus is the mummified lizard of Shaw (*L. muricata*), likewise a native of New Holland. In some the body is enlarged or inflated, so as

| Genera | Europe | Asia | Africa | America | Australia and Polynesia | Total Species | |--------|--------|------|--------|---------|------------------------|--------------| | Brought over | 0 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 0 | 55 | | Leiosaurus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | | Hypsilatus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | | Helotropis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | | Proctotretus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | | Tropidopholis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | | Phasmasaurus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | | Calumma | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Tropidogaster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Microlophus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | | Echymotus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Stenocercus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Strobilurus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Trachyceylus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Oplurus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | | Deryphorus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | Sub-Family ACROBONTES | | Isthiurus | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | | Ceratosaurus | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | | Lephyrus | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | | Lyriocephalus | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | Otoctypis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | Ceratophora | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | Sitana | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | Chlamydosaurus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | Draco | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | | Leiolepis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | Grammatophora | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | | Agama | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | | Phrynocephalus | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | | Stellio | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | | Uromastix | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 |

| Total | 32 | 12 | 94 | 7 | 146 | to appear orbicular, as in *A. orbicularis*, a South American reptile, which, from its thickened form and broadened head, seems at first sight a connecting link between the frogs and lizards.

The genus *Trapelus*, Cuv., has the teeth and general form of *Agama*, but the scales are small and spineless. There are no pores on the thighs. *T. Egyptius*, Geoff., is a small species, in which the body is sometimes inflated. It can change its colour even more rapidly than the chameleon. This genus is not easily distinguished from some thick and slightly spined species of *Agama*, to which indeed the genera *Leiolepis*, *Tropidolepis*, and *Leposoma*, are nearly allied, and for the descriptive characters of which we may refer the reader to systematic works. The genus *Calotes*, Cuv., differs from *Agama* in being regularly covered with scales disposed tile-ways, often keeled and pointed, as well on the body as on the limbs, and tail, which is of great length. The scales on the middle of the back are more or less raised and compressed, forming a crest or ridge of variable extent. There are neither wattles nor pores upon the thighs,—characters which sufficiently distinguish them from the *Iguanas proper*. The best-known species is that called the galeot lizard (*L. calotes*, Linn.), of a variable colour, but usually of a fine light blue, with transverse lines of white upon the sides. There are two rows of spines behind the ear, and a lengthened ridge along the back. Its eggs are fusiform, or spindle-shaped. This curious reptile is native to the East Indies, and is called *chameleon* in the Moluccas, though it scarcely changes its colour. It is said to wander about upon the roofs of houses, in quest of spiders; and Lacépède observes that it is reported to prey even on rats, and to fight with serpents. When out of temper, its throat becomes so inflated as to give it a frightful aspect. If authors are correct, its distribution must be very extensive, as it is said to occur not only in the East Indies, but in Arabia and Barbary. It certainly, however, does not inhabit Spain, as some have said. In the genus *Lophurus*, Duméril, the scales of the body resemble those of *Agama*, and the palisade-like ridge upon the back is even higher than in *Calotes*. The tail is compressed. To this genus belongs *Agama gigantea* of Khul, remarkable for the height of its crest above the neck. Two bony ridges continued from the muzzle terminate in a point on each side above the eye, and join upon the temples. It is a native of India. In *Lyriocerphalus*, Merrem, we find a species in which the bony crest above the eyes is even more marked than in the preceding, and terminates behind on each side in a sharp point. This strange reptile is found in Bengal and other parts of the East, and is said to live on grain. (See Plate II., fig. 5.)

The preceding generic groups, from *Agama* downwards, are all more or less allied to the *Agamidae* of Daudin. We now proceed to a brief consideration of certain genera, of which the relationship is more remote.

The genus *Isthiurus* of Cuvier is distinguished by an elevated cutting crest, which extends to a portion of the tail, and is supported by the high spinal processes of the vertebrae. This crest is scaly like the rest of the body, and the scales of the abdomen and tail are small, and rather of a square form. There are no teeth on the palate, but those of the other parts of the mouth are strong, compressed, and without dentation. The thighs bear a row of pores. The skin of the throat is loose, but does not form a dewlap. To this genus belongs that very remarkable animal the Amboyna lizard (*L. Amboinensis*, Guin.), first described by Valentyn, and afterwards with great accuracy and an excellent figure by Dr Albert Schlosser in 1768. The back is spined, but the regular ridge only commences at the base of the tail, over a portion of which it extends, like a broad upright fin. The head and neck are green, varied by transverse whitish undulations; the back and tail are brown, with a slight cast of blue or purple; and the Sauria sides and abdomen are grayish, spotted by means of round Iguanidae white scales. It resides, according to Valentyn, in the vicinity of fresh waters, and is frequently observed on the banks of rising grounds as well as on the lowlier kinds of shrubs which vegetate near the water, but does not ascend the taller trees. When disturbed by the approach of man or beast, it instantly dives, and hides itself among the rocks or stones beneath the banks. When captured, it does not in any way defend itself; but seems stupified. It may be caught by a noose or snare, and its flesh is said to be white and sweet, although of a penetrating odour. It is highly esteemed as food by many, and is itself accustomed to prey both on insects and vegetable substances. It sometimes attains a length of nearly four feet.

The genus *Draco*, Linn., may be distinguished at a glance from all other Saurian reptiles, by the singular peculiarity of six false ribs, which, instead of conforming as usual to the shape of the body, extend from it at right angles, and supporting a produced portion of the skin, present the appearance of a pair of wings. They support the animal in the air, as it leaps from branch to branch, but have no propelling power, and so cannot raise it in the least degree. In relation to their other characters, these so-called dragons are of small size, and covered all over by imbricated scales, of which those on the tail and limbs are keeled. The tongue is fleshy, not very extensible, and slightly notched. Beneath the throat there is a long pointed dewlap, supported by the tail of the hyoid bone; and on its sides are two others of smaller size, sustained by the horns of the same bone. The tail is long; there is a small dentation on the nape of the neck; and the thighs have no pores. Each jaw is furnished with four small incisor teeth, with a pair of long-pointed canines, and twelve triangular three-lobed grinders. The genus may be said to combine the scales and dewlaps of the Iguanas, with the head and teeth of the Stellions. (See Plate II., fig. 6.)

All the known species of Draco inhabit the East Indies, and have derived their generic appellation from their supposed resemblance to the fictitious Dragons of antiquity. In all ages, and in most countries, the imagination of timid or fantastic men has produced a belief in the existence of fabulous beings, of monstrous forms and irresistible ferocity, which carried devastation into provinces, guarded the entrance to sacred places, or watched over "sunless heaps" of hidden gold. The heroic history of Greece, and the darker superstitions of the Germanic people, are alike pervaded by these fond beliefs. "Rendered celebrated," says Lacépède, "by the songs of Greece and Rome, the principal ornament of pious fables imagined in more recent times, conquered by heroes, and even by youthful heroines, who were contending for a divine law, and adopted by a second mythology, which placed the fairies on the throne of the enchanters of old, the Dragon became the emblem of the splendid actions of valiant knights, and has enlivened modern as it animated ancient poetry. Proclaimed by the severe voice of history, everywhere described, everywhere celebrated, everywhere dreaded; exhibited under all forms, always clothed with tremendous power, and immolating his victims by a single glance; transporting himself through the midst of clouds with the rapidity of lightning, dissipating the darkness of night by the terrific splendour of his glaring eyes, uniting the agility of the eagle, the strength of the lion, and the magnitude of the giant serpent; sometimes presented under a human figure, endowed with an intelligence almost divine, and adored, even in our own days, in the great empires of the East—the Dragon, in short, has been all in all, and everywhere to be found, except in nature."

The existence of these animals has not been altogether discredited even in modern times. About the middle of last century, a Hamburg merchant greatly prided himself on the possession of a famous dragon, which he valued at 10,000 florins. It was however discovered by the penetrating eye of the then youthful Linnaeus to be a gross deception, formed by a combination of the skins of snakes, the teeth of weasels, and other absurd and heterogeneous elements, "non Nature sed artis opus eximium." It is said that the great Swedish naturalist was obliged to flee the city to avoid the wrath of the enraged proprietor. A similar fraud seems to have been practised in our own country towards the close of the seventeenth century, and is thus related by Dr Grainger, from a note of Dr Zachary Grey, in his edition of Hudibras. "Mr Smith of Bedford observes to me, on the word dragon, as follows: Mr Jacob Robart, botany professor of Oxford, did, about forty years ago, find a dead rat in the Physic Garden, which he made to resemble the common picture of dragons, by altering its head and tail, and thrusting in taper sticks, which distended the skin on each side, till it mimicked wings. He let it dry as hard as possible. The learned immediately pronounced it a dragon; and one of them sent an accurate description of it to Dr Magliabechi, librarian to the Grand Duke of Tuscany; several copies of verses were wrote on so rare a subject; but at last Mr Robart owned the cheat; however, it was looked upon as a masterpiece of art, and as such deposited in the museum, or anatomy school, where I saw it some years after."

We need hardly here observe, that the actual dragons, or Dracoines of naturalists, are harmless animals, of small size though extraordinary forms, which inhabit chiefly the insular forests of the Indian Ocean. (See Plate II., fig. 6.) In these unbraggious places they pursue their insect prey, descending but rarely to the ground, on which they walk with difficulty. According to Van Ernest, a Dutch naturalist, they couple among the branches, and the female deposits her eggs in hollow trees, under favour of a south exposure. We are doubtful regarding their amphibious propensities, as reported by M. Palisot de Beauvois, who remarked one in the kingdom of Benin, which he was unable to procure, because it was swimming in the water. Now Baron Cuvier states that "les espèces connues viennent toutes des Indes Orientales."

Three distinct species of Draco are described by M. Daudin, who was the first to discriminate their characters. *D. lineatus* (rolans, Linn.) has the body varied above with blue and gray, the wings brown, with longitudinal stripes of white. *D. viridis* is green, the wings gray, with brown bands. This is the species described by Soha under the name of winged dragon of America, and afterwards figured by that author as the flying dragon of Africa, in neither of which countries is it ever found. It is said by Boutius to be not uncommon in Java, where it will shoot from tree to tree for a distance of thirty yards, producing a perceptible noise by the vibration of its wings. With a view to render itself specifically lighter, it inflates its yellowish goitres when it flies. *D. fuscus* is brown above, paler beneath; the wings likewise brown. Eight species are now known to naturalists.

The genus *Sitana*, Cuv., possesses the teeth of the preceding; the limbs and body are covered with scales imbricated and keeled, the thighs are without pores, but the false ribs are not expanded. The species are distinguished by an enormous dewlap, which extends as far as the middle of the abdomen, and is more than twice the height of the body. We know not that there is any other described than the Pondicherry species (*Sit. Ponticeriana*), a small reptile of a fawn-colour, with a range of large rhomboidal spots along the back. (See Plate II., fig. 7.)

**Sect. 2.—Teeth on the Palate.**

**Genus Iguana**, Cuv. *Iguanas properly so called.* These have the body and tail covered with small imbricated scales. A row of spines or raised scales, compressed and pointed, prevails along the back; and beneath the throat there is a compressed and pendant dewlap, or gular pouch, of which the margin is supported by a cartilaginous production of the hyoid bone. The thighs bear a line of tubercular pores like those of lizards, and the head is covered with plates. Each jaw supports a range of compressed triangular teeth with dentated cutting edges, and there are moreover two small rows of teeth on the posterior margin of the palate.

The common iguana (*I. tuberculata*, Laur., *Loc. iguana*, Linn.) is naturally of a greenish-yellow colour above, mottled with pure green, the tail ringed with brown; the under parts of a paler hue. The scales of the dorsal crest are large and spinous, and there is a conspicuous rounded plate beneath the tympanum, at the angle of the jaws. The sides of the neck bear some pyramidal scales mingled with the others, and the anterior edge of the dewlap is dentated like the back. This species measures from four to five feet in length, and is extensively spread over many of the warmer countries of America, where it is held in high esteem as an article of diet, though by many regarded as by no means healthful. It dwells chiefly among trees, feeding on fruits, grain, and leaves, and is sometimes seen to enter the water. The female deposits her eggs in the sand. They equal in size those of a pigeon, have scarcely any albumen, and afford excellent eating. The common method of catching this reptile is by casting a noose over its head, and then drawing it from its position. It seldom makes an effort to escape, but stands staring at its antagonist, at the same time inflating its throat in a most extraordinary manner.

"Guanas," says Catesby, "are of various sizes, from two to five feet in length; their mouths are furnished with exceeding small teeth, but their jaws armed with a long beak, with which they bite with great strength; they inhabit warm countries only, and are rarely to be met with anywhere north or south of the tropics. Many of the Bahama Islands abound with them, where they nestle in hollow rocks and trees; their eggs have not a hard shell, like those of alligators, but a skin only, like those of a turtle, and are esteemed a good food. They lay a great number of eggs at a time in the earth, which are there hatched by the sun's heat. These guanas are a great part of the subsistence of the inhabitants of the Bahama Islands, for which purpose they visit many of the remote keys and islands in their sloops to catch them, which they do by dogs trained up for that purpose, which are so dexterous as not often to kill them, which, if they do, they serve only for present spending; if otherwise, they sew up their mouths to prevent their biting, and put them into the hold of their sloop till they have caught a sufficient number, which they either carry alive for sale to Carolina, or salt and barrel up for the use of their families at home. These guanas feed wholly on vegetables and fruit, particularly on a kind of fungus growing at the roots of trees, and on the fruits of the different kinds of amanita. Their flesh is easy of digestion, delicate, and well tasted; they are sometimes roasted; but the more common way is to boil them, taking out the leaves of fat, which are melted and clarified, and put into a calabash or dish, into which they dip the flesh of the guana as they eat it. It is remarkable that this fat, which adheres to the inside of the abdomen, imbibes the colour of the fruit the animal eats last, which I have frequently seen tinged of a pale red, yellow, or sometimes of a purple colour, which last was from eating the *prunus maritima*, which fruit, at the same time, I took out..." of them. Though they are not amphibious, they are said to keep under water above an hour. When they swim, they use not their feet, but clasp them close to their body, and guide themselves with their tails; they swallow all they eat whole. They cannot run fast, their holes being a greater security to them than their heels. They are so impatient of cold that they rarely appear out of their holes but when the sun shines.

"The guana," observes Browne, in his Natural History of Jamaica, "like most of the tribe, lives a very considerable time without food, and changes its colour with the weather, or the native moisture of its place of residence. I have kept a grown guana about the house for more than two months; it was very fierce and ill-natured at the beginning, but after some days it grew more tame, and would at length pass the greatest part of the day upon the bed or couch, but it went out always at night. I have never observed it to eat anything, except what imperceptible particles it had lapped up in the air; for it frequently threw out its forked tongue, like the chameleon, as it walked along. The flesh of this creature is liked by many people, and frequently served up in fricassées at their tables, in which state they are often preferred to the best fowls. The guana may be easily tamed while young, and is both an innocent and a beautiful creature in that state."

The horned iguana of St Domingo (Ig. cornuta, Cuv.) is distinguished from the common kind by an osseous conical point between the eyes, and two raised scales upon the nostrils. The neck is not tuberculated. This species measures about four feet in length, and is frequently found on the hills of St Domingo, between Artibonite and Gonavas. It lives on fruits, insects, and small birds, which it seizes with surprising agility, and during the day it couches on trees and rocks to watch for its prey. During the night, and throughout the greatest heats of the hot season, it retires among the chambered rocks, or into the hollows of old trees, and there passes many months in a state of lethargy. This iguana is considered by the negroes as a great delicacy, and they accordingly search for it with avidity. According to the report of the colonists, its flesh resembles in flavour that of the roe-buck, and the maroon dogs make great slaughter among these reptiles.

The naked necked iguana (Ig. nudicollis, Cuv.) resembles the preceding species in its dorsal crest, but it does not possess either the large plates beneath the tympanum, nor the scattered tubercles on the sides of the neck. The upper part of the cranium is furnished with gibbous plates, the occiput is tubercular, and the dewlap or gular pouch is slightly dentated, and only on its anterior portion. Its native regions are Brazil and Guadaloupe, not India, as Laurenti supposes. (See Plate II., fig. 8.) Several other species are described by naturalists.

In the genus Ophrytes, Bois, the scales are small and imbricated; a dorsal crest, not greatly projecting, is prolonged upon the tail, which is compressed. The teeth resemble those of the preceding genus, but there is neither dewlap nor pores. The supercilious lizard of the older authors (Oph. superciliosus) may be named as an example. It is an American species, of a fawn-colour, with a festooned band of brown along the flanks, and measures from twelve to sixteen inches. It derives its specific name from a peculiar membranous ridge which occupies the region of the eyebrow.

The genus Basiliscus, Daudin, has the scales of small size, and the raised ridge on the back and tail is continuous, and supported by the spiny processes of the vertebrae, after the fashion of the tail in the Amblyra lizard, as already mentioned in our brief notice of the genus Isturus.

The name of Basiliscus naturally recalls to mind the fabled stories of antiquity as that of Dragon. It was supposed to be the most poisonous and malignant of creatures, its very aspect being regarded as fatal to the unhappy beholder. It exercised its tyrannous sway amid the burning and desert sands of Africa, and obliged each meaner reptile to keep at a respectful distance.

But the animals now known to naturalists under the name of Basiliscus, we are happy to say, are harmless creatures, of very innocent manners, although of most extraordinary aspect. They do not occur in Africa, as Lucan feigns, nor in India, as Seba alleges, but in South America, especially Guiana, as Daudin has determined. The best known is the mitred species (B. mitratus, L. Basiliscus, Linn.), distinguished by a membranous crest upon the occiput, somewhat in the form of a cowl or hood, and supported by cartilage. It is of a bluish colour, with two white bands, one behind the eye and another behind the maxillae. It measures from two to three feet in length, and feeds on grains.

In the genus Polychrus, Cuv. there is no dorsal crest, the head is covered with plates, and the tail is long and slender. The extensible skin of the throat is capable of being formed into a gular pouch at the will of the animal, and this genus possesses the power of changing colour like the chameleons. Their lungs are likewise very voluminous, filling up a great portion of the body, and subdividing into various branches. Their false ribs, too, like those of the chameleon, encompass the abdomen, and so unite as to form entire circles. The marbled lizard (Lac. marmorata, Linn.) may be named as an example. It is of a reddish-gray colour, marbled with transverse irregular bands of brownish red, sometimes mingled with blue. The tail is of great length. This species is frequent in Guiana.

The genus Anolis, Cuv. combines with the form of the preceding a very peculiar and distinctive character, the skin of the toes being enlarged beneath the ante-penultimate joint, into an oval disk, transversely striated on the under surface, which aids the animal in climbing, which it is otherwise enabled well to do by means of its crooked claws. The body and tail are moreover chagrined with minute scales, and the majority bear a dewlap or goitre-like expansion beneath the throat, which they not only inflate, but cause to change both in form and colour, in accordance with their various moods of love or anger. Indeed several of the species at least equal the chameleon in their power of assuming frequent and rapid alternations in the colour of their skin. Like these creatures, too, and the genus Polychrus, the ribs form entire circles. The species are peculiar to America, and several of them are even naturally of familiar habits, frequenting the vicinity of human habitations.

In some there is a crest upon the tail, supported by the spiny processes of the vertebrae, as in Isturus and Basiliscus. Such is the great crested Anolis (An. velifer, Cuv.), which measures about a foot in length. The crest extends over one half of the tail, and is supported by from twelve to fifteen rays; the dewlap reaches to beneath the belly. (See Plate III., fig. 2.) It is found in the Antilles.

In others the tail is round, or only slightly compressed. The species of this section of the genus are numerous, and have been frequently confounded under one or two specific names. They inhabit the warmer parts of con-

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1 Griffith's Animal Kingdom, ix. 225. This family consists of what may be termed the nocturnal lizards, all of which bear a strong resemblance to each other. Baron Cuvier regards them as constituting a single genus, divisible according to the form and structure of the toes, as after mentioned.

The genus Gecko may be characterized as consisting of Saurian reptiles, of not so lank a form as those of the preceding genera. They are rather of a flattened shape, especially about the head; the feet are of medium size, and the toes of nearly equal length. Their gait is heavy and crawling. Their eyes are large, and the pupil extremely contractile under the influence of light, so that they usually keep themselves concealed throughout the day in dark or sombre places. Their eyelids are very short, and withdraw entirely between the eye and the orbit, which bestows on these animals a very peculiar physiognomy. Their tongue is fleshy, not extensible; the jaws are furnished all around with a row of very small close-set teeth; the palate is toothless. The skin is chagrined above with very small granular scales, among which some larger tubercles are often dispersed; the under parts are covered by flatish scales scarcely so small, and imbricated. The pores on the thigh are not here regarded as a generic character, being absent in some and present in others. The tail is marked by circular folds, as in the genus Anolis; but when mutilated, it has been noticed to renew itself without these folds. This genus is numerous and widely spread, occurring both in the old world and the new.1

The dull and doleful aspect of the geckoes, and a certain resemblance which they bear to toads and newts, render them liable to the imputation of poisonous properties,—an assumption without proof, and altogether against analogy.

The majority of the species have the toes enlarged for a greater or less extent, and furnished beneath with regular folds upon the skin, which, by some peculiar action, enable them to adhere to smooth surfaces, to ascend perpendicular walls, and even to creep in a reversed position along a ceiling. The claws are retractile in different ways, and preserve their points and cutting edges; and these characters, combined with the contractile nature of the pupil, has induced a comparison of the geckoes among reptiles to the feline tribes among carnivorous quadrupeds. The claws, however, vary in the different species, and in some are altogether wanting. It is in accordance with the particular structure of the toes in different species that the geckoes have been subdivided into several separate groups, which some authors regard as constituting so many distinct genera.2

Sect. I.—Platydactyls. Toes widened throughout, and furnished beneath with transverse scales.

In certain species of this section of the genus the nails are entirely wanting, and the thumb is very small. They are rather ornamental in their aspect, covered over by tubercles, and adorned by lively colours. They occur in the Isle of France. Some have no pores upon the thighs; such are G. inunguis, Cuv., of a violet colour above, white beneath, with a black line along the sides; and G. ocellatus, Oppel, of a gray hue, covered with brown spots, with white centres. Some possess the pores, as G. Cepediensis, a yellowish-red coloured species, marbled with blue, and marked with white along the sides.

In other platydactylous geckoes the nails are wanting only on the thumbs, and on the second and fifth toes of all the feet, and there are no pores upon the thighs. To this little group belongs the wall-gecko, a European species (G. fascicularis, Daud.), called Terrentola by the Italians. It is of a deep-gray colour, with a rough head; all the upper parts beset with tubercles, each of which is formed of three or four others of smaller size. It is a creature of a most unseemly aspect, which hides itself in the holes of walls, or beneath heaps of stones, and moreover covers its body with dust and ordure. It, however, delights also in sunshine, and is said not to occur in damp or very sombre situations. In winter it lies inert, but not torpid. It inhabits the countries around the Mediterranean, and ventures as far north as Provence and Languedoc. A nearly allied species occurs in Egypt and Barbary.—G. Egyp-

ticus, Cuv. Its tubercles are round and simple, more projecting on the sides.

The greater number of the platydactylous species want the nails only on the four thumbs, and have a range of pores anterior to the anus. G. guttatus, Daud., has a reddish coloured body, spotted with white, and beset by round-

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1 The following table exhibits a view of the geographical distribution of the Geckotidae, so far as known at this time:

| Generic Groups | Europe | Asia | Africa | America | Australia and Polynesia | Locality | Total Species | |----------------|--------|------|--------|---------|------------------------|----------|--------------| | Platydactylus | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 17 | | Hemidactylus | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 | | Pryodactylus | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | | | Phyllodactylus | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | | Sphaerodactylus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | | Gymnodactylus | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | | | Stenodactylus | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |

Totals: 2 13 12 12 12 4 65

2 See Erphtologie Generale, iii. 290. ed slightly projecting tubercles. The scales on the under part of the tail are square and imbricated. Seba describes this as a Ceylonese species, and adds, that the name of gecko is applied to it on account of its cry resembling that word. It is believed to occur throughout the Indian Archipelago. A belief prevails in the native country of this and other species, that an acrimonious fluid exudes from the lamellae of the feet, and remaining on fruit, or other edible vegetation, is productive of injury to those who swallow it. A species is described by Bontius in his history of Java, under the name of Indian Salamander; and that old author states that the Javanese are said to hold it up by the tail until it discharges a foam or sanies from the mouth, with which they poison their arrows.

Sect. 2.—Hemidactylus. Base of the toes furnished with an oval disk, formed beneath by a double row of scales en chevron; from the centre of this disk the second joint springs, and bears the third or nail at its extremity.

All the known species of the hemidactylous division have five nails on each foot, and a range of pores on each side of the anus. The scales beneath the tail are in the form of broad bands, like those of many serpents. A grayish red kind (G. verruculatus, Cuv.) occurs in the southern countries of Europe. The body is beset with small, conical, slightly rounded tubercles, and circles of the same surround the tail. A nearly allied species (G. mabuia, Cuv.) is widely spread over the warmer parts of the new world, where it often enters dwelling-houses, occurring apparently identical both in Bengal and Pondicherry. Cuvier presumes it may have been transported thither accidentally in ships. A species more peculiar to India is G. marginatus, Cuv., of which the body is margined, and the tail flattened horizontally, with its edges sharp and slightly fringed.

Sect. 3.—Thecadactylus. Toes enlarged throughout their entire length, and furnished with transverse scales, which are divided by a deep longitudinal furrow, wherein the claw may lie entirely concealed.

Such as are clearly known do not want the claws except upon the thumbs. They have no pores upon the thighs, and the scales upon the tail are small. As an example, may be named the smooth, or, as it is sometimes called, the perforated gecko (G. levis, Daud., Stellio perforatus, Schneid.). The tail of this species in the natural or normal state is long, and surrounded by the usual fold; but it is easily fractured, and the reproduced portion often assumes a bulbous form, with a tapering termination, not unlike a small turnip with its root. In this accidental condition it was formerly described as a distinct species, under the title of Lacerta ropicunda.

Sect. 4.—Ptyodactylus. Toes dilated only at the tips, and striated below. The dilatation is cleft, and the nail placed in the fissure. The whole of the toes are furnished with curved claws.

In some the toes are free, and the tail rounded. Such is G. lobatus, Geoff., sometimes named the house-gecko. It is smooth, or at least both scales and tubercles are very small, the general colour reddish-gray speckled with brown. This species is common in houses in many of the countries on the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean. It is known in Cairo by the unlovely name of abou burs, or father of the leprosy, because it is supposed to produce that dreadful malady by poisoning provisions with its feet. Hasselquist relates that he saw at Cairo two women and a girl at the point of death, in consequence of their having eaten some cheese over which this creature chanced to crawl. He likewise mentions a man who, having laid hold of a Geckotidae, gecko, his hand became instantaneously covered with red inflamed pustules, which were as itchy as those produced by the stinging of a nettle. Cats are said to eat these reptiles; and they are driven from the Egyptian kitchens by the odour of garlic. The house-gecko feeds on insects, and its eggs are equal in size to a small nut. Its voice resembles that of a frog.

In others the tail is bordered on both sides by a membrane, and the feet are semi-palmed. Baron Cuvier is of opinion that they are probably aquatic. The species are truly singular in their external aspect. Such is the fimbriated gecko (G. fimbriatus, Cuv.), of which the form is much depressed, and the tail bordered by a lateral margin, which is also visible on the sides of the body, where, however, it becomes fringed or slashed. It is a native of Madagascar, where it is erroneously held in great dread. In Lacépéde's opinion, it connects together the camels, geckoes, and water-newts. It measures eight or nine inches in length; and lives in trees, leaping from branch to branch. The colours of this species, like those of the camelion, are very changeable, at least on the upper surface, the under portion being usually of a bright yellow. "These changes," says Dr Shaw, "we are informed, have been observed in the living animal by Mons. Bruyeres in its native country, viz. Madagascar, where it is not very uncommon, and where, though a harmless animal, it is held in great abhorrence by the natives, who consider it of a poisonous nature, and fly from it with precipitation, pretending that it darts on their breast, and adheres with such force by its fringed membrane, that it cannot be separated from the skin without the assistance of a razor." The principal cause of this popular dread of the animal is its habit of running open-mouthed towards the spectator, instead of attempting to escape when discovered. Its chief residence is on the branches of trees, where it lives on insects, holding itself secure by coiling its tail, short as it is, half round the twig on which it sits. It chiefly appears in rainy weather, when it moves with considerable agility, often springing from bough to bough. On the ground it walks but slowly, the fore-legs being shorter than the hinder.1

An equally singular species of this section is the scolopetailed gecko (G. caudiciferus), which has no fringe upon the body, but a very peculiarly indented marginalation on each side of the tail. It is of a blackish colour, measures above a foot in length, and was found by M. Feuillet in a fountain of the Cordilleras. Some confusion exists in systematic works between this species and that figured by Seba under the name of Salamandra aquatica ex Arabia.

Sect. 5.—Sphyriodactylus. Toes terminated by a small cushion without folds; the claws retractile.

Such species as have the cushion double or notched in front are natives of the Cape of Good Hope and the East Indies. Example, G. porphyraeus, Daud. More frequently the cushion is rounded and simple, as in the species called the spitting gecko (G. spatulator, Lac.), a small reptile, pleasingly marked by transverse bands of brown upon a reddish ground. It inhabits houses in St Domingo. A lizard described by Sparman under the same specific name, if not identical with the species just named, no doubt pertains to this genus. It is said when disturbed by a near approach to eject from its mouth a black and acrimonious fluid into the face of the spectator, causing an inflammation of the skin, which, however, is allayed by rubbing the part affected with camphorated spirits of wine.

Finally, there are Saurians which, with all the characters... of the geckoes, exhibit no enlargement of the toes, although their claws, five in number, are nevertheless retractile. They at present compose three genera, as follows:

In *Stenodactylus* the tail is round, the toes striated beneath, and dentated on the edges. *Stern, guttatus* is an Egyptian species, of a gray colour, sprinkled with whitish spots; the skin smooth. In *Gymnodactylus*, Spix, the toes are slender and bare, and the tail rounded. Example, *Gym. geckoides*, Spix. In *Phyllurus*, Cuv., the toes resemble those of the preceding; but the tail is flattened horizontally, and shaped like a leaf. The only known species is *Ph. platyura*, from New South Wales, described by White under the name of broad-tailed lizard. It measures about six inches in length, and is of a brownish-gray colour, beset with tubercles. (See Plate III., fig. 3.)

**FAMILY V.—CHAMELEONIDÆ. CAMELEONS.**

This family consists solely of the genus *Chamaeleo*, distinguished by the following characters. The entire surface is chagrined with small granular scales, the body is compressed, the dorsal edge narrow; the tail is rounded and prehensile. There are five toes on each foot, arranged as it were in two groups, three in one, and two in the other, in some measure resembling the foot of a scansorial bird; but the toes of each group are connate, or enclosed within the skin, as far as the claws. The tongue is fleshy, cylindrical, extensible, and of great length. The teeth are trifoliate.

The eyes are large in themselves, but almost entirely covered over by the skin, except a small opening opposite the pupil; and each eye has the power of movement independent of the other. There are no external ears, and the occiput rises in a pyramidal form. The first ribs unite with the sternum, and the succeeding ones meet each other so as to form a circle around the abdomen. The lungs are of vast extent, and, according to their state of collapse or inflation, greatly affect the form and aspect of the animal. This, with its long power of abstinence, may have given rise to the common belief that it feeds on air.

Cameleons are insectivorous reptiles, of which the slow pace, the extraordinary form, the awkward movements, the vivacity of eye, and the marvellous rapidity of tongue, have excited the wonder of mankind from the earliest ages. Their change of colour, by no means so marked or sudden as supposed, has nothing to do with the hue of the objects by which they are surrounded, but bears relation physically to the degree of light or obscurity to which they are exposed, morally to the state of their own feelings of fear or anger, and physiologically and directly to the action of the lungs upon the circulating system. "En effet," says Cuvier, "leur peau les rend plus ou moins transparents, contrant plus ou moins le sang à réfléchir vers la peau, colore même ce fluide plus ou moins violemment, selon qu'il se remplit ou se vide d'air." "The general or usual colour in the chameleon," says Dr Shaw, "so far as I have been able to ascertain from my own observation of such as have been brought into this country in a living state, are from a bluish-ash colour (its natural tinge) to a green and sometimes yellowish colour, spotted unequally with red. If the animal be exposed to a full sunshine, the unilluminated side generally appears, within the space of some minutes, of a pale yellow, with large rounded patches or spots of red brown. On reversing the situation of the animal the same change takes place in an opposite direction, the side which was before in the shade now becoming either brown or ash colour, while the other side becomes yellow and red; but these changes are subject to much variety, both as to intensity of colours and disposition of spots."

Authors of all ages have differed greatly in opinion regarding the causes of the change of colour in cameleons. The phenomenon, though remarkable, and strongly exemplified in these creatures, is by no means peculiar to them, but occurs, as we have noted in the course of this article, among many others of the reptile race, especially in such as, the general envelope not adhering closely to the muscles, receive a portion of air beneath the skin. It is also observable in many mollusca, particularly the cuttle-fish tribe. But to recur to the cameleon. Aristotle and many other authors have maintained that the change of colour only took place when the animal inflated itself. Pliny repeats the opinion (which has since prevailed) that it assumed the colours of the bodies by which it was surrounded, with the exception of red and white. Wormius was among the first to maintain that the changes in question were due to the emotions of the reptile. Solinus assigns as the cause the reflexion of the luminous rays. Kircher supports the theory of volition and emotion. Goddard adopts the same explanation, with the addition that the colours at the same time bear a relation to neighbouring bodies. Hasselquist and Linnæus refer to the pigmentum as the cause. Finally, the majority of modern authors who have written on the subject (and their name is legion) have sought to explain the phenomenon either by the modifications of the respiratory system, by these modifications combined with the state of the pulmonary circulation, or by the transposition of the various layers which are believed to exist in the pigmentum.

We may state briefly in regard to the geographical distribution of the cameleons, that Africa is their characteristic country. Of the fourteen species known to naturalists, the whole occur there or in the adjacent islands, especially Madagascar; three species, however, are not exclusively African, *Chama. dilepis*, Leach, being found in Georgia, *Chama. vulgaris* in the south of Europe, and *Chama. bifidus* in continental India, the Moluccas, Isle of France, and New Holland. They are thus entirely unknown in America.

These reptiles dwell habitually among shrubs or trees. "Nous avons observé," says M. Bory de St Vincent, "des caméléons en liberté, fixés sur les rameaux des arbustes, qu'ils tenaient fortement serrés entre leur doigts, à peu près comme le font les perroquets dont le pied présente une certaine analogie avec les leurs; ils étaient aussi immobiles que s'ils eussent été des imitations artificielles. Leurs yeux seulement, dont la pupille brillait comme une pierre précieuse au milieu d'une globe blancâtre percé d'un petit trou étincelant, roulaient en tout sens, et tandis que l'un regardait par devant, l'autre observait les objets situés en arrière. Quelquefois le mouvement anguleux d'une patte comme disloquée, lentement suivi de celui de la suivante et du déroulement de la queue, qui servait de cinquième point d'appui au caméléon, déterminait un tardif avancement de quelques lignes. Dans cet état de paix, au milieu du feuillage..."

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1 *Voyage to New South Wales*, pl. 32; and *Naturalist's Miscellany*, pl. 65.

2 "All which considered," says Sir Thomas Brown, in his *Vulgar Errors*, "severer heads will be apt enough to conceive the vulgar opinion of this animal to be not much unlike that of the Ariel, or more without mouths, in Pliny; suitable unto the relation of the name in Spain, and their subterraneous and contemplative lives; the Ariel wind; and in some way more unreasonable than the fragment of Robley, the famous horse in Ariosto, which, being concealed by flame and wind, never tasted grass, or fed on any groser provision—rather air; for this way of nutrition was answerable unto the principles of his generation; which being not airy, but gross and seminal in the chameleon, unto its conservation there is required a solid pasture, and a food congenerous unto the principles of its nature."

3 *General Zoology*, iii. 256.

4 For a summary on this subject, see a paper by Dr Spittal in the *Edin. New Phil. Journ.* for 1829, p. 292. lage des lentiques, sa couleur était d'un blanc assez pur, tirant sur le jaunâtre. Saisi, il se gonflait d'abord et ne faisait nul effort pour éviter le danger ; sans doute il en sentait l'inutilité ; mais bientôt on voyait circuler sur toutes les parties de son corps des teintes diverses dues au sang, poussé vers la peau par la dilatation de ses vastes poumons. Le caméléon, rendu à lui-même, ne tardait point à reprendre sa couleur blanchâtre que la mort rembrunit. Du reste, le plus innocent de tous les animaux, ce caméléon changeant, qui ne cherche jamais à mordre, vit de mouche qu'il guette ; lorsque celles-ci passent à sa portée, son corps, sa tête, ses membres demeurent immobiles ; mais il a calculé la portée de sa langue, il la lance comme un trait ; et l'animal ailé, malgré son agilité et la promptitude de son vol, se trouve collé au bouton visqueux qui le rapport en un clin d'œil dans la bouche de son ennemi.

"On a imprimé, dans la plupart des livres d'histoire naturelle, qu'on ne trouvait des caméléons que dans les parties les plus chaudes des régions intertropicales. Ces animaux s'y plaisent sans doute, mais non seulement ils dépassent les tropiques, ils s'élèvent encore beaucoup au nord dans la zone tempérée, puisque nous en avons trouvé fréquemment dans le midi de l'Espagne. L'espèce de Barbarie y est aussi commune autour de la baie de Cadix, où lorsque, pour les opérations de la sécheresse, nous faisons abattre des pins sur la rive gauche du Guadalquivir, nous en trouvons communément entre les rameaux dont se formaient la cime de ces arbres. On en voit dans quelques maisons, qui demeurent fort longtemps, sans rentrer, suspendus à des ficelles sur lesquelles on les a placés comme objets de curiosité ; les chats en sont assez friands, et ceux qu'on tient en captivité finissent ordinairement par les griffes de ces tigres domestiques."

The best-known species is Cham. vulgaris, often called the African chameleon (Lac. Africana, Gm.), an ill-selected name, in as far as several other kinds occur in Africa, and the species in question spreads from the south of Spain through many intermediate countries into India. The hood is pointed, and raised into a ridge on its anterior portion; the dorsal ridge is dentated as far as the middle of the back, the inferior one as far as the anus. The granules of the skin are equal and closely set. In the female the hood is of smaller size, and the dentations of the ridge less strongly marked. It is to this species, which measures about a foot and a half in length, that our preceding quotations apply, and that is also referred to in most of the general observations on cameleons found in books. (See Plate III., fig. 1.)

The female deposits her eggs to the number of thirty, in an excavation which she hollows in the ground, and afterwards covers over with loose earth, "servendosi," says Valisnieri, "a questo lavoro delle sole zampe di dietro, come i gatti, quando nascondono e coprono le loro sozze, non contenta della cavata terra vi ramassò e ammoncicello delle foglie secche, della paglia, e degli stecchetti avendovi insaziato sopra una collinetta di copertura."

We shall here mention briefly a few of the most distinctly known of the other species of the genus. Cham. tigris, Cuv., has the hood or helmet small, and is distinguished by a compressed dentated wattle beneath the end of the lower jaw. Its body is beset with black points, and the granules are fine and equal. It inhabits the Seychelle Islands. An allied species (Cham. verrucosus, Cuv.) has larger granules mingled with the others, and there is a series of parallel warts on the sides of the back. It is a native of the Mauritius. Cham. pomilus, Daud., has the hood directed backwards, and scattered warts upon the sides, limbs, and tail; and beneath the throat are numerous compressed finely-toothed wattles, which vary in different individuals. It occurs in the south of Africa, the Isle of France, and the Seychelles. Cuvier is of opinion, that Cham. Seichellensis of Khal is merely the female of this species. The Senegal kind, Cham. planiceps, Merr. (Loc. chameleon, Gm.), has the hood flattened, almost without ridge, and horizontally of a parabolic form. It occurs in Barbary, and has likewise been seen in Georgia. Cham. pardalis, Cuv., from the Isle of France, is marked irregularly with black round spots, bordered with white. A peculiar species from the Moluccas is distinguished by two large compressed prominences projecting in front of the muzzle. It is the Cham. bifurcus of M. Brogniart.

FAMILY VI.—SCINCIDE.

Distinguishable by their short legs, their unextensible tongue, and their scales of equal size, which cover the body and tail like tiles.

In the genus Scincus, Daud., the legs are rather short, the body of almost equal size with the tail, without any occipital enlargement, crest, or dewlap, the scales uniform, shining, and disposed like those of a carp. Some of the species assume a fusiform or spindle shape, others are nearly cylindrical, and more or less lengthened, resembling certain Ophidians, especially those of the genus Anguis, with which they are likewise connected by several internal relations. The tongue is fleshy, little extensible, and but slightly cleft; and the jaws are furnished all around with small close-set teeth. The toes are free.

A few have teeth upon the palate. Of these is the common or officinal skink (Sc. officinalis, Schin., Lac. scincus, Linn.), which measures six or eight inches in length. The tail is shorter than the body, and the proportional length considerable from the snout to the shoulder. The general colour is a silvery yellow hue, with transverse blackish bands. It is very abundant in Libya, Syria, Arabia, and Egypt, and is frequently imported from Alexandria into Europe. It frequents rather dry and sandy soils, and is remarkable for the extraordinary rapidity with which it burrows, vanishing almost instantaneously, and seeming, as Bruce has well expressed it, "rather to have found a hole than to have made one." This is the reptile called el edda by the Arabs. It was once held in high estimation as an article in the Materia Medica, its flesh being regarded as advantageous in leprous and many other cases. A much larger species (Sc. Cypria) occurs in the Levant, and some of the Mediterranean Islands. Sc. rofescens is widely spread over India, and Sc. trivittatus is common at the Cape of Good Hope. To this group also belongs the galley-wasp of Jamaica (Sc. occidentum, Shaw), a large reptile of nearly two feet in length. We are not acquainted with its modern history, and it possesses no poison apparatus, though Browne in his Natural History of Jamaica, informs us that it is reckoned the most venomous reptile in the island, and that it is believed no creature can recover from its bite. The author, however, justly regards this as a popular error.

Other species of this genus have no teeth upon the palate. Such is Sc. eccidatus, Schneider, well known in the southern countries of Europe, the Mediterranean Islands, Egypt, &c. The West Indies, the Moluccas, and New Holland, produce analogous kinds, some of them remarkable for their size.

The genus Sep's of Daudin differs from the preceding in having the body so elongated as to resemble that of a serpent (a conformation well expressed by the names Lacerta

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1 Diction. Class. d'Hist. Nat., iii. 96. 2 See a paper by Mr Gray, in the Philosophical Magazine, vol. ii. p. 209; and Erpétologie Générale, iii. 203. Sauria. serpens, Anguis quadrupes, &c., which certain species bore; their legs are extremely small, and the two pairs placed at a great distance from each other. (See Plate III., fig. 4.) The limbs in this genus begin to exhibit an inequality of size. Indeed, we may here observe that in the few remaining groups of Saurian reptiles with which we are still to be engaged, there is a manifest approximation to the true serpents or Ophidian race, in the diminution of the feet, the entire disappearance, in certain species, of either the anterior or posterior pair, and the elongated form of the body. Indeed, on the one hand, Lacerta apoda of Pallas is actually now classed with the Ophidians (being placed at their head), although on each side of the anus there is a prominence containing a small bone analogous to the femur, and pertaining to a true pelvis concealed beneath the skin; while on the other, certain systematic writers range our Anguis fragilis, and other snakes usually so called, among the Saurian reptiles. But to return to our remaining genera, which may really be said to hold their legs and feet by a precarious tenure, so subject are they to variation—the five-toed seps (S. pentadactylus, Lac. serpens, Linn.) inhabits the East Indies, while a four-toed species (S. tetradactylus), and a third with only three toes (S. tridactylus), both being viviparous, occur in the Isle de Crés. Another three-toed species (S. chalcides) is native to the south of Europe, and is named cecilia by the Italians. It dwells in meadows, feeding on spiders, slugs, &c., and runs rapidly by means of a snake-like wriggling motion, without using its feet. It is also viviparous. A more peculiar kind, known under the name of serpent-lizard (S. monodactylus, Lac. anguina, Linn.), occurs at the Cape of Good Hope. Its legs are nothing more than small footless undivided appendages. This is the vermis serpentiformis ex Africae of Seba, said by some authors to be found "in great plenty in the water and about the rocks in Table Bay."

The genus Bipes, Lacépé, makes a still nearer approach to the serpents, as its name indicates. It scarcely differs from Sepis, except in the entire absence of the fore-legs. It forms, as it were, the stepping-stone to Anguis. (See Plate III., fig. 5.) A species from New Holland (B. lepidopoda, Lacépé), examined by Baron Cuvier, although its hinder extremities showed themselves externally only under the form of a pair of small oblong scaly plates, was yet found on dissection to possess a femur, tibia, peroneum, and four metatarsal bones without phalanges. To this genus likewise belongs an African species, the Anguis bipes, Linn., and another of larger size from Brazil, described by Spix under the name of Pygopuss cariococa.

The genus called Chalcides by Daudin is likewise characterized by a long and serpent-like body, but there are four legs (as in Sepis), and the scales, instead of overlapping like tiles, are rectangular, and form transverse bands, which do not encroach upon each other. (See Plate III., fig. 6.)

Certain species have a groove on each side of the body, and the tympanum still very obvious. Of these, an East Indian kind (Chal. seps, Lac. seps, Linn.) has five toes, while another (Chal. tetradactylus) has only four. Others have the tympanum concealed, and conduct directly to Chirotes, and through it to the ophidian genus Amphibiana. Examples, Chal. pentadactylus, which, as its name implies, is a five-toed species, and Chal. heterodactylus (Hel. imbriatus, Spix), which has four toes to the front feet and five to the hinder. Chal. abdominalis, Thunberg, has four toes on each foot. Lastly, Chal. flavescens, Gray (Chal. monodactylus, Daudin), is distinguished by five anterior and three posterior toes, so reduced in size as to resemble small tubercles, and so ill defined by nature (to our perceptions, though no doubt wisely formed in relation to the end in view), that zoologists still differ as to their exact amount. The species alluded to is native to Guiana.

The genus Chirotes, Cuv., resembles Chalcides in its verticillated scales, and is allied to Amphibiana by the blunted form of its head; but it is distinguished from the former by the absence of the hind legs, and from the latter by the presence of the fore ones. (See Plate III., fig. 7.) The only known species is the lumbriciform lizard of Shaw (Chir. lumbricoides,—canaliculatus of Lac.), a native of Mexico, and first described by Lacépéde. It has two short anterior feet (each with four toes, and the rudiments of a fifth), well organized internally, and attached to a small sternum by means of shoulder-blades and clavicles; but the head, vertebrae, and the general skeleton closely resemble those of the genus Amphibiana. It is of a flesh colour, and measures eight or ten inches long, with a circumference like that of the little finger. It is surrounded by about 220 semi-rings upon the back, and as many on the abdomen, which meet upon the sides in alternation. The tongue of this species is but slightly extended, and terminates in two little horny points. Its eye is extremely small, and the tympanum invisible outwardly, being covered by the skin. On dissection, Baron Cuvier could detect in this reptile only a single large lung, with the vestige of a small one, as in serpents. It preys on insects.

ORDER III.—OPHIDIA, OR SERPENT-SHAPED REPTILES.

The exact lines of demarcation which separate the primary orders of the reptile race are somewhat difficult to draw, as in truth must always be the case wherever there are strong affinities of form and habits. Natura non facit saltum is a saying the truth of which the student of her manifold wonders must ever remember; and in our present department especially there are several very singular creatures, which so combine the characters of two contiguous orders that well-instructed naturalists differ as to whether they should terminate the one or commence the other. Thus Baron Cuvier's last Ophidian genus is Cecilia, which Professor Bell regards as a Batrachian reptile, or rather as belonging to his separate class Amphibia, which, after the example of Blainville and Latreille, he constitutes by means of the entire Batrachian order.1 Thus also Lacerta apoda of Pallas, though furnished on each side with a small bone analogous to the femur, and pertaining to an actual pelvis concealed beneath the skin, is yet classed by the great French anatomist with the Ophidians, being, so to say, the "very head and front of their offending;"2 while several systematic writers range our Anguis fragilis, and other snakes commonly so called, among the lizards. An American reptile, Anguis ventralis of Linn., now forms Daudin's genus Ophisaurus, the name of which (derived from ὄφις, serpent, and αὔχω, lizard) implies the peculiar combination now referred to. The Saurian genus Sepis, described at the conclusion of our former order, is characterized by Cuvier as having an elongated body, "tout-à-fait semblable à celui d'un orvet" (Anguis); and, on the other hand, the same author enters upon his Ophidian order by means of the Anguidae, or slow-worms, which he simply describes as "des seps sans pieds." These, and other

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1 Encyclopædia of Anatomy and Physiology, part I. p. 91. These amphibian orders are as follows:—1st, Amphipneura, containing the Sirens and Proteans; 2d, Anourea, the frogs and toads; 3d, Urodea, the salamanders; 4th, Abrocheida, the genera Menopoma and Amphiuma; and 5th, Apoda, the genus Cecilia. "It is easy," adds Mr Swainson, "to perceive that this last passes into the first by means of the dipod Sirens, and thus the whole form a circular group more or less perfect in its connecting links." (Cabinet Cyclopædia, vol. cxvi. p. 86.)

2 See Rynne Animal, ii. 69. examples which it would be easy to adduce, demonstrate the close connection which subsists between the Saurian and Ophidian orders.

It has indeed been customary to class among serpents whatever reptiles combined the absence of limbs with an extremely lengthened form of body; but a more rigorous observation will demonstrate that several species which, in accordance with that principle, will take their place as serpents, are yet in their prevailing organic structure removed from them in most essential points, the chief resemblance being that of the external and extremely lengthened form. Now this attenuated aspect, and absence of all the ordinary locomotive members, are likewise exhibited by several Saurian reptiles, and of course in an increased degree as they actually approach the serpent or Ophidian tribes; but the two characters just mentioned do not convert them from one order to another, being still held as it were in subordination to the general structure.1

We commence our description of OPHIDIAN with the animals that have the general form of serpents; but yet differ from them anatomically so much that they cannot be considered as true Serpents; and have been judiciously separated from them by M. Schlegel. We divide Ophidians into the groups CECILIA, AMPHISBENA, ANGUIS, and SERPENS.

CECILIAE, OR BLIND WORMS.

The character of this group is fully given in the description of the only genus.

Genus CECILIA. Eyes extremely small, almost concealed beneath the skin, sometimes wanting. Skin smooth, viscous, furrowed by annular folds, apparently naked, but exhibiting in its thickness certain slender scales, regularly disposed on many transverse ridges between the wrinkles of the skin. Head depressed, anus nearly terminal, tail consequently short or almost wanting. Ribs too short to surround the trunk. Vertebrae articulated by facets like hollowed cones filled with gelatinous cartilage, as in fishes and some Batrachia; the cranium united to the first vertebra by two tubercles, also as in Batrachian reptiles. The orbits, covered by the maxillary bones, are only pierced by a very small hole; and the bones of the temples cover the temporal fossa in such a way that the head exhibits superiorly nothing but a continuous bony buckler. (See Plate IV., fig. 1 d.) The hyoid bone, composed of three pair of arches, is so constructed as almost to lend to the belief that in early age there were gills. The maxillary and palatine teeth are ranged on two concentric lines, as in the genus Proteus, but are frequently sharp and curved backwards, as in true serpents. The nostrils open at the back part of the palate, and the lower jaw has no moveable pedicle, the tympanic bone being encased with the other bones in the buckler of the cranium. The auricle of the heart is not sufficiently divided to be described as double; but the second lung is rudimentary, as among the genuine Ophidians. The liver is divided into many transverse foliations.

We know nothing of the natural history or habits of the animals of this genus. They are said to dwell in marshy ground, several feet below the surface. They probably prey on worms and insects, although vegetable matters, mould, and sand, have been found in their intestines.

In certain species the muzzle is obtuse, the skin loose, the folds conspicuous, and there are two small hairs near the nostrils. To this section belongs Cec. annulata of Spix, a Brazilian species of subterranean habits. It is of a blackish hue, with upwards of eighty annular folds, and circularly marked with white. The teeth are conical. Others have the folds more numerous, or rather in the form of serrated transverse stria. Such is Cec. glutinosa, Lima, from Ceylon, a blackish-coloured reptile, marked by a longitudinal band of white on either side, and characterized by 350 folds, which unite beneath in an acute angle. We have figured a nearly allied species from America, Cec. brevittata of the French naturalists. (See Plate V., fig. 3.) Finally, a few have the folds almost effaced, the body long and slender, and the muzzle projecting. Cec. lambricoides, Daudin, is entirely blind, of a blackish colour, two feet long, and not thicker than a quill. Baron Cuvier possessed the skeleton of a Cecilia more than six feet long. There were 225 vertebrae, but the external characters were unknown.

AMPHISBENIDAE, PROGRESSING EITHER WAY.

The lower jaw still continues, as among the preceding groups, supported by a tympanic bone, articulated directly to the cranium, the two branches of that jaw being soldered together anteriorly, while those of the upper one are fixed to the cranium and the intermaxillary bone. This formation both produces an equality of dimension between the head and the rest of the body, and also prevents that peculiar power of dilatation for which the genuine serpents are so remarkable. (See Plate IV., fig. 1 a.) Their general form, according to Cuvier, "leur permet de marcher également bien dans les deux sens," a fact, however, which that great observer does not seem to state as from the "ocular proof;" and for the confirmation of which we have sought in vain in the work of any well-instructed traveller. The bony frame-work of the orbit is incomplete behind, the eye is extremely small, and the body is covered with circular plates. The windpipe is elongated, the heart placed far backwards, and the anus situate close to the extremity of the body. None of the known species is venomous. Of the two genera, the one is closely related to Chalcides and Chirostis, the other to Anguis and Acantias.

Genus AMPHISBENA, Linn. The entire body covered by circular ranges of plates. A range of pores anterior to the anus. Teeth of a conical form, numerous on the jaws, none upon the palate; only a single lung.

The species are South American reptiles, to which an ancient classical name has been given with no great propriety applied. (See Plate IV., fig. 2.) The white one, Amp. alba, Linn., measures from a foot and a half to two feet in length, and is proportionably of a bulky form.1 It inhabits Brazil, where its native name of Ithioram signifies "lord of the earth." It was first described by Maregrave, who, however, states erroneously that it is venomous, and will wound either with head or tail. It preys on insects, and is often found near ant-hills. Another species, from Martinique (Amp. cecoa, Cuv.), is stone-blind.

It may be observed in passing, that the genus Leposternon of Spix is composed of Amphisbena, of which the anterior part of the body is furnished below with several

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1 "Un examen comparatif," observes M. Schlegel, "des objets m'a démontré que ces Sauriens anomaux, c'est-à-dire, à formes allongées et à extrémités rudimentaires, appartiennent toujours par l'ensemble de leur organisation à quelque espèce de l'une ou l'autre des familles de cet ordre, parmi lesquelles ils doivent être distribués. On ne peut nier, par exemple, qu'il y a un passage graduel des Scincus à l'Anguis et aux Acanthias, par l'intervalle des Squamis brachyops, decreas, serpens, sepis, du Pygodactyle et du Pipes,—être moins différents entre eux par leur organisation que par leurs formes, et qui ne composent qu'une seule famille, celle des Scincoides, de laquelle on ne saurait exclure ni les Ablephares ni les Gymnophthalmes. Le même passage graduel existe dans la famille des Lézards, des geckos Lacerta et Tachydromus au Monodactyle; on y peut ajouter comme espèce ancêtre le Pygopus. On pourrait rapprocher dans la méthode le Tetradactyle, le Chalcis, le Pseudopus, et l'Ophidium. Viennent ensuite la famille des Amphibianes,—Chirotes, Leposternon, Amphibianum, et celle des Typhlops,—Typhlops, Rhinopis, Uroptilus." (Phylonomie des Serpens, i. p. 2.)

2 Reptiles, viii. 92, 2.

3 Ryne Animal, ii. pl. 21, 1.

4 Larép. ii. pl. 21, 1. plates, which interrupt the ranging of the circular rings. They have no pores anterior to the anus, the head is short, and the muzzle slightly projecting. Example, *Lepidopholis*, Spix.—*Amphis punctata* of Prince Maximilian (Newcud).

Genus *Typhlops*, Schneider. Body covered with small imbricated scales (as in *Anguis*, with which group the species were for a long time combined). Muzzle advanced, furnished with plates. Tongue long and forked; eye in the form of a minute point, scarcely visible through the skin; anus almost terminal; one lung four times larger than the other.

These, as Cuvier remarks, are small serpent-like creatures, which bear a great resemblance to earth-worms. They inhabit the warmer countries both of America and the old world. Some have the head obtuse, and of equal diameter with the body. Such is *T. braziliensis*, Cuv., the punctulated slow-worm of Shaw, and *Rondas taloaloopans* of Dr Russel. It is a diminutive reptile, measuring about six inches in length, with the thickness of a hen's quill. It is of a cream-colour, powdered over with innumerable black dots. It is common in Vizagapatam, and, according to the author last named, is vulgarly reputed mischievous. It is described as moving with great swiftness; and a specimen immersed in spirits remained alive for more than ten minutes. Others (and these the majority) have the muzzle depressed and obtuse, and furnished anteriorly with several plates. Example, *T. reticulatus*. A few have the front of the muzzle covered by a single broad plate. Such is *T. subargenteus* (*Anguis lumbicralis*, Linn., and Lacépède), the silvery snake of Brown. Finally, there are one or more peculiar species, in which the muzzle terminates in a small conical point, and the posterior extremity is enveloped by a horny buckler of an oval form. We here place *T. Philippotus*, Cuv., which measures about eight inches in length, and is entirely of a black colour. We presume that Dr Shaw's snouted slow-worm, *Anguis nasuta* (*A. rostrata* of Weigel), though differing in colour, is nearly allied, and ought to be placed in the same genus.

**ANGUIDAE, OR SLOW-WORMS.**

These still exhibit the bony head, the teeth, the tongue of *Seps*, and the eye is furnished with three eyelids. They correspond to the ancient unrestricted genus *Anguis* of Linnaeus, and are characterized externally by imbricated scales covering the whole body. The species now form four minor genera, of which the first three still exhibit beneath the skin certain small bones corresponding to those of the shoulder and pelvis.

Genus *Psammophis*, Merrem. Tympanum visible externally. A prominence on each side of the anus, containing a small bone analogous to the femur, and appertaining to a true pelvis hid beneath the skin. Rudiments of the anterior extremities barely manifested by an inconspicuous fold, containing no interior humerus. One of the lungs is a quarter less than the other. The scales are thick and imbricated, and between those of the back and belly are some smaller scales, which produce a longitudinal furrow on either side.

Of the species, the earliest known is *P. Pallasii*, Cuv., *Lacerta apoda*, Pallas,—discovered in the south of Russia by the naturalist last named. It measures from one to two feet in length, and the colours are ferruginous above, pale yellow beneath. The scales of the back are smooth, those of the tail carinated. This species occurs also in Hungary and Dalmatia, and the specimen figured by Dr Shaw was procured in Greece by Dr John Sibthorpe, the professor of botany in the university of Oxford. M. Durville discovered another species (which bears his name) in the Archipelago. (See Plate IV., fig. 1.)

Genus *Ophisaurus*, Daudin. No external appearance even of the hinder extremities, but the tympanum is still apparent, and the scales exhibit a plication or folding upon each side of the trunk. The smaller lung only equals a third of the greater.

The best known species is *Oph. ventralis*,—*Anguis ventralis*, Linn.,—an American reptile, common in the southern states of the Union. It is of a greenish yellow, spotted above with black. Its tail is longer than its body, and the creature itself is so brittle and easily broken, even in the living state, as to be known by the name of glass serpent. According to Catesby, "a small blow of a stick causes the body to separate, not only at the place struck, but at two or three other places, the muscles being articulated quite through the vertebrae."

Genus *Anguis*, Cuv. No extremities visible externally. Tympanum concealed beneath the skin. Maxillary teeth compressed and hooked,—no teeth upon the palate. Body surrounded by imbricated scales, without plication on the sides. One of the lungs is a half less than the other.

The English slow-worm, *Anguis fragilis*, is common over a great part of Europe. It is very smooth, of a shining brownish-gray above, inclining to reddish on the sides, and bluish-black upon the under surface. It rarely measures more than a foot in length. It lives on insects and small mollusca, excavates circuitous holes in the earth, of several feet in extent, and with more than one issue. It is an innocent and gentle creature, remarkable for stiffening itself so much when seized as sometimes to break in two. Hence its specific name of *fragilis*.

Genus *Acontias*, Cuv. No ossaceous pieces corresponding to the sternum and pelvis, the shoulder-blades and clavicles. Anterior ribs united to each other inferiorly by cartilaginous prolongations. Teeth small and conical: "Je crois," says Cuvier, "leur en avoir aperçu quelques-unes au palais." Muzzle inclosed in a kind of mask. One lung of medium size, and another of very small dimensions.

To this genus belongs the speckled slow-worm of Shaw, *Anguis Melanogris*, Linn., a native of the Cape of Good Hope. Its tail is much shorter and more obtuse than that of the British slow-worm. Its upper surface is spotted longitudinally with brown. Africa produces other species, one of which, according to Cuvier (*A. cecus*), is entirely blind.

We now reach Baron Cuvier's second great division, the OPHIDIAN, consisting of all those genera which exhibit no vestige of either shoulder or sternum, but have a great portion of the circumference of the body surrounded by the ribs. The vertebrae articulate by means of a convex facette at one end, entering into a concave facette of that which follows. (See Plate V., fig. 2 a and 2 b.) The third eyelid and the tympanum are wanting, but the osselet of

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1 Serpents of the Coast of Coromandel, p. 48, pl. 43. 2 Schenckter, Physica Sarta, pl. 747, 4. 3 Civil and Natural History of Jamaica, p. 459, pl. 44, fig. 1. 4 Berlin Transactions, iii. p. 190. 5 Nov. Com. Petrop. xix. plate 9, fig. 1. 6 General Zoology, iii. plate 85. 7 Griffith's Animal Kingdom, ix. 397. 8 Of the cranium of this genus Cuvier has remarked, "C'est une vraie tête de Saurien." (Règne Animal, iii. 430.) 9 Carolina, ii. plate 59. 10 Inscrip. Quadripl. Osipov, ii. plate 19, 1. 11 Règne Animal, ii. 7. 12 Thesaurus, ii. tab. 21, fig. 4. It is not found in the East Indies as both Seba and Shaw opposed.

VOL. XIX. the ear exists beneath the skin, and its handle passes behind the tympanic bone. Several still manifest a remnant of the posterior members hid beneath the skin, or even showing themselves externally under the form of small hooks. The first two genera are scarcely entitled to the designation of True Serpents; and Baron Cuvier has himself drawn a line between them and those which he names Serpents properly so called, although the two terms seem not particularly distinctive. The reptiles in question form the tribe Double Marcheurs of Cuvier.

We now arrive, "by lingering steps and slow," at the genuine serpents.

SERPENTES, OR TRUE SERPENTS.

The principal characteristic of the serpent race consists in an extremely elongated body, clothed with scales, destitute of limbs, and furnished with a tail, or caudal extremity. Locomotion is effected by lateral undulations, aided by the scales externally, and by the ribs within. Although the general form, viewed in relation to its transverse dimensions, is concentrated to an extremely small diameter, the different parts are capable of great enlargement, which admits in many cases of their swallowing bodies bigger than themselves. In conformity with this peculiar structure, even the bony portions of the head are not so knit together as in other animals, but, with the exception of the parts which protect the brain, are capable of a certain degree of separation. (See Plate IV., fig. 1 &.) The development of the tympanic bones, their mode of attachment, the mobility which they enjoy from not being fixed to the cranium by their lower extremity, and finally, the structure of the under jaw, the two branches of which are capable of separation in consequence of being united by elastic ligaments instead of synapsis, all combine to produce the vast swallowing powers of these reptiles. The entire absence of limbs is accompanied by an equal absence of those solid portions, such as the sternum and pelvis, which unite the limbs with the body. The ribs are free for the same reason, and thus readily admit both of the occasional enlargement of the intestinal cavity, and of that extreme pliancy of form for which all the species are remarkable, whether they creep, climb, or swim. To facilitate these various movements, the general envelope is minutely subdivided into numerous compartments, the scales of the lower surface being usually much larger than those of the upper, and subserving the place of feet, the ribs being attached to the lateral margin of the inner surface of these abdominal plates. The space of bare skin between the scales is greater among serpents than other reptiles, and on the throat this bare expanse forms a longitudinal cleft, known by the name of gular furrow.

The true serpents are closely connected to the Saurian order by the preceding genera Amphibolena and Typhlops, which certainly form a passage from one of those great ordinal groups to the other. It is these connecting links that render precise definitions, drawn from a few apparent characters, so difficult, if not impossible. "Il est très facile," observes M. Schlegel, "de se faire une idée d'un serpent, lorsqu'on prend pour type une des espèces où tous les caractères de l'ordre se trouvent réunis; mais il est difficile de consigner des marques distinctives qui séparent d'une manière tranchée les Ophidiens des Sauroïdes." Thus the gular furrow which characterizes all serpents except the genus Aerchochirus, exists also among lizards, and several other Saurian reptiles. A few Ophidiains even exhibit vestiges of the hinder extremities analogous to what we may observe among the so-called apodal Saurians, although there is reason to suspect that the parts alluded to represent, in the latter the pelvis, in the former the actual extremities. Perhaps the characters deduced from the bones of the cranium would afford the best distinctions between the two orders, were it not that in these, too, certain species of the genera Typhlops and Uropeltis make a near approach to the true Ophidiains. It may be well, however, to state briefly the distinguishing features in the cranial osteology of the latter order. The bones of the face in serpents never form a fixed mass perforated by the nostrils, and incased by sutures in each other; and the intermaxillary bone, trigonal, and compressed in its form, is always free, and to a certain extent moveable, that is, never soldered by sutures to the maxillaries on either side. The maxillaries themselves, when united to the anterior frontal, are so merely by a narrow attachment, always preserving a certain mobility; and the lateral margins of the nasal bones are free throughout their whole extent. No Ophidian reptile has thick conical teeth perpendicularly incased; they rather resemble hooks curved backwards, with sharp points; and we believe that all serpents, with the exception of the genus Oligodon, have the palate armed with teeth resembling those on the maxilla, whilst in the Saurian order the palatine teeth exist only in the form of small irregular asperities.

From the preceding brief sketch, it may be inferred that the most peculiar character of serpents consists in their mode of locomotion, and their extraordinary powers of deglutition. These conditions modify their entire organization, for the former determines the general shape of the body, and the latter that of the internal parts. On examining the position of the intestines, we find that these organs, which in the majority of other vertebrated beings occupy several spacious cavities, are in the Ophidiains inclosed within a long and narrow cylinder. It is obvious that this disposition cannot prevail without great changes in the form of the viscera; and the disturbance alluded to is even destructive of bilateral symmetry. We thus find the heart sometimes far removed from, at others closely approached towards, the head, according as the stomach is more or less extended; it is thus also that most frequently there is only a single lung, sometimes extending in front of the heart, but usually placed behind that organ, and almost always terminated by a species of sack of greater or less extent, and serving as a reservoir of air. The liver, for the same reason, assumes a narrow ribbon shape, extending from the heart to the pylorus. The gall-vessel, that it may not be interrupted in its functions by the repletion of the stomach, is removed from the liver, and placed in the same curve of the duodenum as that which receives the pancreas and the spleen. The stomach resembles a lengthened narrow cylinder. Then follow the intestines, of which the numerous inflections are filled with fat, and which, after descending in a straight line, terminate in the cloaca. The lower portion of the abdominal cavity not being sufficiently spacious for the reception of the rest of the organs, there thence results an anomalous disposition of the kidneys, testicles, and ovaries. "La verge enfin, et un organe sécréteur, sont logés dans la queue." These peculiar forms, however, of the majority of the internal parts of serpents exercise no influence over their functions; for, on more minute investigation, we find

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1 Naturalists, as we shall afterwards take occasion to notice, differ in their views regarding the exact nature of these outward appendages. They are described by M. Mayer in the twelfth volume of the Académie des Sciences de Paris. 2 États sur la Phylogénie des Serpents, par H. Schlegel, La Haye, two vols. 8vo, 1837. Of this the most recent and complete work on our present department with which we are acquainted, we have availed ourselves largely in the following treatise. 3 We have exhibited these parts as they exist in the genus Boa. See Plate V., figs. 1, 1 a, and 1 b. that they vary not only in distinct species, but in different individuals of the same species.

The disposition of the external organs, on the contrary, present much more constant forms; but these parts are modified by the habits of the species, whether arboreal, terrestrial, or aquatic. The mode of locomotion is, however, very uniform, the movement being nearly the same which aids a serpent while gliding on the surface of the ground, traversing the depths of lakes and rivers, or climbing around the umbrageous branches of forest-trees. The lateral undulations of the body suffice for these progressions; and it is chiefly the sea-snakes that make use of their tails, which are expressly organized for that special purpose, acting as a scull. The degree of rapidity depends in a great measure on the nature of the surface in which the motion is exercised. Serpents drag themselves along with difficulty over glass or any polished body, but make their way with great alacrity over any earthy irregular surface, or through tangled vegetation. For the exercise of these movements, it is of course necessary that the bones and muscles should be fitly disposed; and every one who has examined a properly prepared serpent must have been struck at once by the multiplicity and uniformity of its parts. The ribs and vertebrae are almost all alike in their formation, and it is only towards the caudal extremity that the bones diminish in bulk.

As all the vertebrae of serpents carry two ribs, the usual distinctions of cervical, dorsal, and lumbar do not exist. As the scaly plates or scuta of the abdomen have each two ribs as their levers, their number corresponds to that of the vertebrae, and the ribs are double that of the scuta. This number varies not only with the species, but the individuals, and so to surprising an extent that we not unfrequently find a difference in the same species, amounting to thirty or even fifty vertebrae. The number of vertebrae of the body, properly so called, rarely exceeds 300, and is never fewer than 100; the vertebrae of the tail, on the contrary, are sometimes reduced to five, although in other cases they amount to from 150 to 200. The ribs are more numerous in serpents than in any other class of created beings, several having above 500—that is 250, or upwards, on each side of the spinal column. We here figure the skeleton of the common ringed snake of England.—Tropidonotus matrix. (See Plate V., fig. 2.)

The muscles exhibit various modifications in the different species. In some they are remarkable for their considerable size, and for the extraordinary development of tendons, especially among the venomous kinds. This organization is necessary for the production of that force and energy with which their undulating movements are often executed. The muscles which produce these effects are situate along the sides of the back, and on the anterior face of the vertebrae; but as the ribs likewise exercise the function of locomotive organs, the numerous muscles which are attached to these parts greatly facilitate the lateral movements. The muscles of serpents being greatly interlaced, it becomes difficult to describe them singly, and their comparison with analogous parts in their higher orders is by no means easy. These anatomical details, however, are not to be expected in the present publication. We therefore refer the reader to the works of Home, Hüner, Dugès, Duvernoy, Meckel, and Schlegel.

The muscles of serpents, as of other reptiles, preserve their irritability for a long time after what we may regard as the actual death of the animal; for these creatures, although deprived of their head, and divested of their skin, will continue to exhibit muscular movements for several weeks, if kept in a moist condition. Swammerdam, in his Biblia Nature, has proved, both by his figures and descriptions of frogs, that even at that early period (1666), peculiar galvanic effect was demonstrated in the muscles of these reptiles which at a future period gave rise to so much important discoveries regarding the phenomena of voltaic electricity.

A few words may be said regarding the supposed vestiges of the hinder extremities observable in certain serpents. Several species exhibit on each side of the anus a small hook or crotchet, half concealed by scales. The existence of these parts has been long recognised, but we believe it is to Professor Mayer of Bonn that we owe a more precise knowledge of their nature. The only Ophidian genera in which they have been hitherto precisely observed are Torrix, Python, and Boa. They are most developed among the Boas, and the huge size of these reptiles admits of a more satisfactory examination. (See Plate V., figs. 1, 1a, and 1b.) These vestiges, then, consist of an assemblage on each side, of three principal osseous pieces, and of two small accessory portions attached at the point of articulation of the tibia and tarsus. The terminal bone, which alone appears externally, is in the form of a crotchet, covered by a hard and scaly skin. When a longitudinal incision is made in the flesh, we find that the interior piece, which is the most developed, more or less S-shaped, and comparable to the tibia, is prolonged with its free extremity into the abdominal cavity. The middle portion, on the contrary, which seems to represent the tarsus, is thick, short, slightly arched, and completely concealed within the flesh. This apparatus is moved by flexor and extensor muscles of a sufficiently simple structure. The use of these vestiges of the posterior members is still unknown. Their feeble development debars the idea of their contributing in any way to locomotion. Certain observers maintain that they are prehensile organs, which give firmness of position on whatever bodies are embraced by the convolutions of the tail and trunk; or that they may even subserve the generative process. They exist in both sexes.

When in a state of entire repose, the majority of serpents love to roll themselves into a spiral mass, with the head in the centre, slightly raised above the other portions. Possessing the power of bending their bodies in all directions, except directly backwards, we at the same time frequently find them simply extended on the ground or herbage in a sinuous curve. To produce progressive motion, they merely unroll the body, and bending it into successive lateral sinuosities, bring into play the numerous points of contact presented by the anterior extremities of the ribs, and thus push along with great facility. These reptiles are frequently observed to raise the anterior portion of their body into an erect position, supporting themselves on the tail and part of the abdomen, as if with a view to survey the scene around them. The body itself is then usually quite stiff and straight, although some assume a more curved attitude, besides exhibiting a peculiar swelling or enlargement of the neck. When suspended perpendicularly from the branch of a tree, the great Boas exhibit scarcely any sign of life or motion. They descend simply by dropping themselves downwards, their peculiar form and great elasticity of structure preventing their receiving any injury from the fall; and when they reach the ground, this rapid movement, so far from proving hurtful, aids by its impulsion their terrestrial progress.

The majority of serpents (both of the innocent and the colubriform venomous kinds) defend themselves against the

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1 Phil. Trans., vol. x.; and Lectures on Comp. Anat. 2 Ann. des Sciences Nat., vol. xii. 3 Vergl. Anat., vol. iii. p. 130, et suiv. 4 De Organis motoribus Boas caninis. 5 Ibid. 6 Physiognomie des Serpens, vol. i. p. 18. attack of their enemies by darting upon them, with the head elevated, so as to enable them to bite with greater energy. A few, such as the Nejas, raise a considerable portion of the anterior of the body, so as to assume a very singular position. Most of them give utterance to a sharp hissing sound as a prelude to battle; and they also produce a peculiar blowing, by forcing the air rapidly through the nostrils. Several species throw themselves upon their prey with a great and sudden bound, usually seizing it by the throat; while others encircle it by a tortuous embrace, thus pressing it to death by sinewy folds. The venomous kinds make use of the same means to obtain their food as they do to defend themselves from threatened danger. Quietly stretched along the earth, they will attack indifferently whatever incommodes them; but knowing the potency of their empoisoned fangs, they are satisfied by the infliction of a murderous bite, without recourse to muscular pressure.

As snakes swallow their food entire, and without mastication, their teeth serve merely to wound and retain their prey, or to instil into it the envenomed fluid. This deadly matter is the product of certain glands of the head. These are of two kinds; the one composed, like the salivary glands of quadrupeds and birds, of numerous small granules, which secrete a fluid analogous to saliva, and destined to prepare the food for digestion; the other, of a very different nature, forming a thick sack, of which the interior is divided into numerous compartments, and distilling a liquid which, by its fatal effects on the principle of life, becomes a dreadful instrument of destruction. The salivary glands are common alike to all Serpents, but scarcely a fourth of the entire species are provided with those which secrete the poison. The teeth which conduct this fatal fluid into the wound are hollow and pierced at each extremity. They are always situate towards the anterior end of the maxillary bone, are covered by the gums, which there form a kind of sheath, and are always kept bent when in repose. The rest of the teeth, and the whole of those of the innocuous kinds, are solid, with the exception of the hollow which contains the nutritive organ of the tooth. Although these large anterior fangs are characteristic of the poisonous kinds, we yet find a considerable number of innocuous species, of various genera, which have the jaws armed with one or two teeth larger than the others, and usually furrowed by a cleft extending along the anterior face. These grooved teeth are always situate at the base or posterior extremity of the maxillaries, and it is but seldom that we perceive a second on the middle portion of the jaw. Their sole function is believed to be the pouring into their wounded prey an abundant supply of saliva secreted by the posterior part of the salivary glands, which are most voluminous in the region occupied by the teeth in question. The organization of these posterior glands entirely resembles that of the ordinary salivary ones; and recent observation has demonstrated, that the bite of species belonging to the genera Dryophis, Dipsas, and others with furrowed teeth, is followed by no fatal results, at least to the human race.

In studying in detail the teeth of the Ophidian reptiles, we may perceive a gradation from the solid to the hooked teeth. Each tooth in fact consists, in its earliest development, of a kind of lamella with curved margins, so as to open as it were on its anterior face. In the so-called solid teeth, this opening has become filled by the union of the margins at an early period; it continues open for a longer time in the hooks of the most venomous kinds, but in the completed state they exhibit only the two orifices destined for the entrance and emission of the poison,—the lower one continuing to preserve the character of a longitudinal cleft. In other poisonous species we find analogous fangs, but with a continuous vestige of the groove which formerly united the two orifices. Finally, the furrow in the lengthened posterior teeth of certain innocuous species, is nothing more than the permanence of the groove now mentioned.

The solid teeth occur indifferently in all Ophidian reptiles; but their number, form, and position, vary in the different species. With the exception of the genus Oligodon, which is unprovided with palatine teeth, there are always four rows of teeth in the upper jaw (see Plate IV., fig. 1 c), and two in the lower. Intermaxillary teeth are not observable, except in the genus Python, and occasionally in Tortrix septula,—the number rarely exceeding four (see figure last referred to). These solid teeth are usually all of equal length; but in the Boas they enlarge towards the extremity of the muzzle (fig. 11), while the reverse is the case in several species of Coluber, Tropidonotus, &c. The Lycoptis exhibit some teeth more largely developed than the others at the anterior extremity of the maxillaries; those of Dryophis and Pseudophis are rather unequal, several being even greatly elongated towards the centre of the jaw; those of certain species of Dipsas, Homalopsis, &c. are often furrowed; while other genera, such as Xenodon, Coronella, and several kinds of Homalopsis, have the base of the maxillaries armed with a strongly developed tooth of a solid structure. The number of teeth, in general, obviously varies in relation to the development of the maxillaries, and of the dental bone of the lower jaw.

The poison-gland, which forms so peculiar a character of the noxious kinds, is enclosed in a thickish tendinous envelope, hard and tenacious to the touch, and diminishing backwards into the form of a narrow ribbon, by which it is attached to the articulation of the lower jaw. Anteriorly this envelope is also restricted to a canal-shaped space, which stretches along the maxillaries, and then descends towards the orifice already mentioned, of the anterior face of the base of the hooked fang. (See Plate IV., fig. 10.) Among the poisonous serpents properly so called, this canal is folded when the fangs are in a state of repose, but easily extends in conformity with the movement of the maxillary bones. The interior of the poison-gland is subdivided into a great number of minute cells, produced by very slender partitions, which cross each other at an angle more or less acute. To this peculiar structure, so dissimilar to that of the salivary glands, is due the secretion called poison, from its fatal effect when mingled with the blood of any living creature. It is true, that the bite of even the most innocent animal may sometimes produce the most disastrous results, by a concourse of peculiar circumstances, such as the temperature of the climate, the psychological or pathological condition of the creature bitten, or the rabid fury of that which has aggressed, and for this reason the bite of innocuous serpents may have sometimes proved deleterious even to the human race; but the poison of the injurious kinds holds its noxious qualities in its very nature, although the circumstances just alluded to may render more deadly its destroying powers.

The poison of snakes, when fresh, may be described as a transparent limpid fluid, of a greenish-yellow colour, slightly gluey, viscous, adhering to other objects when dried, and evaporating without burning when exposed to fire. It sinks in water, and when mingled with it by shaking, produces a troubled and somewhat whitish appearance. It partakes greatly of the nature of mucus; and when placed in contact with any re-active substance, we discover that it

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1. The glands in the head of serpents have been discussed in numerous publications. See, among others, Hanby, Phil. Trans. No. 401, p. 377; Tiedemann, Mem. de l'Acad. de Munich, 1813, p. 25; Cloquet, Mem. de Med., vii. p. 62; Dumoulin ap. Magendie, Jours. de Physiol. iv. p. 274; Meckel, Archiv, i. 1; and Duvernoy, Ann. des Sciences Nat. xxvi. and xxx. Various observations bearing on the subject will also be found in the well-known writings of Redi, Mead, Fontana, and other physiologists. Ophidian is neither acid nor alkaline; there is nothing peculiar in its odour, and when applied upon the tongue it produces a sensation resembling that of fresh fat. Our recorded notices on the subject are, however, somewhat contradictory. Dr Mead and his associates, in certain experiments on the poison of the viper, inform us that that fluid, "when diluted with a little warm water, was very sharp and fiery when tasted with the tip of the tongue, as if the tongue had been struck through with something scalding or burning; this sensation went off in two or three hours; and one gentleman who would not be satisfied without trying a large drop undiluted, found his tongue swelled, with a little inflammation, and the soreness lasted two days." The Abbe Fontana, on the contrary, describes it as of no particular acrimony of taste, but rather resembling oil or gum; and Dr Russel makes the same statement regarding the poison even of the Cobra de Capello, a species much more venomous than any viper. The accounts of its effect upon the stomach, when taken internally, also show that doctors differ. It is long since Celsius said, "nam venenum serpentis non gustu sed in vulnera nocet." Boerhaave quotes the well-known case of Jacob Sozzi, who, at the court of the Duke of Tuscany, is alleged to have taken three drams of this poison, without experiencing any bad consequences; while Fontana affirms, that although its internal effect is not like that of a bite or puncture, it cannot be swallowed with impunity. On this point the older authors, as Dr Shaw informs us, also disagree. Matthiolus asserts, that even when sucked from a wound it has proved fatal; while others confirm the prevailing opinion of ancient writers, and the experience of Cato's soldiery, that it is harmless when so received. The practice, indeed, of the Psylli and Marmarides of old,

Tame, at whose voice, spell-bound, the dread Cerastes lay, probably proceeded upon this principle of suction. These Psylli were African tribes, and were employed, according to Lucan, by Cato, for the recovery of such of his men as had been bitten by serpents during their march among the Libyan deserts. The heroic Roman is also said to have assured his followers, who feared to drink, even in "a dry and desert land," of the translucent fountains, lest they too should be infected by serpents, that, however noxious might be the bite of these envenomed reptiles, yet the poison must lose its effects when mingled with so pure an element.

And now with fiercer heat the desert glows, And mid-day gleamings aggravate their woes; When, lo! a spring amid the sandy plains Shows its clear mouth to cheer the failing train, But round the guarded brink in thick array Dire Aspis roll'd their congregated way, And thirsting, in the midst, the dreadful Dipsas lay. Black horrid seized their veins, and at the view Back from the crowd, with sudden flight they flew, When, wise above the crowd, by cares unequal'd, Their awful leader thus their fears dispell'd: Let not vain terrors now your minds enslave, Nor dream the serpent breed can taint the wave; Urged by the fatal fang their poison kills, But mixes harmless with those bubbling rills. Dauntless he spoke, and bending as he stood, Drank with cool courage the suspected flood.

The poison of the viper, according to Boerhaave, is rendered inactive by digestion in the stomach and bowels, so that it will not afterwards exert its fatal influence on the blood; "for a whole ounce of this venom taken by the mouth will not kill an animal, while at the same time a small needle only dipped in the same fluid, and taking up perhaps not more than the hundredth part of a drop, when thrust into the blood of a living creature, almost infallibly destroys." The following is Bruce the traveller's well-known but extraordinary narrative. "I will not hesitate to aver that I have seen at Cairo (and this may be seen daily, without trouble or expense) a man who came from above the catacombs, where the pits of the mummy-birds are kept, who has taken a cobra-stone with his naked hand from a number of others lying at the bottom of the tub, has put it upon his bare head, covered it with the common red cap he wears, then taken it out, put it in his breast, and tied it about his neck like a necklace; after which it has been applied to a hen, and bit it, which has died in a few minutes; and, to complete the experiment, the man has taken it by the neck, and beginning at the tail, has ate it as one would do a carrot or a stock of celery, without any seeming repugnance."

This opinion, however, that the poison of snakes may be taken internally without producing any troublesome effects, has been recently contradicted by the experience of Dr Hering, at Surinam. This traveller took at different times various doses of the poison of a rattle-snake (Crotalus mutus) mixed with water, and suffered from its effects for upwards of eight succeeding days. These manifested themselves by pains in the larynx and other parts of the body, by an increased secretion of mucus in the membranes of the nose and oesophagus, and by frequent diarrhoea, accompanied by pain in the rectum. To these symptoms were added several others of a rather curious kind, attributable to the influence which this poison seemed to exercise even over the moral faculties.

By far the most deleterious effect, however, of this subtle fluid is produced by its mingling with the blood, through the medium of an inflicted wound. It then shows its morbid influence with a rapidity often frightful, and usually proportioned to the quantity of the poison instilled, and to the abundance with which the wounded part is furnished with those vessels which bear the stream of life. For this reason, of course, the bite of a large snake is more dangerous than that of a small one; and so also a wound in the tongue, or in any vein, is almost always mortal, while it not unfrequently happens, that when a hard or callous part is bitten, no injurious results are found to follow. Cold-blooded animals are much less affected by the bite of a snake than are quadrupeds or birds; and in the majority of invertebrate tribes it produces no effect whatever. Generally speaking, however, the smaller the victim, the more deadly are the consequences of a wound. In Europe, the human race seldom suffers fatally from the bite of a viper; and it is supposed that the poison of several would be required to kill a bullock or a horse. So at least say many modern writers; yet we cannot help remembering what Boerhaave tells us regarding a viper, which, "being enraged by the members of the Tuscan Academy," and then suffered to bite the nose of a strong bull, the ponderous creature died in a very short time. A small quadruped dies rapidly from an infliction of the slightest wound. In tropical countries, however, where the poisonous species are often of considerable size, and their venom is both more abundant and in a state of higher concentration, the effects are fatal both to man and beast. The activity of the poison, in truth, increases with the temperature of the climate.

Various experiments have been tried, with a view to ascertain the strength of this animal poison in different species of serpents, and the best means of arresting its fatal influence. The observations of Laurentius, Fontana, Russel, Davy, and Lenz, are familiar to the student of physiology, but less satisfactory in their results than might be desired, from the modifying effects of special circumstances. To obtain well rectified general inferences, it would be necessary that numerous experiments should be tried with serpents of corresponding size, existing under similar circum-

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1 See Shaw's General Zoology, iii. p. 371. Ophidian stances, and in relation to victims of the same constitution; and by repeating these experiments with various kinds of serpents, and taking the average effect of each kind as a result, we might in a measure ascertain the different characters of these animal poisons, of which we have as yet but a meagre knowledge.

The effect of a serpent's bite usually manifests itself without delay. A sharp pain is felt in the part pierced by the fangs, although the puncture is extremely minute, and scarcely a drop of blood may flow; swelling follows, and inflammation soon declares itself. The progressive effects upon other parts of the system are exhibited by a general feebleness; walking becomes painful, and respiration labours and constrained; the patient suffers from ardent thirst, followed by nausea, vomiting, glimmering of the sight, and other symptoms, which, combined with acute bodily pains, often deprive the victim of his senses. Livid spots sometimes surround the wound, the dread precursors of that fatal gangrene which, spreading more extensively, ere long puts a period to existence. "His strength is poured out like water, and all his bones are out of joint; his heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of his bowels. His strength is dried up like a potsherd, and his tongue cleaveth to his jaws, and he is brought unto the dust of death." Then, instead of the bloom of youth, the power of manhood, or the pride of beauty, we behold but a bloated corpse, the sad repulsive remnant of humanity. It may be remarked, however, that the poison of these subtle reptiles seems to deprive us of life under a considerable variety of aspects. A lethargic torpor without pain is said to follow the bite of the asp; and hence, we presume, its preference by that luxurious queen for whom Antony "lost the world." The fact, though doubted by medical observers, seems in a great measure confirmed by the examples adduced by Captain Gowdie, as recorded by Dr Russell. Lucan of old has distinguished the poisonous serpents that infested the march of the Roman army over the deserts of Libya by the various symptoms which they produced; but his dreadful catalogue should perhaps be regarded rather as a piece of poetical embellishment than as a historical relation. Yet it seems now believed, that however the symptoms may vary, the nature and action of the poison is the same in all, and is in most cases to be counteracted by the same means. The virulence of the bite even of individuals of the same species probably varies according to the season of the year, just as their manners and external aspect also vary, as so beautifully described by Virgil:

``` Potsquam exhausta palus, terraque ardore debiliscent; Exsili in sileum, et flammania lumina torquens Savit agris, asperque siti, atque exterritus, eata, Ne mihi tum melles sub dio carpere, somnos, Nec poros semioris flebant jacuisse per herbas: Cum pestis novus exuvitis nitidisque juvenis, Volvitur, aut catalos teetis aut ova reliquens, Arduus ad Solem, et linguis moest ore tristis. ```

The excessive rapidity with which death was frequently produced by the bite of venomous serpents induced Dr Mead to conclude that its fatal influence affected the nervous rather than the circulating system. But the experiments of Fontana go far to demonstrate that the venom of the viper is perfectly innocent when applied to the nerves only; but that it acts immediately upon the blood, and through the medium of that fluid destroys the irritability of the muscular fibre, and so produces death.

In further illustration of this singular subject, we may here give a brief account of the effect produced by the bite of some remarkable salt-water snakes belonging to the genus *Hydrus* (*Hydrophis* of our present treatise). Soon after the opening of the bar in the month of October 1815, reports prevailed at Madras that a great shoal of sea-snakes had entered the river, and that many natives while crossing had been bitten, and had died in consequence. A reward was offered for each of these creatures captured and carried to the superintendent of police. Pandans were erected opposite to the two principal forts, and skilful natives, under the direction of Dr M'Kenzie (to whom we are indebted for the information), were provided with *eau-de-luce* and other remedies, and ordered to afford immediate aid to those who might be bitten. Many were bitten accordingly (the snakes seeming in no way loathe to expedite the result), and all exhibited the symptoms usually consequent upon the action of a powerful animal poison; but none died. We shall state a couple of cases, with the mode of treatment. A native woman, while crossing near the custom-house, was seen, on emerging from the water, to shake off something from her foot. This to several spectators appeared to be a water-snake. The woman, after advancing a few paces from the river, fell down, and was immediately carried insensible to the pandan. On examining her feet, two small but distinct wounds were perceived on the ankle of the right leg; her skin was cold, her face livid, her breathing laborious, her pulse scarcely perceptible. A ligature was immediately placed above the wound, which had been previously enlarged with a lancet, and a piece of the carbonate of ammonia well moistened with pure nitric acid applied, while thirty drops of the *eau-de-luce* were administered nearly at the same time in a glass of water. In five minutes more a similar dose was poured down the throat, which seemed rather to increase the spasmodic affection of the chest; but the pulse at the wrist became distinct, though feeble. A third dose was repeated in three minutes more, on which she uttered a scream, and began to breathe more freely. Ten minutes had now elapsed since she had been carried to the pandan, and in about three minutes more a tea-spoonful of the *eau-de-luce* was given, which almost immediately produced violent nausea, and a profuse perspiration. When a little salt was put into her mouth, she declared it was not salt, but sugar; and this the natives deemed an infallible sign of still-continued danger. She soon, however, entirely recovered, and merely complained for three or four days of a numbness in the limb above the wound. Another case was that of a Lascar, who was bitten by a snake while in the middle of the river. He advanced a few paces after quitting the bank, and then fell down in violent convulsions. When brought in, his breathing was laborious, his skin cold and clammy, his countenance livid, and his pulse feeble at the wrist, but distinct at the temples. A quantity of froth and foam was ejected from between his closed teeth. He too recovered, after a similar mode of treatment; but he complained for many days that he had no left leg. On another occasion a large healthy chicken was exposed to the bite of a *Hydrus major*, four feet long. It was bit in the foot, and in about ten minutes began to droop, and to show a slight convulsive flutter of both wings. In three minutes more it became convulsed, and at the end of seventeen minutes from the infliction of the wound it suddenly dropped down dead.

Dr Russel has figured and described forty-three of the most common serpents of Hindustan, and of these he found only seven that were provided with poison-fangs. He informs us that a quantity of warm Madeira taken internally, with an outward application of *eau-de-luce* on the punctures, was generally successful in curing the bite of even the most venomous species. He also states that the me-

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1 In his work on the Serpents of the Coast of Coromandel. 2 Geor. lib. iii., 1, 432. Ophidian dicine called the Tanjore pill was equally efficacious. Each pill contains three-fourths of a grain of arsenious acid. On comparing the effects of the poison of five of the oriental species on brute animals, with those resulting from the rattle-snake and European viper, Dr. Russel remarked that they all produced morbid symptoms nearly the same, although they might differ in the degree of their deleterious power, and the rapidity of its operation.

The tongue of serpents is remarkable for its great extensibility. It is protected by a rather firm skin, becomes very slender towards the anterior extremity, where it divides into two slender filaments, and is capable of being withdrawn into a kind of sheath, which opens in front of the glottis. The position of these parts varies in the different species, being placed, for example, very near the muzzle in the genus *Hydropis*, but much further backwards among both the terrestrial and the tree serpents.

The tongue of the Ophidians in general, though extremely similar to that of certain Saurians, such as *Monitor*, *Tegus*, and other genera, yet differs in the far greater simplicity of the harder parts by which it is supported; for we find, in place of a hyoid bone, composed of several pieces, merely a simple cartilaginous thread attached to the internal face of the general integument of the gular region, with its two extremities prolonged greatly backwards. This cartilage is sometimes, as in *Boa*, intimately united to the muscles of the throat, of which it intersects the fibres, its posterior extremity being then attached to the skin on the sides of the neck; but in the majority of cases, the horns of the hyoid are free, closely approached, and prolonged into the cavity of the chest, even as far as the heart. The tongue of these reptiles seems in truth, by its construction, to be a genuine organ of touch, and serving neither for taste nor deglutition, being during the latter act inclosed within its sheath. A little notch-like aperture at the end of the muzzle, which exists in most serpents except the aquatic kinds, admits the protrusion of the tongue without the necessity of opening the mouth. This movement is usually made very leisurely, although with extreme rapidity when the individual is excited either by fear or passion.

The use of the tongue in serpents is not exactly known. Its narrow and cylindrical form would render it unapt to aid the process of mastication, even were the teeth of a nature to perform that process. They are continually lancing it into the air, and may possibly in this way also gather moisture from grass or other herbage. It is, however, believed that they never drink. "On ignore," says M. Schlegel, "si les serpens boivent, et s'il est juste d'opiner pour la negative; toutefois on n'a jamais aperçu des fluides dans ceux dont on a examiné l'estomac." Other authors, however, are of a somewhat different opinion. "Tout au plus," say MM. Duméril and Bibron, "cette langue fort longue serait-elle, comme on l'a observé quelquefois, à faire pénétrer une peau de liquide dans la bouche, car nous avons vu nous-même des couleuvres lapé ainsi l'eau que nous avions placée auprès d'elles dans la cage où nous les tenions renfermées pour les observer à loisir."

The alimentary canal of the Ophidians is remarkable for its great simplicity. The oesophagus and stomach form a continuous canal, to the special parts of which it is difficult to assign precise limits. The pancreas, according to M. Schlegel, is always placed "dans la première courbure qui fait l'intestin à partir du pylore," and varies in different species both as to size and form. The spleen is of an oval or somewhat globular shape, of a rather firm consistence, and frequently concealed among the lobes of the pancreas, with which it is sometimes intimately united. The liver in Ophidian reptiles assumes a long ribbon-shaped form, more slender at either end, sometimes imperfectly divided into a couple of lobes, and extending along the oesophagus and stomach, from the heart as far as the pylorus. The hepatic canal descends from its interior face towards the pancreas, to conduct the bile into the small intestine. The gall-bladder, which is abundantly supplied, discharges its fluid by a short conduit, which joins the hepatic canal at an angle more or less acute. The kidneys, remarkable for their lengthened form and symmetrical position, are divided into a great number of small lobes, adhering to each other by means of the cellular tissue.

Digestion, notwithstanding the activity of the gastric juice, is sufficiently slow in serpents. It would appear, in fact, that the juice in question exercises its influence chiefly in the regions near the pylorus; for it has been found that an animal withdrawn from the abdomen of a snake is always decomposed towards its lower extremity, while the portion lying nearer the oesophagus continues unconsumed. Indigestible portions, such as hair, feathers, &c., are said to be sometimes ejected by the mouth; and, according to M. Dieperink, when a serpent in a wild state is pursued soon after it has swallowed a considerable prey, it will disgorge it to facilitate the means of escape. In regard to the digestive faculty of serpents, one of the most remarkable characters consists in the strong absorbing power of the intestines. When we examine their fecal remains, we find that these exhibit as it were a dry extract of the entire prey, of which the parts incapable of liquefaction remain not only unaltered, but occupying precisely the same relative positions which they held in the living animal. If, for example, a rat has been swallowed, we find, in what at first appears a dry and unformed heap, the muzzle, the long hairs upon the cheeks, the down which covers the thin cartilage of the ears, the hair, of various length and colour, which has clothed the back, abdomen, and especially the tail, and finally the nails, in a perfectly entire state. All fleshy or softer substances have been completely absorbed; and the earthy salts, which, by their union with the gelatine, give consistence to the bones, still indicate by their colour the position formerly occupied by these osseous portions. The most complete natural analysis has been effected by means of dissolution, compression, and absorption,—and of this the desiccated mass already mentioned is the sole residuum. The infrequent meals of serpents are thus in a measure compensated by the great profit which they derive from each.

The mode in which these reptiles swallow their food is sufficiently simple. They commence by getting the head within their throat, and while the teeth of one jaw adhere to the prey, the other jaw makes a forward movement, and, fastening its teeth, draws the object inwards, till, by this alternate action of the jaws, and chiefly of the under one, deglutition is effected. The jaws, as we have already hinted, are capable of a certain separation from each other even at their basis, and an abundant supply of saliva being at the same time poured out upon the victim, a body larger in bulk than the snake itself is sometimes swallowed; and as in this case the process is slow, and but a small portion can enter the throat at a time, the reptile reposes for a considerable period, even till, with distended mouth, it seems gorged with putrefaction, presenting a hideous and disgusting picture of gluttony and sloth. When the venomous kinds swallow their prey, they do not use their poison-fangs, but lower these beautiful and highly-finished instruments of destruction into the hollow of the gums,—sheathing them as a sword.

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1 See Helmann, Über den Tausen der Schlangen. 2 Physiognomie des Serpens, I. 97. 3 Exp. Gös, I. 135. 4 The digestive organs are described by Duvernoy in Ann. des Sciences Nat., and by Meckel in his Verpl. Anat. 5 Exp. Gös, I. 145. The heart of Ophidian reptiles is usually of an elongated form, and is remarkable for its distant position from the head. It is composed of two spacious auricles, separated from each other by a membranous division; the ventricle, on the contrary, is imperfectly divided into two rather narrow cavities by a partition which takes its origin from the base of the heart, and loses itself amid the fleshy fibres of that region. The walls of the auricle, although fleshy, are slender,—those of the ventricle are of considerable thickness, especially on the left side of that portion which extends in the form of a conical appendage beneath the left auricle. Each auricle communicates with the ventricle by means of a broadish opening, susceptible of being closed by a valve. The right auricle receives all the veins, which form, with the exception of the left jugular, prior to passing through the wall of the auricle, a kind of sac of greater or less extent, which, in addition to the ordinary tunics, exhibits a distinct muscular coat. Two large valves serve to close the common entrance of the veins into this auricle. When the blood has attained the right chamber of the ventricle, it is driven into the pulmonary artery, of which the embouchure offers two valves; comprised at its base in the common trunk of the aortas, this artery curves itself beneath the left aorta, and approaches the lung, of which it margins the posterior face before entering the interior of that organ. A single pulmonary vein, piercing the lung behind the artery of the same denomination, carries the oxidized blood into the left auricle, which is of a conoid form, and less spacious than the right one. This oxidized blood, after having passed into the left cavity, is pushed towards the right side, where we find the embouchures of the two aortas, of which each exhibits a pair of semicircular valves, even when these openings are united into one.

We shall now devote a few lines to the respiratory organs. When we observe a serpent in a state of repose,—“as on the grassy herb Fearless, unfeared, he sleeps,”—we may see that its body alternately dilates and contracts by the play of the ribs, and that this movement is repeated slowly, yet at regular intervals. But we may also perceive that the nostrils are closed for a longer, and consequently an unconforming period, during one of which the body is contracted and dilated perhaps thirty times. It results from this observation that the lungs of Ophidians, besides their ordinary function, fulfill that of serving as reservoirs of atmospheric air, which, though replenished only by a single inspiration, contain a quantity sufficient to admit a continuous oxidation of the blood by the contraction of the lungs. When the oxygen is totally absorbed, expiration takes place, and a supply of fresh air is drawn in. The configuration of the lungs undergoes many modifications in the different races of Ophidian reptiles. The form is usually that of a simple conical sac, extending from the heart toward the lower regions of the stomach, where it ends in a membranous pouch. The trachea, composed of numerous demi-rings united anteriorly by a membrane, terminates in the origin of the lungs by an oblique opening. The latter organ is divided more or less completely into two bronchi in Boa, the majority of Tantilla, the genus Dipsas, and others; and in these we may perceive the vestige of a second lobule of the lung, sometimes half as large as that on the other side. A singular peculiarity is observable among the sea-serpents. In Hydrophis colubrinus, for instance, the tracheal pipe is prolonged into the hypochondriac region, where it terminates in a membranous sac, extending to within a couple of inches of the anus; but in place of a membrane uniting the rings of the trachea, it is the lung itself that envelopes that tube throughout its whole length.

The small size of the brain in serpents is obvious in all, and becomes very conspicuous in relation to the size of the head, when we select for observation any of those species in which the organs of manducation are strongly developed. The two hemispheres are prolonged by restriction into the olfactory lobule, so that the latter part is borne as it were upon a pedicle. We observe the optic lobules on their posterior face, and passing beneath the hemispheres towards the eye, to form the optic nerve. The cerebellum is a very small organ, situated behind the optic lobules almost uniform with the spinal cord, or offering but an inconsiderable enlargement. The grand sympathetic nerve is interlaced at so many points with the par vagum, that it is next to impossible to trace its origin with any certainty.

As to the intellectual faculties of these reptiles, we know that Satan found

“The serpent, subtlest beast of all the field;” and we doubt not that, even in our own days, they may be placed at least upon an equality with the Saurian and Chelonian orders. The reproductive power with which their separate parts are said to be endowed has probably been the subject of some exaggeration; and it seems certain that when the tail or other important portion has been destroyed by mutilation it is altogether incapable of being reproduced. The sense of smell is believed to be by no means acute in these reptiles. The nostrils vary in the different genera in respect to form, size, and position. It may, however, be stated as a constant rule, that the purely aquatic species have the nostrils small, directed upwards, and for the most part susceptible of being closed by means of a valve, while those of the terrestrial and arboreal kinds are usually lateral and open. Among the burrowing serpents these openings are almost always of an orbicular form, and of very small dimensions. In the genera Trigonophthalmus and Crotalus there is a cavity on each side of the muzzle, behind the nostrils, of which the use is still unknown. The eye is probably defective in the power of distant vision, though sufficiently acute for all the ordinary purposes of a serpent's life. It is covered over by the external skin, of which, however, the tunics in that quarter are extremely thin and diaphanous, and present themselves under the form of a hemispherical lamella adhering to the scaly plates which surround the orbit. There is thus no apparent eyelid to the visual organs of serpents, a slight edging of the skin forming their only protection. The supposed absence of this part was presumed by the ancients, and has been recorded in the writings even of modern anatomists of the greatest skill. But more recent researches, undertaken by M. Cloquet, and verified by Baron Cuvier and M. Duméril, have demonstrated that the eye of Ophidians is provided with a single lid, large though immoveable, and incased in a projecting frame, which forms around the orbit a series of scales, variable in number, though usually amounting to seven or eight. When the general covering is renewed, we find that a delicate coating of the eye is likewise thrown off as a portion of the exuviae. The structure of the ear in serpents seems to demonstrate that these creatures are dull in their sense of hearing.

The general envelope of Ophidian reptiles forms a kind of cuirass, which enables them to withstand the influence of the elements and the effects of external accidents. To conform to the movements of the body, and the occasional enlargement of its parts, this covering, we need scarcely say, is composed of a multiplicity of separate compartments, of which the smaller are called scales, the larger plates. These parts are composed of much thicker layers of the integument than the intervening portion, which consists of a delicate skin, seldom visible except when the body is more Ophidian than usually distended, and for this reason almost always colourless, being unsubjected to the influence of light. In certain species of the genus *Tropidodactylus*, however, the mucous membrane of the neck is so tinted as to exhibit a beautiful vermilion red between the scales; and the scales themselves in many species exhibit colours, both fixed and iridescent, of great brilliancy:

"With barnished neck of verdant gold, erect Amidst their circling spires."

The general tinting depends in a great measure upon the condition of the epidermis, and is always freshest and purest immediately after the casting of the slough or superficial skin. The total amount of longitudinal rows of scales is almost always an unequal number, there being a single range rather larger than the rest along the centre of the dorsal region, with an equal number on either side; but to this rule *Herpetodryas carinatus* forms an exception (the only one perhaps throughout the order), there being a double central row of scales along the back. The form of the scales is greatly varied, some being rounded on the margins, others truncated at the extremity, or prolonged into a sharpish point. The greater number are what naturalists call *imbricated*, that is, lying slightly over each other like the tiles of a house; but almost all sea-serpents have the scales of a hexagonal form, with the epidermis very thin.

The median line of the lower parts is usually covered by a range of broad scaly plates, of much larger dimensions than the ordinary lateral and dorsal scales; and the caudal plates are generally different from those of the abdomen. The latter form a single uniform range from the anus to the throat, where they disappear. They are sometimes narrow, as in the genera *Boa*, *Tortrix*, &c., and in such cases resemble the scales of the back; but in the far greater number they are so broad as to encroach even on the flanks, and thus occupy a large proportion of the circumference of the body. The plates beneath the tail do not form a single central range except in *Boa*, *Eryx*, and a few other Ophidian reptiles, the majority of the order having the part in question provided with a double row of plates. We may add that the terminal plates of the abdomen also not unfrequently partake of this divided character.

The head of Ophidian reptiles is rarely clothed with scales of a character similar to those of the body. They are larger, and of a more determinate and symmetrical form; and as they offer distinctive characters of easy application, they have received from M. Schlegel various names, in accordance with the position they occupy, such as vertical, occipital, superciliary, frontal, rostral, labial, ocular, frenal, temporal, mental, and gular.

The system of coloration which prevails among these insidious creatures is very varied, and admits of numerous exceptions to any general laws which we might attempt to establish in its illustration. In numerous species there is a beautiful accordance between the tinting of the body and the colour of the places they inhabit; thus many tree-serpents are of a uniform greenish hue, exactly similar to that of the foliage by which they are overshadowed, while several kinds of *Dendrophis* and *Dryophis* seem rather to imitate the small and leafless branches. In the genus *Dipsas* the colours recall to mind those of the mossy trunks of ancient trees; fresh-water snakes are usually of a sombre uniform hue; while the marine species partake of those clearer tints of green and blue which beautify the pelucid billows of the up-heaving sea. Such as dwell in dry and desert lands are often to be scarcely distinguished from the parched sand by which they are surrounded; while others, which affect a more varied soil and richer vegetation, are adorned with the gay and gorgeous colouring of flowers, or the metallic splendour of the mineral kingdom. Several have their bodies encircled by alternate bands of crimson and black upon a pearly-white or delicate yellow ground, and present an aspect as richly adorned as any we can discover throughout the entire range of the animal world. Among the more beautiful may be mentioned *Coronella rennissima* and *coccinea*, *Lycodon formosus*, several species of *Tortrix* and *Heterodon*, the majority of the genus *Elaps*, *Naja lubrica*, *Dendrophis ornata*, and *Dipsas macrorhina*. Numerous other species are equally remarkable, both for the splendour and diversity of colour by which they are adorned; but as these bright hues are subject to numerous causes of variation, from age, sex, and season, it results that among no order of created beings is the always uncertain character of colour to be less depended on than among the subjects of our present dissertation. It seems, however, established as a general law, that the younger individuals have the liveliest and most distinct tints, and that these in more aged examples are not unfrequently effaced, or fade away, as we find in *Coluber canus* and *melanurus*, *Homalopsis buccata*, *Xenodon severus*, and others. The power of speedy and spontaneous change of colour does not, however, seem to be a possession of the Ophidian order, as it is of so many of the Saurian tribes. Yet a few of the arboreal serpents have been occasionally observed to modify their living tints from time to time.

The natural colours of these creatures can scarcely be judged of from specimens imported to our cabinets from foreign climes. The spirit in which they are preserved is not the spirit of beauty. Black, brown, ochre-yellow, and several other tints, do not altogether lose their lustre; and *Calamaria arcticentris* and *brachyorrhos*, *Tortrix maculata* and *xenopeltis*, *Coronella rufida*, *Lycodon Hebe* and *subcinctus*, *Coluber constrictor*, *Asculapii*, and *melanurus*, and several kinds of *Naja*, *Homalopsis*, and *Viperia*, may be named among those which are most easily preserved.

In discussing the various branches of natural history, it is the practice of authors to state the uses of each particular tribe of animals to the human race. We fear that in relation to our present subjects a single paragraph may suffice. Serpents certainly confer benefit by destroying other injurious creatures, such as small mammiferous vermin, worms, insects, and mollusca of various kinds. They were formerly used in medicine, though that practice, we believe, is now confined to the ignorant and superstitious; yet it has been recently stated that Dr Marikrosky, of Rosenau in Hungary, has employed the gall of serpents with success in epileptic cases. It is well known that the flesh of the viper has been highly esteemed, both by ancient and modern physicians, as a restorative and strengthening diet. This idea, as Dr Shaw has well observed, seems to have originated from the reptile casting its skin, a natural process, viewed by the vulgar as a renovation of youth; and a snake being made the emblem of health, and consecrated to *Aesculapius*, may have depended on the same idea. The flesh of the viper was used by the ancients in leprous and other cases. "The Greek physician Craterus, mentioned so often by Cicero in his Epistles to Atticus, cured, as Porphyrius relates, a miserable slave, whose skin in a strange manner fell off from his bones, by advising him to feed on vipers' flesh in the manner of fish. Antonius Musa, physician to Octavius Caesar (Augustus), is said by Pliny to have ordered the eating of vipers in the case of otherwise incurable ulcers, which by this method were quickly healed; and Galen says that those who are afflicted with elephantiasis are wonderfully relieved by eating vipers' flesh dressed like eels." According to Lopez, the Negroes of the coast of Congo eat roasted adders, and regard them as delicious.

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1 See *Physiognomie des Serpens*, l. 60. 2 Hufeland, *Journ. Ann.* 1831, tab. 10. 3 *General Zoology*, iii. 372. It is well known that the credulous Sir Kenelm Digby, with a view to recover his wife, the Lady Venetia, from consumption, caused her to feed on capons fattened with vipers. The flesh of the viper is still used in Italy and Spain as a remedy in consumption. But we need not detain our readers with more of these, at best, ambiguous views. To proceed with our natural history.

In European countries the copulation of serpents usually takes place, in fine weather, during the months of April and May, and three or four months elapse before the eggs are laid. Incubation is effected within the body of the female; for, on opening an egg immediately after exclusion, we almost always find a fetus more or less developed, sometimes entirely formed. In the latter case, the so-called shell is merely a delicate membrane, through which the young can force their way, even at the moment of parturition. In the greater number of species, however, the eggs are composed externally of a resistant covering resembling parchment, the young being very imperfectly formed at the period of deposition, and requiring sometimes a month or more before they are hatched. It is merely this difference in the times of final exclusion that constitutes the distinction between the viviparous and oviparous kinds, these being otherwise essentially the same. All Ophidian reptiles are in truth oviparous; and those naturalists are in error who compare this seemingly viviparous generation to that of mammiferous animals, in which the young are nourished by the placenta of the mother. According to M. Humboldt, the conditions most favourable to the development of these embryos are humidity, produced by a feeble vegetable fermentation, with a proportional temperature (between +20° and +6° R.), and under circumstances likely to favour absorption and evaporation through the external tunic of the egg. Hence their love of dunghills, or heaps of leaves piled up in places open to the sun.

The supposition entertained by many is incorrect, that poisonous serpents always produce living young, and that the innocuous kinds as constantly deposit eggs. This diversity in the generative process does not seem to bear any relation to the organization of the species; at least we find the two modes exemplified in nearly-related species of the same genus. Thus the harmless Coronella levis produces young as lively as those of the common viper; Boa murina is also viviparous; while the deadly Naja and several others lay eggs. The number of young ones varies in different species. M. Schlegel did not find above ten in several kinds of Calamaria, from twenty to twenty-five in the genus Coluber, and above thirty in Trigonocephalus atrax. The offspring usually differ from their parents in being of more lively colours, with the head blunter and rounder, the eyes larger, and the scales and other appendages of the epidermis less raised. They are, however, furnished with teeth exactly like those of their respective parents, and of which they do not fail, when occasion offers, to make speedy use. The venomous kinds instinctively elevate and depress their poison-fangs, as if ready from the first to defend themselves against that persecution to which their race is subjected. The European kinds are known to change their skins about five times every summer; that is, once a month from the end of April to the beginning of September. They are capable of long-continued abstinence, independent of the lethargic state into which the northern species fall in winter. A Boa constrictor sent from Surinam to Holland fasted continuously for six months. The age to which serpents attain is to us unknown.

Destitute of the power of long-continued locomotion, serpents never attempt to travel far from the places of their birth; and thus, even in our own days, they still represent more accurately than do the other classes of the animal kingdom the positions in which they may be supposed to have been originally placed.

One of the most curious general facts in the distribution of serpents is their apparent absence (at least so far as the land species are concerned) from the numerous islands of the vast Pacific Ocean,—a circumstance not altogether to be accounted for by the isolation of these various groups, seeing that those of the Indian Archipelago particularly abound with serpents. Another fact seems still more firmly established, that the reptiles of the New World are all specifically different from those of the Old,—a peculiar feature in the history of their class, in so far as some quadrupeds and birds are common to both countries. At the same time it may be borne in mind, that it is only the species of very northern portions of the two continents which are in any case identical, and that as these northern portions are almost, if not entirely, destitute of reptile life, the field is greatly narrowed, so far as that form of existence is concerned. The snakes of South America are in general very distinct from those of the northern portions of the New World, although a few are identical. Several of the southern species inhabit the West Indies and the warmer parts of the United States, where they form what may be termed climatic varieties. Other species more characteristic of a large extent of North America, reach as far south as Mexico and the Antilles. America in general, especially its equatorial districts, is almost as rich in snakes as the Indian islands. It is otherwise with New Holland, where these reptiles are by no means numerous, but where the species are peculiar to the country. The serpents of Japan seem, without exception, to belong to a particular species not hitherto observed in other quarters of the world. The numerous islands of the great archipelago of the Indian Ocean produce in several instances identical species, and these, moreover, are not unfrequently the same as those of Malacca, Bengal, Hindustan, and Ceylon. If we may judge from the few known species, the serpents of Madagascar may be regarded as peculiar to that vast island. Africa, compared with other great equatorial continents, cannot be said to be very rich in these reptiles. Its southern portions produce species entirely different from those of Europe and of other countries; but these species have a wide range in Africa itself, being in many cases spread over all its intertropical regions, and even its northern parts. These comparatively northern countries, in addition to some peculiar species, produce several others which likewise inhabit the shores of both sides of the Mediterranean. Many of our European serpents are found over a large portion of temperate Asia,—a region which appears to produce but a small proportion of peculiar species.

The geographical distribution of families and genera,—these being viewed as representing various leading forms,—affords an equally curious subject of observation. We may notice, in the first place, that the venomous sorts are distributed, with the exception of a few islands, over whatever countries produce serpents of any kind. These venomous species bear no determinate co-relation, as is often supposed, to intense heat; for they occur in cold and temperate countries equally with innocuous kinds. But their aggregate number is much more limited than that of the latter; for while we reckon the total number of known Ophidian species at 263, we do not find above fifty-seven. Ophidian of these endowed with injurious attributes—that is, the proportion is not much more than one to five. This proportion, however, is not maintained throughout the various countries of the globe—the venomous kinds seeming to be comparatively more numerous in open sterile countries. Of this, Africa and New Holland furnish examples—the venomous species of the former continent being to the innocuous kinds as one to two or three, while of the ten species (or thereabouts) of ascertained New Holland species, not fewer than seven are venomous. In general, the number of individuals of each species is much more limited among the venomous kinds, as these live in an isolated manner, and rarely multiply so as to become abundant. Local circumstances sometimes favour an exception to this rule, as in the case of the *Trigonocephalus lanceolatus* of Martinique and St. Lucia, and that of the Dalmatian *Viperus ammodytes*. The sea-snakes, all of which are poisonous, are likewise of a gregarious nature.

Excepting the anomalous group called *Tortrix*, there does not seem to exist any genus of serpents which is spread over all countries capable of maintaining reptile life; and this restriction seems to illustrate the intimate relation which subsists between the organization of these beings, and the countries they inhabit. For example, the Colubers properly so called, which are destined to dwell in countries which are either well wooded, or marshy with abundant vegetation, have not yet been observed in New Holland, and are so rare in South Africa that only a single species has been found there, and that of a somewhat anomalous nature, in so far as its characters exhibit an approach to those of species which dwell by preference in sandy deserts. A similar observation applies nearly to the genus *Coronella*, composed of species which inhabit marshy plains, or such as are covered by brushwood. None of these occur in New Holland (which is noted for its frequent want of water), while the South African kinds differ from the typical species of the genus. The tree-serpents are characteristic of equatorial countries, inhabiting only those portions which fulfil the conditions of their existence—that is, are well wooded. The three genera which compose the family are found both in the Old and New World; but it is noticeable that the species of the genus *Dipsas* of America do not attain to so great a size as the majority of those of India; while the genus *Dryophis* in America forms a true geographical division of the group, in so far as the dental system and muzzle are less developed, and the pupil of the eye is obicular. The fresh-water snakes, comprised in the genera *Tropidonotus* and *Homalopsis*, occur abundantly in countries rich in permanent lakes, and watered by continuous rivers. They are thus well known in Asia, America, and even Europe, but are extremely rare in Africa, and unknown in New Holland. The genus *Homalopsis*, indeed, which contains the essentially aquatic species, does not occur in Africa, but predominates in the New World, so rich and unrivalled in its mighty reservoirs of water.

The geographical distribution of the *Boas* exhibits some facts worthy of record. The whole are peculiar to warm countries. The genuine species are confined to South America; their analogues in the ancient world being the *Pythonus* of India, although in the latter country we also find several serpents very similar to Boas, but of very small size, and of which none exists in the Western World except a single representative in the island of Cuba. The genus *Aerochordus* forms a limited group, entirely confined to the East Indies. Of the venomous serpents, it is chiefly the vipers, and perhaps a few rattle-snakes, which make their way into temperate or colder countries, the majority of the genera occurring in intertropical regions. Of the colubrine venomous serpents, the genus *Elaps* is the only one which occurs in both worlds; and it is not improbable that the American species will be found to constitute a geographical group, distinguished by their peculiar coloration, and certain small distinctions even in form. The Indian species of the genus last named are longitudinally striped, instead of being ringed with red and black, while those of New Holland present some anomalous features. The genus *Bungarus* is proper to the East Indies, where also are found certain *Najas*, although the majority of these prefer a drier and more sandy soil,—a circumstance which explains their greater predominance in Africa and New Holland. The fact does not seem to admit of easy explanation, that salt-water serpents should be found almost exclusively in the Indian seas, from Malabar to the great Pacific Ocean. In regard to the venomous kinds properly so called, of the three genera of which that division is composed it may be observed, that one, *Viperus*, is proper to the ancient world; that another, *Crotalus*, is confined to the new; while a third, *Trigonocephalus*, occurs in both. These last-named reptiles dwell in great forests or in well-wooded countries, and for that reason are not observed either in Africa or New Holland, where they are replaced by vipers; but it may be mentioned that the viper of New Holland is an anomalous species, while such as inhabit Europe equally depart from the typical form, and tend towards that of *Trigonocephalus*. In the genus just named two divisions may be established—one composed of species with the head clothed with scales, and which inhabit more particularly tropical countries; another formed of species with the head covered by scaly plates, and which extend into temperate regions.

The preceding are a few of the most general facts in the distribution of Ophidian reptiles. We shall now notice some of those peculiarities which distinguish particular continents,—and, first, of Europe. We here find no species of the genera *Calamaria*, *Heterodon*, or *Lycodon*, no genuine tree-serpents, no species of *Homalopsis* or *Boa*. We never meet in Europe with any salt-water serpents, nor with any of the colubrine venomous kinds; and the poisonous tribes in general are represented merely by a few vipers. That the entire order of Ophidian reptiles has its great centre of dominion in sultry regions, is made manifest by the fact,

| Class | Lacépède, 1790 | Daudin, 1805 | Merrem, 1826 | French Museum, 1834 | |----------------|---------------|-------------|-------------|--------------------| | Chelonians | 24 | 62 | 62 | 97 | | Saurians | 66 | 88 | 83 | 168 | | Ophidians | 172 | 315 | 348 | 391 | | Batrachians | 40 | 91 | 87 | 190 | | | 292 | 556 | 550 | 846 |

We may conclude this note by observing, that the unfortunate Wagler, in his *Natürlicher System der Amphibien*, 4 vols., Munich, 1830, with folio atlas of plates, has described no fewer than 248 genera of the reptile race. that the temperate and northern parts of Europe produce no peculiar species, that is, no species which do not occur equally, if not more abundantly, in the southern districts of the continent, where we likewise find several kinds native to the neighbouring countries of Asia and Africa. Limits, however, may be assigned to several species, and this circumstance naturally gives rise to some curious observations. The common viper, for example, inhabits all the central parts of Europe, and is even spread over temperate Asia as far as Lake Baikal. It is well known in Sweden, spreads westwards into Britain, is frequent in Jura, Islay, and some others of our western islands, but is unknown in Ireland. The western boundary, however, of the great mass of individuals of this species may be stated to be the river Seine, while the Alps appear to form its southern limit. In the southern portion of western Europe our viper is replaced by another species called the aspic (Vipera aspis), which spreads from Trieste over Italy into Sicily, through Switzerland and over France, passing beyond the Seine towards the Pyrenees, and into Spain. The southern parts of the east of Europe produce a third species of this genus, Vipera ammodytes, which we find to spread from Styria as far as the south of Hungary, and into Greece, Dalmatia, Sicily, and probably likewise Calabria. This distribution of so nearly-allied species seems modified by, if not dependent on, the nature of the territories which each inhabits. The first prefers, in general, healthy lands and places of a rather moist and wooded character, the second affects a dry and arid country, while the third rejoices in a rocky region. No local or climatic varieties of these vipers have been yet observed; but it is otherwise with several other snakes, which have a widely extended distribution over Europe; for example, Coronella levis, and Tropidonotus natrix and viperinus. These species, of which the former two inhabit almost the whole of northern and central Europe, the last not extending further than the fiftieth degree of north latitude, occur equally in the south of Europe, where they form well-marked local varieties. Thus, in Spain, Trop. viperinus has the back longitudinally raved; and a corresponding character occurs in Sardinia in relation to a species common in that island, while the Sicilian individuals present some slight additional disparities. Coronella levis forms in Italy a peculiar climatic variety, of a paler hue than usual, which extends as far north as Marseilles. Coluber Aesculapii, which inhabits the south of Germany, is also found in Dalmatia, Italy, and Provence. Col. viridiflorus has been observed over all the south of Europe, Greece, Hungary, Dalmatia, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and as far north as France and Switzerland. Col. hippocrepis occurs in Spain and Sardinia, while Col. leopardinus is a native of Sicily, Dalmatia, and Greece; but, so far as known, neither of these kinds is met with in Italy. Neither has Pseudomorphis lacertina, so common in Dalmatia, in Spain, and a large portion of France, been ever found either in Italy or the adjacent islands. The southern countries of Europe produce several serpents which are not characterized by a great extent of distribution. Such are Xenodon Michelallis of Spain, and Pseudomorphis Dahlii of Dalmatia (the latter, however, which approaches the tree-serpents in its slenderly elongated form, being found also in Greece), and Tortrix erga, confined to Greece as a European species, but elsewhere well known amid African and Asiatic deserts.

A careful and more extended study of the distribution of animal life in Africa would be found to illustrate many curious relations both in descriptive zoology and physical geography. No other continent furnishes more striking proofs of the connection between the natural characters of a country and its animal inhabitants. Thus, after acquiring some knowledge of the physical constitution of Africa, we might almost predicate the prevailing features of its natural history. The leading character of this continent is the presence of vast sandy plains or deserts, and elevated plateaus, of which the vegetation is either entirely extinguished, or held by a precarious tenure. Acted upon continually by a burning sun, the flat unvaried surface is altogether unfit for the production of those vapours which, in a state of atmospheric condensation, produce our refreshing showers of frequent moisture, and the more stormy accessions of hail and snow. The great mountain ranges being few and far between, the intermediate regions possess no perennial fountains of refreshing water, no "clouds of morning dew," to clothe their arid wastes with verdure. Hence the absence of that mighty power which in America slumbers amid the most uncopied wilderness, and makes, when aided by the hand of man, the "desert blossom as the rose." It results from the fact of so large a portion of Africa being destitute of rivers, and consequently of forests and other lowlier vegetation, that we there find but a small number of those animals which inhabit woods and fresh waters, while such as are fitted to scour over vast plains occur in great abundance. Hence the absence of stags and the existence of vast troops of antelopes; hence also the scarcity of squirrels and other wood-haunting Rodentia, and the increase of certain swift-footed terrestrial kinds. The characters of reptile life exhibit an equal conformity with the spirit of these observations. Africa produces perhaps a greater number of land-tortoises than all other portions of the world combined; but the fresh-water kinds, with the exception of a single Emya, and one or two species of the genus Trionyx, are nearly unknown, while frogs and toads are also few in number. The same observation applies in reference both to the aquatic serpents and the wood-loving kinds. The genera Dryophis and Homalopsis are entirely wanting, and not more than one or two species are known of each of the genera Diplos, Dendrophis, and Tropidonotus. In so vast a continent, however, in spite of its prevailing character of aridity, there must be numerous exceptions; and we know how far-flowing are the waters of the Nile and the Niger, how lofty and continuous the mighty mountains of Abyssinia. Many an unbraggart river, we doubt not, still rolls its crystal waters directly towards the all-absorbing sea, or fills up the glassy depth of unimagined lakes, whose beautiful shores are haunted by many unknown forms of existence.

Fair creatures, to whom Heaven A calm and sinless life, with love, hath given.

Our knowledge of African snakes, however, is still insufficient to admit of any accurate geographical sketch of their distribution being laid before our readers, for we have no data on which to assign limits to the majority even of the best-known species. Egypt and Abyssinia, Algiers, a part of Senegambia, the coast of Guinea, and the Cape—these are the chief points from which any precise knowledge has been derived. Yet we may hazard the assertion, that Africa in general is much poorer in reptiles, particularly serpents, than either Asia or America. The number of genera is equally circumscribed; and the same observation applies to our present class as has been made in relation both to the higher animals and plants of Africa, to wit, that the species of certain genera are very numerous, and that several different kinds often inhabit the same places. Towards the southern extremity of the continent we meet with four species of the genus Coronella, as many of the genus Naja, and three Vipers. The other genera which

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1 It is indeed alleged to have been met with, though sparingly, in the valley of the Po, and as far as the Florentine territory. Ophidian reptiles occur there have each only a single representative. These reptiles belong almost without exception to species peculiar to the African continent. *Lycodon Horstokii* and *Naja rhombobota* occur on the coast of Guinea, which produces likewise *Pammophis moniliger*,—but a local variety, resembling that which is found in Egypt. In Senegambia we find three species of tree-serpents, of the genus *Dendrophis*, which differ from those of the Cape, but of which one (*Den. picta*) is spread over a vast extent of the Asiatic world, as far south-eastwards as New Guinea. The inter-tropical countries of Africa produce *Python bivittatus*, characterized by an equally great extension, as it is found both in Java and the Chinese empire. *Vipera orionis* of the Cape is found as far north as Abyssinia, where it forms a variety of a paler hue. Northern Africa produces several serpents of species different from those of other parts of that continent. Such are *Tortrix eryx* and *Vipera echis*, which elsewhere inhabit as far south as Hindustan,—the *Cerastes*, a species of *Dipsas*, and several kinds of *Coluber*. Other species, such as *Naja haje* and *Pammophis monticola*, differ more or less from their southern representatives.

The Mediterranean countries of Africa nourish several kinds which occur in the south of Europe; and this analogy between the two continents is very striking when we compare, not the serpents alone, but the zoological productions in general, of Barbary, with those of Portugal and Spain. No serpents have been yet observed in the islands situate within the radius of Africa, and it appears certain that they do not exist in the Canary Islands.

The great island of Madagascar, of which the natural productions are as yet but slightly known, appears to be zoologically allied to Africa chiefly by the species of its western side; and although the eastern slopes of its great mountain chain exhibit features of an Asiatic character, its totality presents a very distinct and peculiar complexion. With the exception of *Tropidonotus schlotzianus*, all the known serpents belong to particular and elsewhere undiscovered species. For example, the *Langaya*, an anomalous and very remarkable species of *Dryophis Herpetodryas Gouffieri* and *Rhodopis*, and *Dipsas Guineensis*, are all peculiar to Madagascar. The Mauritius produces a very beautiful species, *Coluber miniatus*, and a small Boa (*B. Dussumieri*) of an extremely attenuated form. From the Seychelles Islands we know of no serpent but a species of the genus *Pammophis*.

With the exception of its two magnificent Indian peninsulas, Asia is not so productive as might be expected of the reptile race. The temperature of a vast portion of the loftier and central, and *a fortiori* of the northern districts, is subjected to a low temperature during many months of the year. We know that Northern Asia, Siberia more especially, produces several animals of the higher orders, identical with some which inhabit the more rigorous parts of Europe; but the alleged identity of the Siberian species of *Tropidonotus* and *Vipera* may possibly require confirmation. A curious Ophidian, peculiar to the southern countries of Siberia, is *Trigonocophalus halys*, intermediate organically between the vipers of Europe and those species of its own genus which have the head furnished with scaly plates. The deserts to the south of the Caspian Sea, which are prolonged on the one side into Hindustan, on the other by means of the Iran, into Arabia and Syria, thus connecting with the desert tracts of Africa, produce a few species common alike to corresponding portions of both continents. We are still in almost total ignorance of the snakes of the great plateaus and other portions of Central India.

The reptiles of Japan present this peculiarity, that while the Batrachian and Chelonian orders exhibit several species identical with those of Europe (*Rana esculenta* and *temporaria*, *Hyla arborea*, *Emys vulgaris*, &c.), the Saurian and Ophidian groups seem to consist of species altogether unknown in Europe. However, we know as yet but in part, for the Japanese species hitherto collected comprise, in addition to the genus *Hydrophis*, merely three species of *Coluber*, two of *Tropidonotus*, and a single *Trigonocophalus*.

The island of Ceylon, though not extremely remote from the coast of Coromandel, produces several serpents not known in continental India, such as *Tortrix maculata*, *Calamaria seyale*, *Lycodon carinatus*, and two species of *Trigonocophalus*—*Trig. hypnale* and *nigromarginatus*. It is along the Ceylonese shores that we first perceive certain species of the genus *Hydrophis*, those singular snakes which dwell exclusively in the sea, and occur from the island in question over all the intertropical marine waters east of Malabar, and as far as Polynesia. The number of Ophidian species which inhabit the Gangetic Peninsula, without spreading into the great islands of the Indian Archipelago, is limited. Such, however, are *Tortrix eryx*, *Coronella Russellii* and *octolineata*, several species of *Coluber* and *Lycodon*, *Dipsas trigonata*, several kinds of *Tropidonotus*, *Elops trimaculatus*, and some vipers. The great islands themselves, with their smaller dependencies, are regarded by M. Schlegel as presenting a most interesting field for the study of zoological geography, and the observation of those local races, constituted by the diversities observable in apparently identical species placed in different localities. These islands are of the first rank as to size, situate within the tropics, covered by an abundant vegetation, and inhabited by innumerable tribes of living creatures of every class and kind. They are separated from each other by seas of no great breadth, yet sufficient to present, as matters are now constituted, an insurmountable barrier to the migration of the majority of species. Now when we find the same creatures inhabiting many different and distant islands having no communication with each other, we may reasonably infer that each insulated tract of land has borne its own inhabitants since the relations of our earth's surface became as they now exist, and that the individuals of each species form in every island a family group, which will exhibit, when compared with the corresponding species in other islands, certain modifications produced by the disparities of their position. Experience has proved the accuracy of this assumption. It has not unfrequently happened, that the same species has been discovered to inhabit Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Timor the Celebes, the Philippine Islands, and continental Asia, and in each locality has been observed to present some constant though extremely slight distinction. Now it would never do to regard these as so many distinct species. They are only local or climatic varieties, the origin of which may be obscure or incomprehensible (as are many things besides), but which we doubt not would show their identity, by each recognising the individuals of their kind, and by breeding together, could they be transported from one to another of their sea-girt isles. Innumerable examples of these climatic differences might be adduced, were we to extend our observations throughout the vast range of the animal kingdom; but here a few examples from the reptile races must suffice. The *Najas* from the isles of Sunda constantly differ in several characters from those of Bengal and the Philippine Islands. *Tortrix rufa* from the Celebes is distinguishable from individuals of the same species from Bengal and Java, by the uniform tint of the back, and by two small spots upon the occiput. *Calamari oligodon* of Java exhibits in Sumatra a difference in the dorsal tinting, and forms in Ceylon and the Philippine Islands a third local variety of great beauty. Analogous differences exist between the individuals of *Coronella beliodera* of Java and Sumatra. *Lycodon Hebe* of Java is smaller in size, and not so pale in colour, as that same species in Bengal, while those from Timor are still more diminutive, and of darker hue. beautiful *Coluber melanurus* inhabits Java, Sumatra, and the Celebes; but the individuals from the last-named locality have the nape of the neck constantly adorned by an angular black mark. *Herpetodryas oxycephalus* is of a beautiful grass-green colour in Java; but this pure tint becomes embrowned in Borneo, and in Celebes appears almost black upon the dorsal region. *Dendrophis picta* inhabits almost all the intertropical countries of the Old World, from Senegal to New Guinea, but varies considerably at distant points of such a vast and surprising distribution.

*Dryophis nasuta* of Bengal and the Marianas has in Java the abdomen rayed with yellow. *Dryophis prasina*, common in the isles of Sunda, exhibits a local variety in the Celebes; and *Tropidonotus quinquecinctus*, a species widely spread through India, has in Java the spots confluent, so that the dorsal portion seems rayed with black. *Tropidophorus chrysargyros* of Sumatra bears a different aspect from that species in the Celebes, while both vary from the individuals found in Java. *Homalopsis Schneideri*, which is spread from India to New Guinea, exhibits several varieties in different regions. The great *Python bivittatus* occurs in China, the isles of Sunda, both the Indian peninsulas, and Ceylon, and is, moreover, distributed across Africa as far as Senegambia. In this vast extent of territory it exhibits some considerable variations, which, when the extreme differences merely are regarded, and the intermediate links kept out of view, have caused it to be described, in its different aspects, as distinct species, all however referable, in Mr Schlegel's opinion, to one and the same. *Elaps furcatus* and *bicoloratus* exhibit a different distribution of colours in Sumatra from what they do in Java; but it may be stated as a general fact, that almost all the known serpents of the former island have been found also in the latter. Indeed a considerable number of these insular Ophidians occur likewise both in Hindustan and Bengal.

It is a singular circumstance, that the two most remarkable species of the genus *Trigonocophalus* (*Trig. punicus* and *rhodostoma*) have hitherto been observed only in Java; while *Trig. viridis*, so common in India, Bengal, Sumatra, and Timor, does not occur in the first-named island. The genus *Bungarus*, on the other hand, which inhabits Ceylon, Hindustan, and Bengal, does not occur in any other of the great eastern islands, except Java. In the Celebes we find many peculiar forms of animal life, combined with others well known elsewhere. Among the serpents we find there a beautiful species of *Herpetodryas* (*Herp. dipso*), and *Dipsas irregularis*, which also occurs in Amboyna. Several species are absolutely the same as those of Java and Sumatra, although a few form permanent local varieties, which exhibit some slight disparities of colour. Such are *Tortrix rufa*, *Coluber melanurus*, *Herpetodryas oxycephalus*, *Dryophis prasina*, *Dipsas dendrophilus*, and *Tropidonotus chrysargyros*. Of the Moluccas our knowledge is extremely slight, being confined chiefly to the island of Amboyna. We there find three or four serpents, likewise known as Javanese species; but it does not appear that the isles of Sunda produce *Lycodon modestus*, *Boa carlotta*, *Dendrophis rhodopleuron*, or *Python amethystinus*. Timer is in some measure intermediate in its productions between Java and the Moluccas. Its *Python* is perhaps different from that of Amboyna, and it produces a singular *Homalopsis* (*H. lenocobalia*). *Lycodon Hebe* is there of a deeper tint than in Java; and *Coluber radiatus* is represented in Timor by *Col. subradiatus*—a species analogous, but not the same. New Guinea and the adjacent islands produce several new species. We know little of the reptiles of the Philippines, though a few have been collected in the environs of Manila, in the island of Luzon; and these clearly establish the curious fact, that the species of that island bear a strong analogy to those of Ceylon—not a few being identical. The *Naja* of the Philippines belongs to the ordinary variety of *N. tripolitanus*, as it occurs in India, and which always differs in some measure from the same species from the isles of Sunda.

The vast insular continent of New Holland is as yet but slightly known, most of its ascertained productions having been sent only from a few limited localities; but the anomalous and extraordinary character of its productions may even now be fairly inferred. The snakes seem peculiar, and almost all belong to the venomous division. No water species have as yet been seen there. It has already been observed, that the innumerable islands of the great Pacific Ocean are believed to be unproductive of serpents. The Marianas, however, form an exception to this general rule, and Dampier mentions green serpents as inhabitants of the Galapagos.

A few brief notices of the serpents of the New World may terminate the geographical department of our subject. On comparing the species of the two great continents of America with each other, we observe some interesting parallels. The rattlesnake, *Crotalus horridus*, so common over a large extent of South America, is represented in the northern territories by *Crot. disissus*, as is *Coronella venustissima* by *Cor. cocinea*. This kind of comparison, however, applies but to a few species, for the majority of kinds produced by one of the continents differ from those of the other. Thus, the genera *Tortrix*, *Dipsas*, *Dendrophis*, *Boa*, have as yet been found only in South America, or as far north as the Antilles, while *Tropidonotus*, on the contrary, is not found in the southern continent, though frequent in the northern, from which it likewise extends to parts of the West Indies. A small number, however, of southern species are found also in North America, such as *Calamaria melanoccephala*, *Lycodon celeria*, *Coronella cebolla*, *Herpetodryas cursor*, *Dryophis Catebyi*, *Elaps corallinus*, *Homalopsis carinicauda*; while in like manner *Heterodon platyrhinos*, and *Herpetodryas extensus*, which may be regarded rather as northern species, have been ascertained to inhabit Brazil. The following species of North American reptiles also inhabit the Antilles; *Calamaria striatula*, *Coronella cocinea*, *Heterodon platyrhinos*, *Coluber constrictor*, *Herpetodryas extensus* and *cursor*, *Tropidonotus bipunctatus*, *fasciatus*, and *sexrufa*. Those next named also occur in the Antilles, although their proper country is South America; *Calamaria lanternocephala*, *Coronella regina*, *Lycodon celeria*, *Dendrophis liocercus*, *Dryophis Catebyi* and *aurata*, *Dipsas annulata*, *Homalopsis angulata*, *Boa constrictor* and *cenchria*, and *Elaps corallinus*. The species peculiar to these West Indian islands are very few in number, the most characteristic being *Pseammophis Antillensis*, *Trigonocephalus lanceolatus*, *Dendrophis Catebyi*, and *Boa melanura*. On comparing the snakes of Guiana with those of Brazil, we find many species common to both countries, several, however, forming local varieties more or less distinct, as in the cases of *Herpetodryas lineatus* and *Offersii*, *Coluber poecilostoma*, &c. Certain species are peculiar to one or other of the countries above named,—for example, *Calamaria bodia*, *Xenodon typhlus*, *Coluber corsicus*, *Herpetodryas Boddaerti*, *Dendrophis aurata*, *Dryophis Catebyi* and *argentae*, *Homalopsis plicatilis*, *Elaps lemniscatus* and *Surinamensis*, &c., have never been seen except in Guiana; while *Calamaria Blumii*, *Coronella Merremii*, *Xenodon Scholtzi* and *rhinotoma*, *Lycodon formosus*, *Herpetodryas serria*, *Homalopsis corniculata* and *Martii*, are found only in Brazil. Other species, again, appear as it were to represent each other in these parts of South America, so that we may place in parallel, *Coronella venustissima*, *Dipsas Mikani*, *Wegeli*, *leucocephala*, and *Nattereri*, and *Trigonocephalus Jararaca*, of Brazil, with *Coronella venusta*, *Dipsas nebulata*, *Catebyi*, *macrorhina*, *pancatatissima*, and *Trigonocephalus atrax* of Guiana. The other parts of South America are too little known to admit of any detailed comparison; but it may be observed, that of the species discovered in Chili, several are entirely new, and distinct from such as exist on this side the Cordilleras.

Notwithstanding the interest of the subject, we must now bring our general observations to a close, and proceed with a brief systematic sketch of the principal genera and species, referring the reader to M. Schlegel's work (and to those of the other Erpetologists here quoted) for more minute details. In conformity with the views of the author just named, we preserve the ancient subdivision of venomous and non-venomous kinds. The constant character of the former consists in being provided with a gland of cellular structure, which secretes a very deleterious poison. Maxillary teeth, called fangs, of much greater length than the others, hollow interiorly, and furnished with openings at either extremity, for the entrance and exit of the poison, are the potent weapons with which these insidious reptiles inflict their fatal wounds. It is difficult, if not impossible, to assign to these serpents any certain character of external distinction, although there is something in their general aspect which points them out, even to the uninitiated, as dangerous neighbours. Their natural habits also offer this distinction, that the venomous kinds are almost always either terrestrial or marine, although *Trig. viridis* is slightly arboreal, and certain species of *Naja* occasionally occur in fresh water. But the colubrine venomous kinds so greatly resemble the innocent species, that professed naturalists have sometimes combined them with each other. Their most common characters consist in a thickish rounded muzzle, and a short, thick, conical tail. The marine serpents may be recognised by their flattened tails.

The constitution of the following families bears relation rather to the habits of life than the organic structure of the species they respectively contain. We follow the classification of M. Schlegel.

**FIRST PRIMARY DIVISION. NON-VENOMOUS SERPENTS.**

**Family I.—Burrowing Serpents.**

Genus *Tortrix*. Body cylindrical, of nearly equal dimensions throughout; head small, obtuse, and covered by imperfectly developed plates; eyes small; nostrils narrow; gape not widely cleft; teeth short and conical; tail short. (Plate V., fig. 6.)

The species of this genus (which in M. Schlegel's work includes also *Eryx* and *Xenopeltis* of other authors) inhabit the warmer countries of both the Old and New World, preferring dry and sandy districts, in which they form narrow excavations. *T. eryx* occurs over a vast extent of territory, from Egypt to Hindustan, and is met with in the southern parts of Europe. The ground colour of the dorsal region is a beautiful red with numerous confluent spots, and bands of blackish brown; the under parts are yellow, the whole covered by small scales. The muzzle is obliquely truncated at the end. Length about two and a half feet. Abdominal plates 195, caudal twenty. Six other species are known, of which *T. septale* is American, and, of all undoubtedly Ophidian reptiles, makes the nearest approach to those ambiguous genera *Typhlops* and *Amphisbaena.*

**Family II.—Worm-like Serpents.**

Genus *Calamaria*. Body small and cylindrical, terminated by a short conical tail. Head uniform with the body. Plates in the muzzle few in number.

The majority of the genus have the lower surface of a fine vermilion hue, a colour frequent among reptiles which inhabit low and moist abodes. They seldom exceed a foot in length, and are found in both the Americas, in Africa, Southern Asia, New Holland, and the Indian Archipelago.

There are eighteen described species, of which one of the most curious is *Col. lumbricoides* of Boie. Its body, though sometimes several feet long, does not exceed the thickness of a swan's quill. The colour is blackish-blue above, bluish below, with blackish spots, and a yellow ray along the sides. The scales are smooth, square, and disposed in thirteen rows. Abdominal plates from 190 to 217, caudal from sixteen to twenty-three. Eighteen species are known.

**Family III.—Terrestrial Serpents.**

Genus *Coronella*. Body somewhat pentagonal, thickening towards the centre. Head distinguishable from the neck, sometimes very broad at the base, depressed, the muzzle short, obtuse, and slightly truncated. Scales smooth, and disposed in from seventeen to nineteen longitudinal rows. Abdominal and caudal plates about 180 + 40.

The species of this genus are very alert in their movements, and defend themselves, when attacked, with great energy and perseverance. They are dispersed over almost all parts of the world (preferring plains and humid places), but have not as yet been observed in Japan or New Holland, and are rather rare in Asia. Specimens from South America are very frequent in collections. *Cor. levis* is a well-known European species, which occurs in France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and, from Sparmann's description, appears to be among the number of the few Ophidians which inhabit Sweden. It is of a shining bay colour, ornamented by irregular black marks, which form a peculiar design upon the head. The under surface is yellowish, marked with square black spots. There are twenty-one rows of scales, and the plates are 175 + 55. This species is viviparous, that is, the young are hatched within the body of the mother. When attacked, it attempts to escape with great celerity, and when foiled in that intention, it fights with energy, bites furiously, and will scarcely allow itself to be taken alive. It cannot be lifted by the end of the tail (at least with impunity), as many serpents may, as it possesses the power of bending its body upwards, and wounding the hand of its captor. However, its bite, though disagreeable, is in no way dangerous. It is an excellent swimmer, but does not enter the water willingly. It is very fond of mice. About fourteen other species are known to naturalists.

Genus *Xenodon*. General form heavy, head broad, muzzle short and truncated, body thick, abdomen flattened. Upper jaws provided posteriorly with a solid, elongated, compressed tooth. Scales smooth, and dispersed in rather oblique ranges, especially on the neck, which is capable of expansion. Plates of the head short and broad.

Of this genus the species are eight in number, and of these the individuals are by no means abundant. They are of large size, sometimes measuring from three to four feet in length, and, being thick in proportion, present a somewhat formidable aspect. They are usually characterized by a grayish-blue tint, and occur chiefly in Java and intertropical America. None have been as yet found in Africa or New Holland, but *Xen. Michaelis* inhabits the south of France and Spain. This species is distinguished by its short conical head, terminated by a prominent rostral plate. It has twenty-seven rows of scales, and 216 + 60 plates.

Genus *Heterodon*. Head not very distinguishable from the general form, which is slightly pentagonal, and almost of equal thickness throughout. Abdomen somewhat angular, and narrower than in Xenodon. Tail very short, and furnished beneath with divided plates. Rostral plate al-

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1 See Physiognomie des Serpentes (distribution géographique), i. p. 195, et seq. 2 Erpélogie de Java, pl. 22. 3 Figured by Wagler under the title of Rhinobitis Ajassii. Icones, pl. 23. 4 Neue Schreib. Abbrev. xvi. 180, pl. 7, f. A, B. 5 Museum Adolph. Prod. pl. 6, fig. 2. Non-venomous Serpents.

All the species are natives of the New World. The prevailing colour is red, ringed or spotted by a deeper hue. Their manners are unknown, but it is presumed that they inhabit a dry and sandy soil. We shall here name only the harlequin snake of America (*Hel. coccineus*), which inhabits Louisiana and the southern states. The ground colour is a bright yellow, tending more or less to brown upon the back, which is adorned with above twenty broad round or oval spots, of a purplish-red colour, bordered with black. Its brilliant tints are effaced soon after death. "This beautiful snake," says M. Audubon, alluding, we believe, to our present species, "is rather rare in the United States, where I have observed it only in the south. It glides through the grass with ease, and ascends to the tops of bushes, and among the branches of fallen trees, to bask in the sun. Children are fond of catching it on account of its beauty. It feeds principally on insects, such as flies, and small Coleoptera." This seems the species described by Herrera in his History of the West Indies, as inhabiting Mexico and the Floridas, where it is known by the name of *Madre de Hornigas*, on account of its frequenting the society of ants.

Genus LYCODON. Form usually thin, sometimes extremely slender. Anterior maxillary teeth longer than the others. Vertical and anterior frontal plates small and shortened, the occipitals rather long.

The species inhabit both the Old and New World. The prevailing tint is of an earthy hue, passing more or less into brownish or ochre-yellow, the majority of species being ornamented by a collar of a clearer colour. Several kinds are ringed with black, white, and red. The abdominal plates usually amount to 200, the caudal vary from fifty to a hundred. We know little of the habits of these reptiles, of which above a dozen species have been collected in different parts of the intertropical world.

Genus COLOBER. This genus, as originally established by Linnaeus, contained all the Ophidian reptiles with subdivided caudal plates. The venomous kinds were afterwards removed, and the genus itself partitioned into several groups; but even then the genus Coluber properly so called continued to contain a vast amount of species. MM. Boie and Schlegel restricted it still farther; and although it is difficult to apply the distinctive notes of these writers, the genus is natural in itself, when we seek to recognise it rather by the general bearing and physiognomy of the species, than by means of isolated characters.

It contains all those innocuous serpents of considerable size, which hold, as it were, by the form and proportion of their particular parts, a central position among the other Ophidians. Their bodies, less contracted than those of the fresh-water kinds, are yet by no means so slender as those of the arboreal species. Their head is not so lengthened as that of the latter, but is less broad than that of the aquatic sorts. The tail, modified in accordance with the nature of the species, varies in its form, as these resemble or recede from the conterminous groups in their mode of life. It is thus that certain species of the genus Coluber are closely connected with *Tropidonotus*, or even *Homalopsis*, while others are linked with *Herpetodryas*, *Pseudophis*, *Coronella*, or *Xenodon*. The muzzle is usually broad, thick, rounded, rather short, the nostrils lateral, open, and oblong. The head is always laterally angular, from whence results the lateral position of the eyes, of which the pupil is orbicular in form. The body varies in proportional thickness in the different species, but is usually compressed, and slightly pentagonal. The abdomen is generally broad, convex, rarely angular, and is covered by numerous plates, more closely set together than in other serpents, and sometimes amounting to nearly 300. The tail is almost always cylindrical and pointed, generally of medium length, rarely slender and elongated, occasionally short and conic, its inferior portion furnished with divided plates. 12 sp. are known.

Almost all the countries of the earth, of which the nature of the soil and climate is not altogether opposed to the existence of the Ophidian order, are inhabited by the genus Coluber. Only a single species, however, has been found in Southern Africa, and not one has yet occurred in New Holland. Their habits are what may be termed terrestrial, that is, they rarely enter water of their own accord, although several climb among shrubs and bushes with some celerity in search of prey. Several kinds occur in Europe, and those from intertropical countries measure in some instances from seven to eight feet. They are rarely adorned with brilliant colours, brown being the prevailing hue. Of some the markings are uniform, while others are spotted or longitudinally rayed. Of the European species, one of the best known and most extensively distributed is *Col. Esculapii*, which sometimes attains to the length of from four to five feet. The colour of the upper parts is olive-brown, beneath yellowish, or marbled with gray, with a paler collar. Abdominal plates 228, caudal seventy-nine. We have notes on the history of this species from MM. Host and Lenz. It is described as being extremely active in its movements, climbing trees with facility, but avoiding contact with water. It is oviparous, and feeds on lizards, frogs, and small birds, but takes no nourishment in captivity. When attacked, it defends itself with great determination; but when captured, becomes tame in a few days. In the museum of Vienna, several specimens of this Esculapian snake are preserved alive; and their manners are so gentle that children make playthings of them, and handle them for hours at pleasure.

The ancient Greeks adored the god of medicine in various places under diverse forms, but frequently in the guise of a serpent, as an emblem of sagacity, and an animal endowed with so many sanatory qualities, that several Hellenic peoples regarded the creature itself as the very Deity. It was especially so with the inhabitants of Epidaurus (a flourishing city of Peloponnesus), who in a sacred grove, the favourite abode of serpents, erected a magnificent temple in honour of these by us abhorred reptiles. The Roman people, when terrified by a great pestilence, which ravaged the capital (in their year 461), sent an embassy to Epidaurus in search of this imaginary god, whom they might have found in sufficient abundance near at hand. They entertained these slimy deities in the island formed by the Tiber, and where we may still see their figure sculptured in marble in the gardens of St Bartholomew. Chandler tells us, in his Travels, that the environs of Epidaurus still abound in harmless serpents.

The only other species we shall here notice is *Coluber quater-radiatus*, remarkable as being the largest of the Ophidian reptiles of Europe. According to Metaxa (in his *Monograph of the Serpents of the Environs of Rome*), it sometimes attains the length of seven feet. It occurs in Italy, the south of France and Spain, Dalmatia, Hungary, &c. Its prevailing colour is an ochre-yellow passing into brown, and somewhat deeper on the under surface. Two lines of darker brown run along the flanks, and a blackish line passes from the eye to the corner of the mouth. This species, in spite of its great size and formidable aspect, is

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1 Catesby's Carolina, pl. 60. 2 Jacquin, Collectio, iv. 356, pl. 26 (Fem.), 27 (Mas). 3 Metaxa, p. 37—and Aldrovandus, Serp. pl. 240. The above is not the species called *Col. Esculapii* by Linnaeus, who misapplied the title to one of the coral snakes of America,—*Chromis* *rhamnoides* of modern authors.

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Ornithological Biography, vol. i. p. 278; and Birds of America, pl. 52. Non-venomous Serpents.

Extremely gentle in its manners, and does not attempt to bite even when seized in its native haunts. It is very common in the fields near Tivoli, but is usually found on hillsides. There is a passage in Pliny which relates that the Boas of Italy sometimes attain to so great a size that the entire body of an infant was found in the interior of one slain during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. The species just noticed is certainly the largest of all the Roman serpents, but its natural attributes in no way favour the reception of this preposterous story. The largest species of the genus is *Coluber corais* of Surinam. There are twenty-seven different species described by M. Schlegel.

Genus *Herpetodryas*. This genus was established by the late M. Boilé for the reception of certain species of Coluber (*Col. curvinatus*, &c.), which combine the aspect and physiognomy of the preceding genus (to which they are closely allied) with the lengthened form and much of the habits of the arboreal serpents. Their colours are usually of a uniform greenish hue, sometimes passing into brown, or occasionally longitudinally rayed. The tail is generally long and slender, a character which, combined with the narrow and very angular abdomen, announces their arboreal disposition. Their manners are wild and distrustful, and they inhabit the warmer regions of both the Old and New World, with the exceptions, so far as yet known, of Africa and New Holland. We shall here name only *Herp. cornutus*, a Brazilian species, also common in Surinam. It is remarkable for having two central rows of dorsal scales, so that the total number of rows forms an equal number, a character unique in the Ophidian order. It varies greatly in its external markings. Schlegel describes nineteen species.

Genus *Psammophis*. This little group may also be regarded as a dismemberment from Coluber, and brings us into still closer contact with the genuine tree-serpents. They offer an anomaly in their dentition, in as far as their posterior teeth, and those of the centre, are usually longer than the others, and furrowed. The head is elongated, the vertical plate very narrow. Some have the body thin and long drawn out, while others are more compact like Coluber. The species occur in India, Africa, and America; and *P. acutus* is an European example well known in Dalmatia. They all prefer sandy soils, and prey chiefly upon Saurian reptiles. Green and brown are the prevailing colours, although several are longitudinally rayed, or have the head adorned by linear figures. Schlegel mentions eight species.

Family IV.—Arboreal or Tree-Serpents.

The members of this family are characteristic of the great forests of the tropical countries of Asia and America. They are rare in Africa, still more so in New Holland, and Europe produces only a few anomalous species. Their form is in general extremely elongated, they pass the greater portion of their time in trees and bushes, and prey both on birds and lizards.

Genus *Dendrophis*. Body compressed; abdomen (and sometimes the tail) angular, and furnished with very broad plates; scales narrow and elongated. Tail very slender. Head lengthened. Eye large, the pupil orbicular. (See Plate IV., fig. 5.)

These reptiles inhabit both the western and eastern world, but are rare in New Holland, and unknown in Europe. They climb trees with great facility, and are extremely quick in their general movements. They are frequently adorned by lively colours. Nearly a dozen species are known to naturalists. Schlegel has ten species.

Genus *Dryophis*. Muzzle slender and projecting. General form greatly elongated, the body compressed, the abdomen convex. Eye of moderate size.

The species of this genus are among the most remarkable of the innocuous serpents, their shape being so extraordinarily lengthened out, that many measure nearly five feet in length, and are yet no thicker than the little finger. Hence their Anglo-American name of coach-whip snakes, of one of which, first described by Catesby, it was absurdly believed by the Indians, "that it will by a jerk of its tail separate a man in two parts." The tail, of extreme slenderness, always measures half the length of the whole body; and the muzzle is often drawn out in the form of a pointed proboscis. These reptiles inhabit the torrid zone, or the countries near the tropics, in Asia and the two Americas. Although unknown in the continent of Africa, a species (*D. langaha*) occurs in Madagascar. The genus admits of a geographical division,—those of the ancient continent being characterized by grooved maxillary teeth, and the pupil of the eye elongated horizontally, while such as inhabit America have the teeth less developed, and the pupil orbicular. We may briefly notice *Dryophis nasuta* (the *Passerili* of Russel), a remarkable species of a beautiful grass-green colour above, the lower surface paler, and marbled with red. A white or yellow ray extends from behind the eye to the commissure of the lips, and another very distinct one passes along each side of the abdomen and tail. The muzzle is very sharp, and is terminated by a moveable fleshy appendage. (See Plate IV., figs. 7 and 9.) This kind occurs over a great extent of India and the great eastern islands, and is frequent in the environs of Vizagapatam. It lives in trees, and its manners are described as being even ferocious. Its bite, however, is attended by no other bad consequences than the pain of the wound; but the common people deem it dangerous, as directing its attacks chiefly at the eyes of the passers by. There is an Indian whip-snake (probably not of this genus) common in the Concan, where it is described as concealing itself among the foliage of trees, from which it darts at cattle grazing below, generally also aiming at the eye. A bull which was thus wounded at Dazagon tore up the ground with extreme fury, and died in half an hour, foaming at the mouth. This habit of the reptile is truly singular,—for it seems to proceed neither from resentment nor from fear, nor yet from the impulse of appetite, but seems, "more than any other known fact in natural history, to partake of that frightful and mysterious principle of evil, which tempts our own species so often to tyrannize for mere wantonness of power."

The species already named as a native of Madagascar, *Dryophis langaha*, Schlegel, partakes of those anomalous attributes which characterize so many animal products of that extraordinary island. It measures between two and three feet in length, and is of a beautiful reddish-brown colour above, the under surface being of a deep though lively yellow, spotted with brown, especially beneath the tail; but its most peculiar character is seen in the muzzle, which is prolonged into a fleshy appendage of half an inch in length, covered with small scales, and of variable form, being in some cases sharp-pointed, in others compressed and enlarged, or leaf-shaped. This curious reptile seems to have been first (we believe inaccurately) described by M. Bruguières, and has since been handed about through various genera. It is classed by M. Schlegel (we presume after due examination), among the innocuous, that is, the non-venomous kinds,—although the natives of Madagascar Non-venomous serpents are said to hold it in great dread, from the belief of its being a highly poisonous species. Schlegel has 7 species.

Genus *Dipsas*. Head thick, broad, obtuse; the body vigorous, but much compressed. Pupil of the eye usually vertical. (Plate V., fig. 7.)

This genus comprises all those tree-serpents which, resembling the Colubers (and so far differing from the two preceding genera) in the bulkier proportion of their parts, are distinguished by their compressed bodies and more slender tails. Both the size and colours differ greatly according to the species, some of which do not measure more than fourteen inches, while others extend to five or six feet. South America and the East Indies are their characteristic countries, although a somewhat anomalous species is found in Egypt and Dalmatia. The genuine *Dipsas* dwell habitually in trees, concealing themselves amid dense foliage, from whence they dart upon their unsuspecting prey. The largest species known to naturalists is *Dip. dendrophila*, a Javanese reptile, which sometimes measures seven feet in length. The ground-colour is a beautiful lustrous black, with steel-blue reflections, paler on the under surface; and the body is encircled by from forty-five to fifty transverse narrow bands of a fine golden yellow. *Dip. fallax* is, we presume, the sole European species,—if the reptile so named really belongs to our present genus. Its habits offer great disparity, at least M. Castraine found it in Dalmatia in the month of December, creeping slowly among the ruins of an ancient castle. It had previously been found in the Levant by Olivier, and was more recently observed in the Morea by M. Bory St Vincent. Fleischman informs us that it lives under stones, stirs abroad only in the early morning and towards evening, avoids water, and feeds on insects, lizards, and mice. Twenty-five species of this genus are described by M. Schlegel.

**Family V.—Fresh-water Serpents.**

The members of this group are more or less allied to Coluber in their organization. They inhabit the water, or at least frequently enter into that element, and prefer the banks of rivers and the shores of lakes to situations more remote from moisture. It does not follow that all snakes endowed with analogous instincts and manners belong to this group, because the majority of the Boas, and almost all the Colubers, nearly correspond in their habits of life, and are yet very dissimilar in their structure. In this family there are combined those serpents which, having many mutual relations in their form and physiognomy, constitute a very natural assemblage, though by no means distantly separated from all other subdivisions. It is composed of two genera, of which the first exhibits, with few exceptions, nothing remarkable in its organization,—while the second is characterized by several singular features.

Genus *Tropidonotus*. Head broad, body rather bulky, abdomen broad and convex, tail short.

The majority of this genus inhabit Asia, especially the Indian Archipelago. Southern Africa produces only a single species; Europe two, which occur on both sides of the Mediterranean basin. The same restricted number is found in Japan, and several are native to North America. None is known to inhabit either South America or New Holland. Certain species are widely distributed, while others are confined within narrow limits. They usually occur along the shady, wooded banks of lakes and rivers, where they prey on frogs and fishes. They swim with great dexterity, and are capable of continuing for a length of time beneath the surface. Although they can both creep and climb with considerable swiftness, they usually prefer non-venomous serpents to escape from threatened danger by plunging into water. Many species never remove from the close vicinity of that element; others inhabit plains subject to inundation; and a few are found to dwell in moist umbrageous forests, even on the sides and towards the summits of high mountains. Certain species are gregarious; while some are solitary, dwelling in the deserted holes of small quadrupeds. Such as inhabit temperate climates fall into a lethargic state in winter. The whole are oviparous; but the eggs of many, even when newly laid, contain young in a state of considerable advancement. Schlegel describes nineteen species.

The first species we shall notice is *Tropidonotus nutrix* (*Coluber nutrix*, Linn., *Natrix torquata*, Ray), the best-known and most generally-diffused of European serpents, and one of the few which inhabit the cold and cloudy clime of Britain. We have exhibited its osteology on Plate V., fig. 2. It is subject to great variation of colour, but the prevailing tint is a pale ashy-blue tinged with green, and relieved by a series of black spots or bands. The under surface is dusky blue, with mottlings of yellowish white. The collar is white or yellow, bordered posteriorly by deep black; and the plates of the head are extremely regular in their form. The length ranges from two and a half to four, or occasionally five feet. The female is always the larger. This reptile has been studied and described by a host of European writers. It is not characterized by any wildness or ferocity, is easily tamed, and rarely bites even when seized. "Il m'est cependant arrivé," says M. Schlegel, "qu'êtant encore très-jeune, et m'étant approché du bord d'un bois, où une société nombreuse de ces serpens s'était établie pour faire leur ponte, un Tropidonote d'une taille énorme m'attaqua avec fureur, tandis que plusieurs autres s'échappaient dans les trous dont la terre était percée." The ringed snake, as our present species is generally named, prefers to take possession of the subterranean dwelling of a mouse or mole to commencing an excavation for itself. Being fond of warmth and shelter, it often approaches human habitations, and readily lays its eggs in dunghills. Yet it is often met with in the remotest wilds, or in thick umbrageous forests, and sometimes at a height of several thousand feet above the level of the sea. But on the whole it prefers the vicinity of tranquil waters, where it dives frequently in search of fishes, as well as of frogs and other batrachian reptiles. Although it possesses the power of remaining under water for nearly half an hour, it is not organized for a continued abode in that element; and when frequently forced from shore, its swimming powers become exhausted, and it is "found drowned." It is extremely voracious, and will swallow a great number of frogs at a meal. It hibernates, in cold and temperate countries, from the month of October or November, seeking profounder excavations, where frost can scarcely enter. It leaves its retreat in March or April, according to the region it inhabits, and casts its skin once a month till the end of August. In that month also it lays its eggs, to the number of two dozen or more. As the species pairs in April, it follows that these eggs take five months to be developed in the oviducts, though they are hatched in about three weeks after deposition. Their form is oval, and they measure about an inch and three lines in length. The young, when first visible, measure from six to eight inches. This species abounds over all France and Germany. It does not inhabit the maritime parts of Holland, but is common in Guelderland and the province of Drenthe. It is well known in Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia, as well as in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and extends over a great portion of temperate

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1 Gen. Zool. iii. 572. 2 Wagler, Icones, i. pl. 8. 3 It is the *Turkopis fallax* of Fleischman's Dissertation, pl. 1. 4 Physiol. ii. 304. Non-venomous Serpents.

Asia, as far as Lake Baikal. It is a common species in England, where it occurs in woods and hedges, as well as in marshes. Mr Jenyns informs us, that it is particularly abundant in the fens of Cambridgeshire, where it sometimes attains a great size. We shall merely add, that it is eaten in several continental countries. Col. esperinus, another European species, pertains to this genus; as do also a considerable amount of exotic kinds, which we cannot here so much as name.

Genus Homalopsis. Body bulky, head very thick, muzzle short and rounded; eyes and nostrils small, and opening upwards; form usually cylindrical, sometimes slightly compressed; abdomen broad and convex; tail short, conical, robust.

This genus inhabits the great fresh waters of the intertropical countries both of Asia and America, although it seems less extended than the preceding, being seldom seen beyond the tropics. A Bengal species occurs also in Java, and a few are found identically the same in both the Americas. The majority attain a considerable size; but though as thick as a man's arm, they rarely exceed the length of four feet. Their heavy elongated forms, small insidious eyes, and large gaping mouths, confer upon them a peculiar and repelling physionomy; yet they are quite innocuous, in spite of the malignity of their aspect, a proof that we should never judge from appearance. These are the most truly aquatic of all the fresh-water serpents, passing almost their entire lives submerged, and feeding chiefly on fish. They are endowed with great muscular strength and strong powers of locomotion in their favourite element. Their colours are usually dark and lugubrious,—a schistose gray, brown, olive, or a blackish hue prevailing over the upper surface; while a yellower tint, with large square spots, is frequent on the abdominal region. We are acquainted with few details regarding their habits of life; and the species are rare in collections, probably in consequence of their fish-like activity in the water rendering their capture difficult. They are distributed over a variety of genera by different naturalists; and M. Schlegel describes fourteen species, among which are included Hom. herpeton (Erpeton tentacularis, Lac.), a serpent remarkable for two fleshy appendages covered with scales, which extend from the termination of the muzzle. (See Plate IV., fig. 4.) The abdominal plates are scarcely broader than the other scales, and each is surmounted by a couple of ridges. Its native country is unknown.

Family VI.—Boas.

This family, according to M. Schlegel's views, comprehends the greater number of those species which modern naturalists have comprised under the genera Boa, Python, and Acrochordus. It is one of the most natural of the entire order, and has been too often erroneously separated, merely on the consideration of a few unimportant characters. We here find species, some of them the largest of the Ophidian race, distinguished by a prehensile tail, and a body possessing the power of twisting itself around other bodies with great force and facility. The surface is encompassed by numerous small scales, which advance upon the head and encroach on the abdomen, so that the former part never exhibits the regularly-formed plates of the Colubers, while those of the latter are unusually narrow. The vertical position of the nostril and small-sized eyes announce a combination of aquatic with terrestrial habits of life. The first genus, that of Boa properly so called, is characterized by simple plates beneath the tail; the second, Python, peculiar to the ancient world, exhibits the subcaudal plates divided, a supernumerary bone on the upper margin of the orbits, and intermaxillary teeth; the third, Acrochordus, is destitute of anal hooks, and has the surface entirely covered over by small granular unimbricated scales. All these generic groups have many characters in common, both in habits and organization, and we shall here point out a few of their generalities.

The term Boa, according to Pliny, is derived from Boas, because the young of these reptiles are wont to nourish themselves on cow's milk. We are farther informed by that credulous author, of the great Boa slain in the Vatican, within the abdomen of which was found an entire infant. Linnaeus applied the name to all serpents provided with simple sub-caudal plates. It is obvious that his genius, founded on a character of such slight importance, while it excludes the Pythons, necessarily brings together several heterogeneous groups. The defect in the modern arrangement of these reptiles arises chiefly from the practice of viewing a single and often subordinate character, and ruling, as it were, the forms of nature in simple accordance with its absence or existence. We thus find the Pythons almost always separated from the Boas, and placed in the genus Coluber, while the Acrochordi, estranged from both, comprise two distinct genera, sometimes placed among venomous serpents, sometimes classed with the innocuous kinds. "Nos temps," says M. Schlegel, "fertiles en invasions de toute sorte, ont vu démembrer la famille des Boas en autant de divisions génériques que l'on en compte d'espèces, qui elles-mêmes sont multipliées sans le moindre fondement de vérité. Il n'est pas rare de voir la même espèce distribuée en deux ou trois genres différents, et ces genres placés au hazard parmi d'autres Couleuvres ou parmi les vipères." The opportunities enjoyed by the author just named, of studying the various species, has led him to the belief that these are much less numerous than generally supposed. He thinks that the majority of such as exist in nature are now in some measure known, and that they do not amount to more than fifteen, including Acrochordus. Various anomalies exist among the species when compared among each other. Some are spread over a vast tract of territory, while others are confined within narrow limits. They are all, however, inhabitants of countries either situate beneath the equator or near the tropics. They occur in both the Old and New World, but none is found in Europe, North America, or Japan. The South American species are frequent in collections; those of the (so-called) more ancient countries of the earth are rather rare. Some are oviparous, others produce their young alive. The Boas usually attain, in truth, to an enormous size, although their actual dimensions have been greatly exaggerated. Thus at the very name of Boa constrictor the imagination is filled "with folds voluminous and vast;" although the species really so called scarcely ever exceeds ten or twelve feet in length. The largest Ophidian reptiles in the world are Boa murina and Python Schneideri and brevittatus; but it may be greatly doubted whether the first named, which is the most gigantic of all, ever exceeds twenty-five feet in these degenerate days, and we have no sufficient evidence to support such a claim.

1 British Vertebrate Animals, p. 296. Figured in Bell's British Reptiles. 2 Annales des Mus., ii. 280, pl. 50; Guérin, Iconog. Reptiles, pl. 20, fig. 3. 3 Hist. Nat. 8-14. 4 Quant aux véritable serpents, il n'en est pas qui mâchent réellement, de même qu'il est évident qu'aucun ne peut sucer ou épérer le vide dans la bouche, et que, par conséquent, c'est un préjugé de croire que plusieurs de ces animaux, comme les Boas et les Couleuvres, puissent têter les vaches; outre l'absence des lèvres charnues, le défaut de voile du palais et de l'épiglotte, qui rendraient la succion impossible, il est évident que les crochets acérés et recourbés en arrière, qui garnissent leurs mâchoires et leur palais, s'accrocheraient comme des hameçons aux têtes des mammifères et qu'ils ne pourraient s'en détacher." (Rep. Gen. l. 135.) The recitals of our travellers have been too often drawn, not from their own observation (by no means accurate at the best), but merely from the popular belief of ignorant and superstitious natives. The Pythons of the Old World seldom exceed from eighteen to twenty feet in length; and we can easily believe that one even of that extent being met by a beauteous traveller in some lonely forest glade, or murky meadow, might be afterwards described as something super-serpentine. Who in early life (how few at any period) ever caught a trout of two pounds or a pike of ten, without at least supposing that the one weighed four, the other fifteen? Yet who fears the innocuous finny race, and how greatly must doubt and dismay increase the seeming dimensions of a huge lugubrious reptile, weaving its way through some "wild wood, dingle or bushy dell," and dimly seen in sombre twilight hours, by snatches of only four or five yards at a time? The same exaggeration prevails regarding both the size of their natural prey, and its mode of capture. The lamented Bodé, who made numerous observations on the Pythons of Asiatic countries, states that they particularly attack only the smaller kinds of quadrupeds, although individuals of unusual size sometimes swallow a young pig, or that species of deer called muntjac. But the larger mammiferous animals, and the human race more especially, need entertain no reasonable expectation of attack; and Prince Neuwied confirms this statement of the lamented naturalist of Kiel, so far as concerns the great species of the New World, which prey chiefly on birds and reptiles.

Boas are said to be by no means difficult to tame. M. Dieperink of Paramaribo informed M. Schlegel that he was in the practice of keeping by him several different kinds of live Boas, all of which lived in perfect harmony, both among themselves and with other domestic animals. Professor Reinwardt, however, was witness at Java to a spectacle which proved that these great serpents are not always as merciful as they are strong. A native of the island having brought to the Baron Van Der Capellen a huge Python, and being desirous to make it leave a panier in which it was contained, the monster rose upon him suddenly, and inflicted a severe wound, at once laying open the fore-arm throughout its entire extent. It may be as well, then, upon the whole, not to allow the serpents of this family to sleep at large in the bed-chambers of any other family where there are small children.

The members of our present group seize their prey suddenly by ambuscade, usually lying in wait for it in the vicinity of water. They fix upon it with their teeth, and then, if of tolerable size or strength, entwine their folds around it, pressing out the breath of life, or even bruising the body, and breaking the bones in pieces. To aid this act of butchery, some of the species are said to keep their tails twisted around a tree, to which they drag their reluctant victim,—making use at the same time of the hard and gnarled trunk to give a still stronger stringency to their dreadful coils, while the faint-hearted prey

When the animal attacked is of smaller size, it is merely mouthed, always head foremost, covered with saliva to hasten pretreatment and aid deglutition, and afterwards swallowed at leisure. These gigantic reptiles are endowed with great muscular force, which, however, they rarely exercise in a state of captivity. They seem extremely lethargic when imported into Europe; many of them, if not gentle in their manners, at least cannot be induced to bite by any provocation; their movements are very slow, they rarely eat, and the majority indeed die after a few months' confinement, without having tasted food.

The following curious, and we doubt not accurate, account of the swallowing powers of one of the great Asiatic serpents, has been recorded by Mr Macleod. He calls the species *Boa constrictor*, which, as it was captured in Borneo, it could not be. It belonged, we presume, to the genus Python, and measured sixteen feet in length by about eighteen inches in circumference. We shall make no apology for the size of the ensuing extract, as it so clearly illustrates the peculiar manners and the mode of deglutition of these Boa-like serpents.

"The live stock for his use during the passage, consisting of six goats of the ordinary size, were sent with him on board, five being considered as a fair allowance for as many months. At an early period of the voyage we had an exhibition of his talent in the way of eating, which was publicly performed on the quarter-deck, upon which he was brought. The sliding door (of his cage) being opened, one of the goats was thrust in, and the door of the cage shut. The poor goat, as if instantly aware of all the horrors of its perilous situation, immediately began to utter the most piercing and distressing cries, butting instinctively at the same time with its head towards the serpent, in self-defence. The snake, which at first appeared scarcely to notice the poor animal, soon began to stir a little, and turning his head in the direction of the goat, he at length fixed a deadly and malignant eye on the trembling victim, whose agony and terror seemed to increase; for, previous to the snake seizing his prey, it shook in every limb, but still continuing its unavailing show of attack, by butting at the serpent, which now became sufficiently animated to prepare for the banquet. The first operation was that of darting out his forked tongue, and at the same time rearing a little his head; then suddenly seizing the goat by the fore leg with his mouth, and throwing it down, it was encircled in an instant in his horrid folds. So quick, indeed, and so instantaneous was the act, that it was impossible for the eye to follow the rapid convolution of his elongated body. It was not a regular screw-like turn that was formed, but resembling rather a knot, one part of the body overlaying the other, as if to add weight to the muscular pressure, the more effectually to crush his object. During this time he continued to grasp with his fangs, though it appeared an unnecessary precaution, that part of the animal which he had first seized. The poor goat, in the mean time, continued its feeble and half-stifled cries for some minutes, but they soon became more and more faint, and at last it expired. The snake, however, retained it for a considerable time in his grasp after it was apparently motionless. He

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1 Unable as we are either to confirm or contradict, from personal experience, the reported observations of travellers regarding the supposed dimensions of these huge reptiles, we are under the necessity of stating the different opinions which prevail upon the subject, however irreconcilable these may sometimes be with each other. The following quotation rather favours the idea of their great size and unexampled voracity. "In the Dutch colonies of the East Indies, André Cleyer purchased of the hunters of the country an enormous serpent, in the body of which he found a deer of middle age, altogether entire, with its skin and limbs. In another individual of the same species, also examined by the traveller, a wild boar was found, with its horns; and a third had evidently swallowed a porcupine with its quills. He adds, that a pregnant woman also fell a prey to this reptile of the same genus in the island of Amboyra; and that this kind is sometimes kept for the purpose of attacking the buffaloes in the kingdom of Aracan, on the frontiers of Bengal. We need hardly be astonished at this, when Prince Maurice of Nassau-Siegen, one of the governors of Brazil, in the seventeenth century, assures us that he himself was an eye-witness of stags, and other equally voluminous mammals, and even of a Dutch woman" (usually a considerable mammifer), "being devoured in this manner, in that region of South America where he commanded." Grifflin's *Animal Kingdom*, ix, 295. then slowly and cautiously unfolded himself, till the goat fell dead from his monstrous embrace, when he began to prepare himself for swallowing it. Placing his mouth in front of the dead animal, he commenced by lubricating with his saliva that part of the goat; and then taking its muzzle into his mouth, which had, and indeed always has, the appearance of a raw, lacerated wound, he sucked it in as far as the horns would allow. These protuberances opposed some little difficulty, not so much from their extent, as from their points; however, they also in a very short time disappeared, that is to say, externally; but their progress was still to be traced very distinctly on the outside, threatening every moment to protrude through the skin. The victim had now descended as far as the shoulders; and it was an astonishing sight to observe the extraordinary action of the snake's muscles when stretched to such an unnatural extent,—an extent which must have utterly destroyed all muscular power in any animal that was not, like himself, endowed with very peculiar faculties of expansion and action at the same time. When his head and neck had no other appearance than that of a serpent's skin, stuffed almost to bursting, still the workings of the muscles were evident, and his power of suction, as it is erroneously called, unabated; it was, in fact, the effect of a contractile muscular power, assisted by two rows of strong, hooked teeth. With all this, he must be so formed as to be able to suspend, for a time, his respiration; for it is impossible to conceive that the process of breathing could be carried on while the mouth and throat were so completely stuffed and expanded by the body of the goat, and the lungs themselves (admitting the trachea to be ever so hard) compressed, as they must have been, by its passage downwards.

The whole operation of completely gorging the goat occupied about two hours and twenty minutes; at the end of which time the tumefaction was confined to the middle part of the body, or stomach, the superior parts, which had been so much distended, having resumed their natural dimensions. He then coiled himself up again, and lay quietly in his usual torpid state for about three weeks or a month, when, his last meal appearing to be completely digested and dissolved, he was presented with another goat, which he killed and devoured with equal facility.

As the vessel, which was sailing from Batavia to England, approached the Cape of Good Hope, this gigantic reptile began to droop, as was at first supposed, from the increasing cold. It refused to kill some fowls which were presented, and died before reaching St Helena. On dissection, the coats of the stomach were found to be "excoriated and pierced by worms!" Nothing of either goat remained except a single horn. During a prior captivity of some months at Whidah, in the kingdom of Dahomey, Mr Macleod had enjoyed opportunities of observing snakes "double the size of the one just described." These killed their prey in the same manner; but from their superior bulk were capable of swallowing much larger animals than either goats or sheep. Governor Abson, who had resided for nearly forty years at Fort William, a settlement of the African Company, used to describe some desperate struggles which had taken place between these great serpents and various wild beasts, as well as smaller cattle. A negro herdsman was once seized by the thigh, but the monster, in attempting to entwine itself around him, got entangled by a tree, and the man being armed with a knife, had presence of mind to inflict several severe gashes on the neck and throat, which enabled him to disengage himself from the dreadful coils which were closing fast around him. But he remained lame for life, in consequence of the wound and heavy pressure inflicted by the jaws.

The natural colours, which are various in this family, disappear speedily after death. Some are brown upon a yellowish ground, others exhibit a uniformly greenish hue, red prevails among certain species, while a few are nearly black. Almost all are more or less spotted; and it has been observed that, unlike the smaller tribes of serpents, these markings continue equally, or rather more distinct, as the individual increases in years. The body of the Boas is thickest at the middle, tapers towards either end, and is always considerably compressed. The abdomen is broad, and slightly convex or keeled. The tail is shaped like the body, but is more slender, not very conical, and usually terminates in a blunted point. It is always prehensile, that is, possesses the power of rolling inwards upon itself, or forming convolutions around other bodies. The scales in general are rather small, and as they encroach considerably on the under surface, it follows that the abdominal plates are narrower than usual. There are sometimes from sixty to seventy ranges of scales, and about two hundred and fifty abdominal plates. The number of these, however, is greater in the Boas of the ancient world than among the American species, which moreover differ in several other respects; while the genus *Acrochordus* is distinguished from all its congeners by the small granular scales which clothe the entire surface, and of which a double series prevails along the median line of the abdomen, forming a kind of projecting ridge or keel.

The head of the Boas is always distinguishable from the trunk, being thick, rather lengthened, conical, depressed, and terminated by a muzzle for the most part elongated, and truncated at the point. The eyes are placed at some distance from the nostrils, and are lateral in the terrestrial species, of which the head is flattened above, and more or less angular on the sides; but the more aquatic kinds have the eyes rather vertical. These organs are always small in our present family, and, excepting *Acrochordus*, have the pupil horizontally elongated. The nostrils are broad, closely approached to the end of the muzzle, and in some are placed upon its summit. They open upwards in the genus just named, and assume a tubular form. All the species are provided with palatine teeth, nearly as much developed as the maxillary ones; but there are no intermaxillary teeth except among the Pythons. The glands of the head are less developed in this family than among the majority of Ophidian reptiles.

**Genus Boa.** No intermaxillary teeth. Space between the orbits formed solely by the frontals properly so called. Sub-caudal plates simple. (See Plate IV., figs. 8–11.)

This restricted genus includes the largest of Ophidian reptiles, and although composed chiefly of South American snakes, it also contains three Asiatic species, which, though of much smaller size, cannot be regarded otherwise than as a geographical division.

*Boa constrictor*, Linn., is a middle-sized species, which rarely exceeds the length of ten or twelve feet. It is of a reddish tint, elegantly marked by irregular reticulations of

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1 Macleod's *Voyage of the Alceste*, p. 290. 2 This is the prevailing character of these parts, although we find in this, as in many other cases, a difficulty in seizing upon single determinate features of constant application. Thus we sometimes meet with several divided plates in the sub-caudal region of these so-called Boas. 3 The true *B. constrictor* is often confounded with the more gigantic *B. marina*, and its dimensions have in consequence been greatly exaggerated. We doubt if any existing species ever attains to the alleged size of the so-called *B. constrictor*. Mr Swainson, however, who has travelled in South America, and is himself a zealous student of the facts of zoology, both as recorded in books and as existing in nature, states that the young individuals frequent in our menageries are mere pigmies in comparison to the Non-venomous brownish black, and other hues, and is subject to a great variety of aspect, so far as colour is concerned. It is, however, well characterized by the small smooth scales which cover both head and body, and of which there are sixty-seven rows. The head is heart-shaped, and the tail short. Abdominal plates 243, caudal fifty-eight. This species is native to the intertropical countries of South America, and not only has its size and voracity been greatly exaggerated, but many traits have been applied to it which truly belong only to the Pythons of the ancient continent. Thus the very name of *Devis*, bestowed upon it by Lacépéde, is borrowed from what Bosman relates of the worship accorded by the negroes to certain African reptiles. It is met with in Surinam and Brazil, in woody districts, being sometimes seen suspended from the branch of a tree, sometimes concealed in the hollows of rocks, or beneath an ancient trunk. It is feared by no one, is often killed with a short walking-stick, and is commonly known by the name of *Jibaya*. It feeds on small and middle-sized mammalia, such as mice, rats, agoutis, pacas, and capybaras, as well as on various reptiles. A hunter, however, assured the Prince of Neuwied, that his dog on one occasion would have fallen a victim to a Boa of this species, had he not contrived to shoot it during the combat. The true constrictor does not enter the water. The Brazilians take it by means of gins, and employ its skin for making boots and saddle-cloths. They also use its fat. All engraved representations of this species, having been made from ill-prepared museum specimens, are worse than indifferent.

The rat-eating Boa, *B. murina*, Linn. (*B. Anaconda*, Daud., *B. aquaticus*, Neuw.), is the largest Ophidian reptile of America, and probably the most gigantic of known species. It is distinguished in Brazil by the title of *Cucurumba*, and passes a great portion of its time in the water, either swimming about in various directions, or floating lazily with the current. It dives with great dexterity, can remain for a length of time beneath the surface, and is said to prey on fish as well as quadrupeds. It is tenacious of life, and is killed by the natives either with bow or musket in the water, or with sticks when met with on shore, where its movements are somewhat sluggish. Both its skin and fat are used for various purposes, and its flesh is eaten by the Botocudos. M. Fernin measured one which had attained the length of twenty-three and a half feet; and the Prince of Neuwied was assured by the natives that it is often much longer, although he himself never saw one above twenty feet. This species exhibits less varied markings than the preceding. The general hue of the upper parts is sooty brown, with two rows of orbicular blackish spots along the back. The under surface and sides are of an ochre yellow, the latter marked with a double row of irregular eye-shaped spots, which confound themselves with numerous squarer spots upon the belly. The nostrils are vertical, the eyes also directed upwards. The head is of an elongated form, with a rounded muzzle. Abdominal non-venomous plates 250, caudal sixty-six.

The other species of this genus are *B. cenchria*, *canina* (Plate IV., figs. 8–11), *hortulana* from South America; *B. Dussumieri*, from a small island near the Mauritius; *B. carinata*, from the Moluccas and New Guinea; *B. conica*, from Bengal; and *B. melanura*, from the island of Cuba. Schlegel describes nine species.

Genus *Python*. Several intermaxillary teeth. Upper portion of the orbit formed by a particular bone incased among the three frontals, and named super-orbital by Cuvier. Sub-caudal plates usually divided. Lips hollowed out in front. Plates of the head larger and more regular than in Boa. (See Plate IV., figs. 1 b, 1 c, and 3; and Plate V., fig. 5.)

This genus was established by M. Daudin for the reception of the great serpents of the ancient world. Brown, black, and yellow, are their prevailing colours. Certain of the species equal (some say exceed) the Boas of America in size, for example the *Ular-sauca* (*Python bivittatus*, Kuhl.—*Col. Javanicus*, Shaw). This species is of a yellowish tint, relieved by a pattern of broad alternate brown spots. The top of the head is margined by two rays of the ground colour. The flanks are variously adorned by black and white, and the under surface is marked by deep square spots. There are sixty-three ranges of smooth small scales, 270 abdominal and seventy caudal plates. This great reptile is spread, according to M. Schlegel, over a vast extent of territory, being known to occur from the western coast of Africa, over the whole of intertropical Asia, as far east as China and the island of Java. It is said to attain the length of twenty-five feet, and individuals of twenty feet in length have been seen and described by trustworthy naturalists. A fine specimen lived for some time in Holland, and was observed to be slow in its movements, mild in its temper, and never inclined to bite even when provoked. It was kept in a large box enveloped in woollen cloths, where it lay in continued tranquillity, and suffered itself to be drawn out for frequent exhibition without manifesting any signs of anger or impatience. We suspect that the senses of this, and of other large tropical snakes, are so far benumbed by the change of climate in Europe as to produce stupefaction rather than tameness. The specimen in question was presented with food every eight days, which, however, it often refused for several successive times. It was most easily excited to eat by the sight of a live rabbit, into the head of which it would fix its teeth, and then, placing it within a fold of its body, deprived it almost instantly of life. After the commission of this murder, it was in no hurry to swallow its victim, but sometimes licked it for a while, occasionally taking two or three hours to effect the final deglutition. This is supposed to be the *Pedra-pola* of Dr Russel, called rock-snake by the Anglo-Indians.

We do not happen to know to what extent this or any adults, "which have been often found to exceed forty feet in length" (*Cabinet Cyclopædia*, vol. cxvi. p. 143). Yet he does not state this as a result of observation, or as connected with his own knowledge as well as belief. A single specimen of such gigantic reptile would be the wonder of Europe, and would make a fortune for its owner. A Dutch friend of Mr Waterton's killed a Boa (he does not say of what species) twenty-two feet long, with a pair of stag's horns in its mouth. It had swallowed the stag, but could not swallow the horns (at which we are not much surprised), and so had to wait in patience with an uncomfortable mouthful till its stomach had digested the body, "and then the horns would drop out." It was in this expectant plight that the Dutchman found it, as he was going in his canoe up the river, and sent a ball through its head (*Wanderings in South America*, third edit. p. 209). The large serpent tagged by Mr Waterton, after "a sharp fray in the den, the rotten sticks flying on all sides, and each party struggling for superiority," measured rather more than fourteen feet in length. It was of the kind called *Constrictor*, a rare species, and so much thicker in proportion to its length than any other snake of the forest, that an individual of the extent just stated "is as thick as a common Boa of twenty-four." Its jaws are so extensive, that Mr Waterton, after skimming his specimen, could easily get his head into its mouth.

1 See Scheuchzer, *Biblia Sacra*, pl. 746, fig. 1.—Lacépé, *Quad. Oeol.* ii. pl. 16, fig. 14.—Daudin, *Reptiles*, v. pl. 92, fig. 1. There are various figures of our *B. constrictor* in Seba's *Thesaurus*, and from these Laurenti seems to have composed such species as *Constrictor formosissimus*, *Rex serpentum*, *divisilugens*, and several others.

2 *Reptiles*, v. 161, pl. 63.

3 Numerous nominal species have arisen from the superficial observance of different varieties of this Python. See Russel's *Serpentis*, pl. 20, 23, 24, and 29; and Daudin's *Reptiles*, v. pl. 64, fig. 1, and pl. 59, fig. 4.

4 Abbé, *livrais* ii. pl. 6, and *Beitr.* p. 226. other species of Python may have attained in ancient times, but it is probably from some misconceived view of our present species that the marvellous traditions regarding almost immeasurable serpents have been derived. Who has not read of that enormous reptile which spread dismay even through a Roman army? It is thus related by Valerius Maximus, from one of the lost books of Livy, by whom it is said to have been recorded at greater length. "And since we are on the subject of uncommon phenomena, we may here mention the serpent so eloquently and accurately (I) recorded by Livy, who says, that near the river Bagrada in Africa, a snake was seen of so enormous a magnitude as to prevent the army of Attilius Regulus from the use of the river; and after snatching up several soldiers with its enormous mouth, and devouring them, and killing several more by striking and squeezing them by the spine of its tail, was at length destroyed by assaulting it with all the force of military engines and showers of stones, after it had withstood the attack of their spears and darts; that it was regarded by the whole army as a more formidable enemy than even Carthage itself; and that the whole adjacent region, being tainted with the pestilential effluvia proceeding from its remains, and the waters with its blood, the Roman army was obliged to move its station; he also adds, that the skin of the monster, measuring 120 feet in length, was sent to Rome as a trophy." The learned Friesenheimer, having had the advantage of living a thousand years or two after the historian of the Punic war, has given a still more circumstantial account of this bloody broil in his Supplementa Liviana. He there informs us, that "it caused so much trouble to Regulus, that he found it necessary to contest the possession of the river with it, by employing the whole force of his army; during which a considerable number of soldiers were lost, while the serpent could neither be vanquished nor wounded, the strong armour of its scales easily repelling the force of all the weapons that were directed against it; upon which recourse was had to battering engines, with which the animal was attacked in the manner of a fortified tower, and was thus at length overpowered. Several discharges were made against it without success, till its back being broken by an immense stone" (we admire detailed accounts of ancient actions), "the formidable monster began to lose its powers, and was yet with difficulty destroyed, after having diffused such a horror among the army, that they confessed they would rather attack Carthage itself than such another monster." Probably such another was not then at hand, and we believe has never been seen since; but the anecdote itself holds out great encouragement to modern travellers. It is, we doubt not, to Python bivittatus that Bosman and other writers refer, when they mention the religious veneration with which some great African serpents are regarded by the natives. But we must conclude our imperfect notice of this genus by stating, that of the remaining species, *P. Schneideri* (Plate IV., fig. 3, and Plate V., fig. 5) is found in Malacca, Java, Sumatra, and Amboyna; *P. amethystinus*, in Saporua, a small island opposite Amboyna (a nearly identical kind being found in Timor, Samoa, and New Ireland); and *P. Peroni* in New Holland.

Genus *Acrochordes*. Head rounded, eyes extremely small, rather vertical, pupil orbicular, nostrils tubular, nearly terminal, opening forwards or upwards. Tail strongly prehensile, and, in common with the trunk, compressed. Anal hooks wanting. Whole body covered by small scales, and the abdomen furnished with a kind of keel beset with scales. Teeth as in the Boas proper.

The anomalous reptiles of our present genus may be said to combine the characters of the Boas and sea-serpents. Their dentition resembles that of the former, while the position of the eyes and nostrils, the compact closure of the mouth, compressed form of the body, the existence of the abdominal crest, and absence of anal hooks, assimilate them to the latter. They are, however, easily distinguished by being destitute of poison-fangs. Want of attention to the latter character, and some confused and contradictory data furnished by foreign naturalists, have caused several errors in the arrangement of the species, which are very few in number. They inhabit the intertropical countries of Asia, are extremely aquatic in their propensities, and are externally distinguished by a somewhat sombre colouring,—brown and a yellowish hue being the prevailing tints. The Javanese species, *Acrochordus javanicus*, is of a deep earthen-brown colour, irregularly marbled. Its form is thick, the head short and obtuse, the tail slender in proportion to the other parts. It attains a total length of eight feet, with the thickness of a man's arm, and was first described by Hornstedt, from a specimen taken in a large pepper-ground near Sangasan in Java. *A. fasciatus* is also of a brown colour, but with paler bands upon the sides, the general form much more slender, and the dimensions considerably less. It is more extended in its distribution than the preceding, being found in Pondicherry, New Guinea, Sumatra, Java, and Timor. It forms (it is said erroneously) the genus *Chrysochirus* of Baron Cuvier,—the great French naturalist having been informed by M. Leschenault that the snake in question was extremely poisonous, and dwelt in the beds of the rivers of Java. The accuracy of the former assertion has been since disproved. No other species are distinctly known.

**SECOND PRIMARY DIVISION.—VENOMOUS SERPENTS.**

*Family I.—Colubriform Venomous Serpents.*

The poisonous species here assembled, although provided with envenomed fangs, so nearly resemble the Colubers in their general external forms as to be easily mistaken for them by an inexperienced eye. They also partake in some points of the features of the sea-serpents, but are distinguished by wanting the flattened tail; while from the concluding family of venomous serpents properly so called, they are kept apart by the bulkier proportions, thick triangular heads, vertical pupils, and carinated scales, which characterize the species last alluded to. At the same time it must be admitted, that those rigorous and distinct demarcations which so many lovers of nature desire to establish, but which so few can find, occur as seldom here as in other departments of zoology,—several species in each family showing a strong tendency of transition towards another.

The reptiles of our present family have a more slenderly elongated form than those of other poisonous groups. Their trunk is in general a good deal drawn out, sometimes cylindrical, or slightly compressed. Their tail, like that of all poisonous species, is rather short, conical, and rounded at the extremity. Their head, almost always of nearly equal dimensions with the neck, is small, short, and obtuse at the extremity. The eyes are rather small, sometimes vertical, the pupil always orbicular. The nostrils, always lateral and rather open, are pierced in a large plate on each side of the muzzle. The scales are not numerous, of medium size, and always smooth,—except in *Naja hannahates*, in which they seem surmounted by a keel. The abdomen is constantly convex, and furnished with plates of greater or less extent, according to the species. But what particularly characterizes this family is, that all the genera of which it is composed have the crown of the head covered by nine plates,

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1. *Act. Stockh.,* 1787; and *Journ. de Physique,* 1788. 2. Shaw, *Gen. Zoöl.* iii. pl. 130. Venomous snakes modelled after the type of those of Coluber. The poison apparatus is much less developed than among other venomous kinds; but the fangs, though short, are strong. The species inhabit the warmer countries of both the New and Old World, but do not occur in Europe. They form three generic groups, as after mentioned.

Genus Elaps. Body slender and cylindrical, of nearly equal size throughout, and usually encompassed by fifteen rows of broad, smooth scales. Head elongated, and not strongly distinguishable from the trunk.

This genus was established by Schneider, and now contains all those slender-bodied venomous kinds, which by their elongated forms remind us of Tropidophorus and Calamaria. They attain no great size, seldom reaching three or four feet in length, and scarcely exceeding a finger's thickness in diameter. Their colours are often bright and beautiful, a combination of red and black being frequent among them. They prefer countries covered by an abundant vegetation, concealing themselves amid the herbs of the meadows, or the loftier luxuriance of the forest; and with this circumstance we may connect the fact, that only a single species is found in Africa, all the others occurring in tropical America, New Holland, the Indian Archipelago, and Bengal,—the latter country, however, producing likewise only a solitary instance in Elaps trimaculatus. Their agility is by no means great, and they prey chiefly on other reptiles,—birds being probably too active, quadrupeds too large, and fish too aquatic for creatures of slowish movement, small size, and terrestrial habits. We cannot here detail the species, of which eleven are described by M. Schlegel, but must rest satisfied by referring, as examples, to a few figures, such as E. Corallinus (Nova Acta, x. pl. 4), E. Surinamensis (Seba, ii. pl. 86, fig. 2), E. collaris (Erpetol. de Java, pl. 45), E. trimaculatus (Russel, Ind. Serp. i. pl. 8).

Genus Dendraspis. The only known species of this genus was first described by Professor Traill in Jameson's Edinburgh Journal. From his dislike to institute a new genus from a single species, he proposed for it the name of Elaps Jamesoni, as it most nearly approached that genus of poisonous reptiles. His specimen was sent to him from South America; but since that, M. Schlegel has received several specimens from Western Africa, of which it is certainly a native. From its narrow abdomen and habit of a tree snake, M. Schlegel suggested to Professor Traill the generic name of Dendraspis, which has been adopted, and the specific name remains.

Genus Bungarus. Form more robust than that of Elaps. Head broad, depressed, rounded terminally, and towards the sides; abdomen convex; tail robust; dorsal line furnished with a row of hexagonal scales larger than the rest; sub-caudal plates simple.

To this genus belong the Bungarus pamma of Russel (Ind. Serp. i. pl. 3), B. annulatus, Daudin, and the Geedi Paragoodoo of the former author, B. semifasciatus of Khul and Schlegel. Both species inhabit India, as well as Java and Ceylon. The natives of India, who are said generally to exaggerate the noxious character of their serpents, assert that the bite of the latter produces immediate death, although Dr Russel's experiments go to prove that it is seldom fatal to chickens in less than half an hour, or to dogs in a shorter period than an hour and a half. A Geedi Paragoodoo was made to bite a large dog on the thigh, near the groin, where it held fast for more than twenty seconds, but the fangs scarcely penetrated farther than the skin. The dog howled much when first wounded, but on being set at liberty walked about for a time without manifesting any peculiar symptoms. In ten minutes, however, he drew up the wounded leg, continuing to stand on the other three; in a quarter of an hour he crouched, and howled again, and the thigh became paralytic, though the poor creature was still able to raise himself: in twenty-five minutes both thighs were paralytic; and in the course of the second hour he became greatly disordered, grew apparently torpid, lay panting on one side, and died in about two hours, without convulsions. Another dog of smaller size expired in one hour and ten minutes, after being strongly convulsed for some minutes prior to its death.

Genus Naja. General form robust; body not cylindrical, but thickening in the middle, and tapering towards either end; tail lengthened and conical; abdomen broad and convex; head well distinguished from the trunk; eyes large and lateral; neck capable of inflation.

This genus contains the famous hooded or spectacle-snakes called cobras de capello by the Portuguese; the majority having the power of raising the anterior ribs, so as to produce a peculiar disk-like inflation of the neck or upper portion of the body. The species are peculiar to the ancient world,—if New Holland, which produces two, and was unknown to the ancients, may be classed therein. M. Schlegel describes ten different kinds, many of which, however, are arranged in separate genera by other writers, but which that author regards as forming an uninterrupted series, closely connected with each other, and of which the foremost exhibit the announced generic characteristics in great strength and precision, while the others gradually depart from the type, and form a passage to the vipers.

The hooded snake, commonly so called (Coluber naja of the older writers, Naja tripudians of the recent systematists), is one of the most noted as well as noxious of the Indian reptiles. Its general length is from three to four feet, and the diameter of its body about an inch and a quarter. The inflated portion is marked above by a large conspicuous patch, closely resembling the figure of an old-fashioned pair of spectacles. The usual colour of the upper parts is pale ferruginous brown, the under being of a bluish-white occasionally tinged with yellow. The terminal portion tapers gradually, and ends in a rather slender sharp-pointed extremity. In India this dreaded species is more universally known than any other. It is frequently exhibited as a public show, and being carried about in a covered basket, is made to assume a kind of dancing motion (a modification, we presume, of some natural and instinctive movement) for the amusement of the public. Raising itself up on its lower extremity, and moving its head and body alternately from side to side, the insidious creature seems pleased by keeping time with the measured melody of "flutes and soft recorders." We presume that a love of music is natural to certain serpents; and that this fact was observed of old in Palestine, is probable from the expression of the inspired Psalmist, who compares the ungodly to the deaf adder, which "stoppeth her ears, and refuseth to hear the voice of the charmer." Chateaubriand relates that he was an eyewitness, on the banks of the Genesee, to the fact of a native appeasing the wrath of a rattle-snake (which he even caused to follow him) merely by the music of his flute. The dancing snakes of India are usually, though not universally, deprived of their poison-fangs. "When the music ceases," says Mr Forbes, "the snakes appear motionless; but if not immediately covered up in the basket, the spectators are liable to fatal accidents. Among my drawings is that of a cobra de capello which danced for an hour on the table while I painted it, during which I frequently handled it to observe the beauty of the spots, and especially the spectacles on the hood, not doubting but that its venomous fangs had been previously extracted. But the next morning my upper servant, who was a zealous Mussulman, came to me in great haste, and desired I would instantly retire and praise the Almighty for my good fortune. Not understanding his Venomous meaning, I told him that I had already performed my devotions, and had not so many stated prayers as the followers of his prophet. Mohammed then informed me, that while purchasing some fruit in the bazaar he observed the man who had been with me the preceding evening entertaining the country people with his dancing snakes; they, according to their usual custom, sat on the ground around him, when, either from the music stopping too suddenly, or from some other cause irritating the vicious reptile which I had often handled, it darted at the throat of a young woman, and inflicted a wound of which she died in half an hour." A similar fate had nearly befallen an artist employed by Professor Reinwardt to paint the portrait of a living Naja. It had in some way disengaged its bands, and seemed to have prepared itself to attack the unsuspecting painter the moment he entered his apartment. He there found it supported on its tail, its body raised, its neck dilated, its head advanced, and then giving utterance to some hissing sounds, it threw a quantity of saliva upon the very man who was about to hand it down to posterity, but who fortunately effected an instantaneous retreat before it came to closer quarters. We doubt not the painter loved the picturesque, although that was not the time to gaze with admiration on the fierce intruder.

Dr Russel informs us that he never knew the bite of a hooded snake prove mortal to a dog in much less than half an hour, although it kills chickens in less than half a minute. Now the rattle-snake has been known to kill a dog in less than two minutes. Yet the use of the lunar caustic, which in the hands of the Abbé Fontana proved so efficacious when applied as remedial to the bite of the viper, was found of little or no avail in India as a counteraction to the venom of the cobra de capello. We shall conclude our notices of this species by observing that the Ceylonese jugglers, according to Dr Davy, use it without extracting the fangs, the only means which they employ to avoid its vengeance being courage and agility. It is in fact held in veneration by the natives of that island, who carefully avoid it, offer it no injury, and put it out of doors unhurt when it happens to enter their dwellings. The root of Ophiophryza mucosus is believed in India to be a specific against the bite of the cobra de capello.

Another noted species is the Naja haje (Coluber haje, Linn.), which plays the same part in the history and superstitions of the African tribes as the preceding does in those of the Asiatic nations. The ancient Egyptians named it Ouro, a term which signifies king, and which the Greeks adopted into their language in the word Ouraios. It is frequently represented in various Egyptian antiquities, whether as drawn in colours, sculptured on the covers of sarcophagi, or cast in bronze. One of the great creative spirits of the world, called Cneph, Cnouphis, or Ammon, in the cosmogony of Egypt, was represented in their symbolical writings under the form of a serpent winding itself around a globe, or placed in the centre of a disk.

The jugglers of modern Egypt, especially of Cairo, use this Naja in their pretended sorceries. These people affect to be descendants of the ancient Psylli, and boast of inheriting from their ancestors the power of subduing and commanding the most poisonous reptiles. The principal feat which they execute consists in making the Naja counterfeit death, or they change it into a rod. This they seem to effect by pressing the neck of the creature between their fingers, so as to produce a kind of catalepsy, which renders it stiff and motionless. This is rather a singular fact when considered in connection with the scriptural narrative, where the rods of the magicians, when thrown down, are converted into serpents. According to M. Geoffroy, the Venomous species is still sufficiently common in Egypt, occurring both in fields and ditches. "Les cultivateurs sont donc exposés à le rencontrer fréquemment; mais quoiqu'ils n'ignorent pas le danger de sa morsure, sa présence ne les empêche nullement de vaquer à leur travaux ordinaires; connaissant bien les habitudes du redoutable reptile, ils savent qu'ils n'auraient à craindre d'être attaqués par lui, que s'ils venaient à commettre l'imprudence de s'en approcher. En effet, tant qu'ils se tiennent à quelque distance, l'hajé se contente de les suivre du regard, en élevant sa tête et en prenant l'attitude dans laquelle les fig. 4 et 5 le représentent."

The African Naja attains to about the same size as the Asiatic, and greatly resembles it in general aspect; but its neck is less capable of inflation, and its muzzle more conical. It is usually of a yellowish-brown colour above, varied with numerous black and white spots; the under surface whitish, although some individuals exhibit broad black spots or bands on the abdomen. The Cape Naja is regarded by M. Schlegel merely as a climatic variety of that now mentioned.

The Australian species (Naja porphyrea) was first described by Dr Shaw. It belongs to the genus Ophocephalus of Baron Cuvier, and we place it here on the authority of M. Schlegel. According to M. Lesson it is greatly dreaded at Port Jackson, and several convicts are said to have died of its bite in a quarter of an hour. It is common in the sandy brushwood of the shores of Botany Bay. Its movements are full of force and vigour, its agility remarkable, and it defends itself when attacked with great hardship. Another New Holland species is Naja curta, said to bear resemblance to a viper. It is probably the only colubrine venomous reptile which exhibits a somewhat vertically elongated pupil.

Family II.—Sea-Serpents.

Our present family is placed here on the supposition that all the species which it contains are poisonous. Several naturalists, proceeding on certain data given by Dr Russel, have maintained the contrary opinion; but long-continued researches on the part of M. Schlegel have led to the conclusion that there is really no exception to the rule. Great confusion prevails in the synonymy of the species, chiefly owing to the absence of good figures and accurate comparative descriptions,—even Dr Russel's plates, which are the most numerous, being insufficient to lead to a rigorous determination of the species. The specimens themselves are obtained with great difficulty, and are consequently rare in our collections.

We have not sufficiently precise information on which to settle the geographical boundaries of the marine family of serpents. That species occur in the Persian and Arabian gulfs is by no means improbable; but the fact is inferred rather from some passages in ancient writers than from modern observation; and we know that the authors of antiquity, at least in some instances, mistook certain eel-formed fishes for actual snakes. Schneider, indeed (whose competence as a scholar no naturalist would dare to doubt) has quoted several classical writers to demonstrate a remote knowledge of sea-serpents; but that knowledge seems too superficially and vaguely expressed to be altogether trusted or even understood. Ælian records that "the seas of India produce hydras with flattened tails."

Modern naturalists are believed to be in error who assert their occurrence in the Atlantic Ocean, no proper proof having been yet adduced of any of these species inhabiting it. M. Schlegel characterizes the statement as an "assertion que je puis contredire avec certitude." Believing that there are more things in heaven and earth than are "dreamt of in our philosophy," and desiring to bear in mind the sentiment of the inspired apostle, that "if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know," we shall content ourselves by stating that sea-serpents have not yet been observed in the Atlantic Ocean. M. Schlegel's researches have led him to believe that they are confined "aux mers tropicales, ou voisines des tropiques, comprises entre le 90ème et les 230ème degrés de longit. or. du méridien de Ferro." We shall here state the chief of the actual localities. Several species were received by Dr Russel from among the numerous islands called Sunderbunds, which form the delta of the Ganges. The same author likewise obtained many from different points along the coast of Coromandel. Sir Stamford Raffles mentions three species which frequent the coasts of Sumatra. The Dutch voyagers have observed only a single species on the coast of Java, but they have met with several among the Moluccas, near Timor, Banda, and the shores of New Guinea. Dr Strauss transmitted two species from the Celebes. M. Von Siebold observed them to abound in the China Sea, and met with many in the course of his passage from Java to Japan, from the region of the equator as far north as the 27th degree. Escholtz has incidentally observed, that the fishermen of the Philippine Islands capture *Acrochordus fasciatus* in the Bay of Manila, and that this reptile cannot move upon the land. Now it so happens that the Acrochordi correctly so called never inhabit the sea; and it may therefore be inferred that the observer last named had in view, not an *Acrochordus*, but a sea-snake or *Hydrophis*. It is long since Dampier told us of those which he saw along the western shores of New Holland, as did afterwards Sir Joseph Banks along the eastern coast, from the 20th to the 16th degree of north latitude. Forster, as Schneider has recorded, found *Hyd. pelamys* abundant near Otahete.

The habits of these reptiles are indicated here and there by different writers. Dr Russel describes their aquatic movements as active and elegant, but they have scarcely any locomotive power on land, and speedily die when either brought ashore or placed in fresh water. He found in the abdomen of a female *Hydrophis* nine perfectly formed young, each of which was enclosed in an egg or envelope, from which (the matured condition) it may be inferred that they are viviparous. It would also seem that their manners are milder than those of the generality of poisonous species. Dr Russel, at least, assures us in regard to *Hyd. gracilis*, that no provocation would induce it to bite any object presented to it. Neither could M. Lesson succeed in his disinterested attempts to make *Hyd. pelamys* wound any poultry, though he kindly put them together alive into a copper bathing tub. The observations received from M. Von Siebold by M. Schlegel confirm the belief of other naturalists, that these reptiles, though assuredly dangerous from their poisonous qualities, are not of a highly ferocious nature. The former traveller fell in with vast numbers while sailing from Batavia to Japan, all of the small species, elsewhere so frequent and widely spread, known to naturalists by the specific name of *pelamys*. Their movements were by no means rapid, although they glided through the water with grace and activity, raising their heads from time to time above the waves, for the purpose probably of respiration. Their motion is produced and directed by an action of the tail, accompanied by a lateral and undulating movement of the other parts of the body. They were easily enough entrapped in wooden buckets, and glided through the sailors' hands without attempting to bite them,—the said sailors having probably been previously informed that they were eels. "Le Professeur Reinwardt," says Schlegel, "confirme ce que M. von Siebold rapporte relativement au caractère doux et tranquille de ces animaux." We cannot, however, help thinking that this alleged sweetness of temper and tranquillity are in some measure inconsistent with the cases of the native woman and Lascar already reported in our introductory observations. The comparatively slow movements also do not accord with what we are elsewhere informed by M. Lesson. "Le 27 Juillet," says that naturalist, "par une journée brûlante, nous fûmes près de calme sur les côtes de la Nouvelle Guinée. De nombreux serpens marins passèrent le long de la corvette, et un embarcation que le capitaine fit mettre à la mer nous permit de les chasser. Nous atteignîmes après de longues poursuites une Plamido, dont l'agilité était extrême, et les mouvements de nataion des plus rapides."

We owe some interesting observations on the manners of these marine serpents to M. Peron, although it may be doubted whether that voyager did not occasionally take his notes from too great a distance, especially in reference to size and colour. No other credible author has ever described any of these species as attaining to so great a length as twelve feet; the usual dimensions, we may here observe, varying from two and a half to five feet. However, M. Peron describes those he saw as gliding lightly in great numbers on the surface of the sea, and waging destructive war against a shoal of small herrings, which fled precipitately towards deeper water. The haunts of these snakes are by no means confined to the shallow shores, or even the vicinity of continents or islands, for they are often met with many hundred miles from land. On opening their stomachs, our navigator found it filled with small fish, and various marine crustacea; but the reptiles themselves became the frequent prey of sharks, in the interior of which their half-digested remains were often found. It naturally became a subject of surprise, that creatures so light and active should so often fall victims to an enemy of such weight and sluggishness; but after more lengthened observation, a peculiarity in the habits of the former was thought sufficient to account for their capture. These serpents were often seen as if asleep, and floating on the waves, and so profound was their repose, that a large vessel, "with all its bravery on," might pass close by without their being disturbed by its surging prows, its huge furrow, or the loud voices of the garrulous sailors (Frenchmen, of course). M. Peron supposes that it is in this state of lethargy that the lazy sharks swallow them at their leisure. As to the cause of the torpor itself, he naturally enough suggests that it may arise, as among the terrestrial races, from repletion, and the indolence indulged in by all serpents during the digestive process. "Ces reptiles," he adds, "nagent et plongent avec une égale facilité; souvent à l'instant même où nous croyons pouvoir les saisir avec nos filets, ils disparaissent à nos yeux; et, s'enfonçant à de grandes profondeurs sous les flots, ils restaient une demi-heure et plus sans remonter à leur surface, ou ne paraissaient qu'à de très-grandes distances du point où nous les avions vus plonger."

The general ground-colour of the majority of these reptiles is yellowish, varying towards green, blue, or white, and often relieved by blackish rings, or broad lozenge-shaped spots, disposed transversely along the dorsal re- Venomous gion. The colours seem less subject to variation than among the other Ophidians, and there is no external difference between the sexes. All the species are included by M. Schlegel in the following genus.

Genus HYDROPHIS. Head small, uniform with the trunk. Nostrils vertical, of an orbicular form, and capable of being closed by a valve. Eye small, pupil orbicular. Fangs but slightly developed, and always followed by several other teeth, solid though slender. Body tapering towards both extremities. Scales lozenge-shaped or hexagonal, not imbricated, covered by a thin epidermis, and surmounted by a tubercle, of which there are two on the median range of the abdomen. The abdominal scales scarcely larger than the others. Tail broad, flattened laterally, and performing the functions of an ear or rudder. Lungs often prolonged into a reservoir of air as far as the commencement of the caudal region.

Of this genus there are seven species, the particular characters of which we cannot here detail, although their general attributes may be made out from the preceding observations. (See Plate V., fig. 4.)

The most common kind is Hyd. pelamys of Oken1 (An-guis platura, Linn.), of a comparatively thickish form, the head much elongated, the median line of the abdomen indicated by a suture formed by two rows of scales. It is of a blackish brown above, beneath yellow; the tail, and sometimes the entire body, varied by these colours. It is the most extensively distributed of the genus, being found wherever any sea-snakes occur. It seems to be the black backed hydrom of Shaw (Hydrom bicolor, Schneid.); and in India rejoices in the euphonious name of Nalla Wakhlagille Pann.2 Of general occurrence in the Asiatic seas, it is also common round the coasts of Otaheite, where it is relished as an article of food, and known under the title of Etooanatoree.

Family III.—Most Poisonous Serpents.

The species of this family are the most venomous of all, and may, for the most part, be recognised by something especially repulsive and forbidding in their aspect. Their form is rather thick and heavy, their tail short, their head extremely broad, depressed, and somewhat heart-shaped; rarely protected by plates, but usually covered by scales resembling those of the dorsal region; the eyes are small, deeply seated in the sides of the head, and shaded by projecting supraciliary plates, the pupil vertical; the upper lip is inflated, and falls over the lengthened fangs; the body is usually beset by scales of a lanceolate form, surrounded by a ridge, except in one or two species of Trigonoccephalus, in which they are smooth.

Their habits and modes of life likewise present some disparities when compared with those of the preceding groups. Being of a lethargic nature and slow of movement, they seldom wander about in search of prey, but keep themselves coiled up till it approaches closely, and then springing upon it by a sudden straightening of the body, they inflict a fatal wound, which needs no repetition. There seems reason to believe that this mode of attack is peculiar to the present family, the other poisonous kinds pursuing their prey, and holding on when they have seized it, while the poisonous serpents properly so called are satisfied by sinking their envenomed fangs into the flesh of their victim. Their gape is very wide, their fangs long and sharp, their poison abundant and in a state of high concentration, and the wound is inflicted suddenly, with great force. The result is left to nature, and is in consequence both sure and speedy.

We have said that the poison-fangs are more developed than among the other Ophidians. They alone occupy the maxillaries, being never followed by any small solid teeth, though these occur along the palate and at the extremity of the lower jaw. The nostrils are in some spacious, in others narrow, and vary also in their position. They are followed in certain species by a deep pit or hollow, scooped in the sides of the muzzle, and connected with a broad cavity in the upper maxillaries. This character (of which, however, we know not the function) seems analogous in some measure to the lamiers of ruminating quadrupeds, and has been employed for the distribution of these serpents into several groups. Such as are distinguished by this nasal pit inhabit the forests of tropical countries, and consist of two genera, Trigonoccephalus and Crotalus, of which the former (native both to Asia and America) is chiefly found in moist and sombre woods, or places covered by an abundant vegetation; while the latter (peculiar to the western world) prefers a somewhat drier and more barren soil. Such as possess no nasal excavation are comprised in the genus Viperus. They affect a more open, sandy soil, and occur exclusively in the ancient continents and New Holland. We shall briefly survey these different groups, in the order now named.

Genus TRIGONOCHEPHALUS. Head, as in other members of the family, heart-shaped or triangular, extremely broad behind, and consequently very distinguishable from the neck. Tail terminated by a conical cornaceous plate.

The poison apparatus of these reptiles is developed in the highest degree; and as the species sometimes attain a length of five or six feet, they may be regarded as among the most formidable of venomous serpents. They all frequent wooded or shady situations, or moist meadows in the immediate vicinity of forest-land. The abdomen is always broad, rather convex, and furnished with plates, which vary, according to the species, from 140 to about 270. The tail is always short, conical, and usually somewhat slender. The sub-caudal plates vary from forty to seventy; and of these some are simple, others divided into two. The body is often marked by large irregular or lozenge-shaped spots upon a brownish or yellowish ground. Some, however, are reddish, others of a greenish hue, and there is frequently a line of deeper hue behind the eye. The species are rare in collections. None occur in Europe or Africa. America and the intertropical countries of Asia produce a large majority. The genus is divisible into two sections, according as the head is covered with scales or with plates.

One of the most noted species of the first section is Trig. lanceolatus, a native of the West Indies.3 The general colour is greenish yellow, paler beneath, and variously marked with spots, spots, and bands of brown. A broad brown line, bordered with white, proceeds from the eye towards the mouth. We have a good account of the habits and history of this reptile from Colonel Moreau de Jonnes.4 He tells us of one killed by an officer which measured above seven feet and a half in length; and still greater (but perhaps less accurate) measurements are given by Dutertre5 and Labat.6 In the bodies of such females as were examined, he found some fifty or sixty young ones, which, when the period of their birth arrives, issue forth completely formed, and much inclined to bite. In the adult state they prey chiefly on rats, which, though not indigenous to these islands, are now in all probability as 10,000 to one compared with the native quadrupeds. The snakes in question

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1 Naturgesch., vol. iii., part ii., p. 279. 2 Quad. Orp., ii., p. 121, pl. 5, fig. 1. Also described by Dr Shaw, under the title of Coluber mepana, Gen. Zool. iii., 406. 3 Memographie du Trigonocéphale des Antilles. 4 Nouveau Voyage aux Antilles, contenant l'Histoire, Nat. Hist. Gén. des Antilles habitées par les Français. Venomous have also multiplied prodigiously in St Lucia and Martinique, where from sixty to eighty may be killed during the cutting of a single field of sugar-cane. According to M. Moreau de Jonnés, they people the marshes, the cultivated grounds, the forests, the banks of rivers, and even the summits of the mountains. The observer just named encountered one on the very edge of the crater of that naked mountain which overhangs the town of St Pierre, in Martinique, at an elevation of more than 5000 feet; and he feared it the more from the excessive lassitude under which he himself at that time laboured. His alarm was not without cause, for only a few days before, a fisherman at the foot of the mountain had been attacked by a similar reptile, which issued from its concealment among the basalt of the shore, and no efforts could save his life. These dreaded serpents are sometimes found in holes made by rats or land-crabs. They also enter hen-roosts and poultry-yards, and sometimes creep into dwelling-houses, chiefly, however, the huts of the negroes. But the sugar-plantations are their favourite places of resort. "Je n'ai jamais trouvé," says our author, "de serpent stationnaire, qu'il ne fût dans une position offensive. L'action par laquelle le reptile prend cette position, s'exprimer aux Antilles par le verbe lover. Elle consiste à contourner en spirale toute la longueur de son corps, qui forme quatre cercles égaux en diamètre, superposés les uns au dessus des autres, et sous le dernier duquel la queue est placée comme point central d'appui, de resort et de pivot. La tête, qui termine le cercle supérieur, est retirée en arrière. Quand l'animal s'étance sur une proie, il fait effort sur la queue, et déroule subitement les quatre cercles qui semblent se détendre." This species preys on birds as well as quadrupeds, and the former manifest their hatred by vain and clamorous cries whenever they behold their "arch destroyer." It avoids the brilliant equatorial light, and usually dwells in shaded places, seeking what it may devour chiefly towards sunset, or during cloudy weather. The distribution of this species is rather remarkable. It does not extend throughout the whole of the Antilles, nor is it found even in the majority of those islands. "By a chance equally singular, fortunate, and inexplicable, it is confined to the islands of Martinique, St Lucia, and Bonaconia alone; and there is no proof, as has been pretended, that it is common in the American continent. Nevertheless, a tradition exists among the Indigenes, that it was introduced into Martinique by the Arronages, a horde which inhabited near the mouth of the Orinoco, and which, impelled by sentiments of hatred and vengeance against the Caribbs of that island, made them this fatal present, and let loose in their forests this serpent, which was brought over in calabashes. But according to another popular opinion in the same country, the Trigonoccephalus is aboriginal of Martinique, and cannot live elsewhere, not even in Guadaloupe.

Some, however, think differently, and explain the phenomenon by the existence of the dog-headed serpent, which is believed to be a Boa, and which, common in Dominica and St Vincent, has delivered these islands from the Trigonoccephalus.

Of the second section of this genus, comprising such as have the head covered by plates instead of scales, we may here name *Trig. rhodostoma*, which is of a thicker and more vigorous form than the other species. The body tapers towards either end, the tail is short and acuminate, the abdomen broad, and the back prolonged into a well-marked keel. The colour is reddish brown, paler on the back, the sides adorned by broad, deep, triangular spots, the abdomen white. The summit of the head is black, surrounded by a broad streak of pale red, which descends the sides of the neck to combine with the beautiful rose-colour which tinges the lateral parts of the head, and from which it is separated by a black band proceeding from behind the eye. The iris is of a golden yellow. "L'expression sauvage de sa physionomie," says M. Schlegel, "est, pour ainsi dire, adoucie par la nature et la conformation des plaques écaillées qui ressemblent à celles de la plupart des coelacanthes, ont la surface unie et luisante." This species inhabits the western parts of Java, where it conceals itself in tangled vegetation, and makes its way at times into fields and gardens. It preys chiefly on frogs, and is itself attacked by a species of civet cat which occurs in Java. It is greatly dreaded by the natives on account of its deadly poison; and during M. Khul's residence at Buitenzorg, two labourers bitten by it died in five minutes. Although a viviparous reptile, the fetus is enclosed in a coriaceous envelope, as large as a pigeon's egg. The species is figured by Russel.

The only other example of the genus we need here notice is *Trig. cenchris*, which inhabits the southern provinces of the United States. Its occipital plates are of small dimensions, and are sometimes even wanting. The ground colour is greyish brown, marked by broad transverse bands of a more coppery hue. The abdomen is yellowish, marked by dark irregular spots. The point of the tail is usually black, and all the parts are minutely speckled by that colour. It is a sluggish, slow-moving reptile, very poisonous, but not given to bite, except in self-defence, when it maintains its position courageously. It has been described by different authors under a great variety of names, and by some under more than one at a time. It is the Mohassia snake of the Anglo-Americans, thus called on account of the resemblance of its colour to the piece of dress so named by the native tribes. It is figured by M. Daudin.

Genus Crotalus. This dreaded genus contains the rattle-snakes, and is distinguished from the preceding by a more robust form, a thicker head, and a tail either armed

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1 Monographie, p. 37. 2 Phys. des Serpens, ii. 547. 3 Indian Serpents, ii. p. 21. 4 Griffith's Animal Kingdom, ix. 350. 5 It is both the brown and the black viper of Catesby's Carolinas, pl. 44 and 45; it is once figured, and at least twice described, by Dr Shaw, as Col. Constrictor of the Thibetans, Gen. Zool. iii. pp. 377 and 496; it is the Pelias Niger of Merrem, Tentamen, p. 149; and had been previously described by Linnaeus as *Pelias* (B. Carolinis, xii. ed. p. 373). M. Schlegel, indeed, supposes that it is also the Coluber Constrictor of the great Swedish naturalist. The Boa just named is believed to be identical with the hog-nosed snake of Catesby (Car. ii. pl. 86), and may be identical with the preceding named species, none of which seem to exceed the size of the common viper; but Col. Constrictor of America is usually described as of different habits and much larger dimensions. It is the black snake of Catesby (Car. ii. pl. 48). "This," observes that author, "is a large and very long snake, some being six feet in length. They are all over of a shining black, never changing their colour, and are very nimble and beneficial in killing rats, which they pursue with wonderful agility to the roofs and all parts of houses and barns, where rats are able to run, for which service they are preserved by most of the inhabitants. They are bold and furious, leaping at and biting those that attack them, though no harm ensues, their bite not being venomous. It is said in Carolina that they will attack and swallow rattlesnakes. It is certain most or all snakes will devour one another, not only of their own, but of other kinds, which I have often seen; one, after a long struggle, swallowing another half little less than itself. They are the most numerous of all snakes." "Many ridiculous frights," says Mr Pennant, "have happened on this occasion; for as America is full of the dread of the rattle-snake, they are apt to fly at the sight of any of the serpent kind. This pursues, soon overtakes, and twisting round the legs of the fugitive, soon brings him to the ground; but he happily receives no hurt, but what may result from the fright. All the mischief this species does is to the housewives, for it will skim their milk-pans of the cream, and rob their hen-roosts of all the eggs." (Arctic Zoology, Appendix, p. 92.)

6 Reptiles, v. 358, pl. 70, figs. 3 and 4, and 60, fig. 25. Venomous by a peculiar organ called the rattle, or prolonged into a sharpened point. There are four species, all peculiar to America. These are often confounded, even by systematic writers; and it is by no means easy to apply the general attributes assigned by travellers to the proper species, which no doubt differ from each other.

It seems ascertained, however, that the bite of all these reptiles is extremely dangerous, the slightest prick of their envenomed fangs, in any part of the body well supplied with blood-vessels, being sufficient to kill almost any animal. Laurenti says, that a person bitten by a Crotalus experiences a swelling of the entire body, the tongue becomes prodigiously inflamed, an unextinguishable thirst takes place, the edges of the wound become gangrened, and the unfortunate victim dies in frightful agony in five or six minutes. Different experiments made in Carolina by Captain Hall, are related in the Philosophical Transactions. A rattlesnake, four feet long, was fastened to a stake, and being made to bite three dogs, the first died in less than a quarter of a minute; the second, in convulsions, in about two hours; the third in about three hours. Four days after this, another dog was bitten by the same snake, and died in half a minute; and then a second received the murderous fangs, and died in four minutes. A common black snake, about three feet long, and very vigorous, was next procured. The reptiles bit each other,—the black snake dying in eight minutes, the rattle-snake not seeming in any way affected by its wound. Proceeding upon the supposition that "none but itself could be its parallel," it was then made to inflict a bite on its own body, and this suicidal deceit was followed by the hoped-for consequences,—it died in less than twelve minutes. The story is probably well known to all, though not credited by so many, of a disagreeable kind of an heirloom which once existed in an American family. A man had been bitten through his boots by a rattle-snake, and died. The boots afterwards descended into the successive possession of two other persons, and killed them both,—an envenomed fang having remained sticking in the leather.

As usual, we have contradictory accounts of the effects of corresponding causes. We know that an Englishman who was unfortunately bitten by a rattle-snake at Rouen, in 1827, expired in eight hours; yet in the April of that same year, at a meeting of the Academy of Sciences in Paris, Professor Bosc declared that he had seen more than thirty persons who had been bitten by rattle-snakes, not one of whom had died. According to Kalm, even the largest animals, such as horses and oxen, die almost instantly. Dogs longer resist this fatal action. Most animals exhibit an instinctive horror on nearing one of these death-dealing creatures. "I have often," says M. Bosc, "amused myself by trying to force my horse and dog to approach one of these animals. But they would sooner have allowed themselves to be knocked down upon the spot than have come near them." Yet Mr Audubon informs us that the mocking-bird of America, so strong and overpowering is the instinct of parental love, does not hesitate to attack the rattle-snake when it approaches too near its nest,—that it will strike it on the head, pick out its eyes, and eventually put it to death.

The so-called rattle of these reptiles consists of a series of hollow, vertically flattened, scaly pieces, of which the posterior portion of one fits into the anterior portion of that which follows. They are thus mechanically and somewhat loosely connected together, without being actually joined, so that when shaken they make a rattling or rustling noise, resembling that produced by rumpled parchment. When young there is at first but a single horny portion at the end of the tail, and attached to the last caudal vertebra. Another is formed on the renewal of the skin, pushing its predecessor onwards, so that the first joint, which is closed at the end, continues to be the terminal one. M. Bosc is of opinion that an additional joint is formed every year, and that if the parts in question were not so often broken off accidentally, we might thus determine the age of each individual. They are, however, extremely fragile; and M. Palisot de Beauvois informs us, that he frequently found these rattles lying detached, in the course of his travels in the United States. Their amount sometimes exceeds thirty, but usually ranges from one to thirteen. Some say that the noise may be heard at the distance of a hundred feet, while Bosc and others allege that it is scarcely audible beyond some twelve or fifteen paces. We shall now briefly notice the different species, the names of which, as already hinted, have been frequently transposed by naturalists.

*Crotalus horridus* inhabits South America, and is known to the Portuguese by the name of *Carcacela*. Its muzzle is covered by three or four pairs of plates. The scales, which are lozenge-shaped, and surmounted by a cutting keel, are disposed in twenty-nine ranges. Abdominal plates 145, sub-caudal twenty-five. The colour of the upper parts is yellowish brown, relieved upon the back by a range of broad, lozenge-shaped spots. This species measures from four to six feet in length, and, dwelling in a sultry clime, continues in a state of activity throughout the year. Some singular peculiarities in its manners are narrated by naturalists. For example, M. Palisot de Beauvois states, that during one of his journeys he observed a rattle-snake lying on the path, and approached it as quietly as possible. When he was about to strike it, it sprung its rattle, opened its mouth very widely, and received into its throat five young ones, each as thick as a goose's quill. After ten minutes' time, believing itself to be out of danger, it opened its mouth, and allowed the exit of the young, which, however, re-entered on a fresh alarm. This curious fact has been testified (if not confirmed) by another French gentleman, M. Guillemart.

*Crotalus durissus* (Plate IV., figs. 6 and 10) is a more northern species than the preceding, and to it we may refer the numerous observations which have been made by travellers and tourists on the rattle-snakes of North America. It seems to inhabit from the southern side of the Great Lakes as far as Mexico and California, extending westwards to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, but not occurring to the north of the River St Lawrence. It has only one or two pair of plates upon the muzzle, and the keel upon the scales is less developed; the eyes are smaller, the tints deeper, the spots frequently assume the form of bands, and the tail is black. Abdominal plates 170, sub-caudal twenty-two. As this species dwells in districts subjected during winter to the influence of rigorous cold, it creeps in autumn into covered places, or, hiding itself beneath masses of sphagnum, falls into a state of lethargic repose. An individual killed by M. Bosc, and which did not measure more than four feet in length, was found to have a hare in its interior. Its usual food consists of rats, squirrels, and other small Rodentia. This serpent, commonly called the striped rattle-snake, is said to traverse rivers, and even lakes, by inflating its body like a bladder. "The largest rattle-snake," says Catesby, alluding to one or other of these species, "which I ever saw, was about eight feet in length, and weighing between eight and nine pounds. This monster was sliding into the house of Colonel Blake of Carolina, and had certainly taken up his abode there undisturbed, had not the domestic animals alarmed the family with their repeated outcry; the hogs, dogs, and poultry united in their hatred to him, showing the greatest consternation, by erecting their

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1 Latreille, *Reptiles*, vi. 73. Venomous bristles and feathers, and expressing their wrath and indignation, surrounded him, but carefully kept their distance, while he, regardless of their threats, glided slowly along.

"It is not uncommon," he adds, "to have them come into houses; a very extraordinary instance of which occurred to myself in the same gentleman's house, in the month of February 1723. The servant, in making the bed in a ground room (but few minutes after I left it), on turning down the sheets, discovered a rattle-snake coiled between the sheets in the middle of the bed." According to M. Audubon, the skin of this species is used in making shoes. Mr Say informs us that it inhabits bare and sterile regions, and is often found in the subterranean dwelling of a marmot, *Arctomys Ludoviciana*. M. Becker of Darmstadt placed two rabbits in a cage with this species, one of them being white, the other reddish brown. The fierce reptile, which was lying in a spiral form in the centre, sounded its rattle, and raised and extended its head from time to time, but made no attempt to seize its prey, although repeatedly provoked by its keeper so to do. A black rabbit was then introduced, which it bit instantaneously, and the victim was dead in eight minutes.

*Crotalus miliaris* is a small species of North America, recognisable by its head clothed with nine well-developed plates. The eyes are large, the general colour a reddish brown, with three ranges of deeper spots. There are twenty-three rows of scales, and the lower plates are, abdominal 181, sub-caudal twenty-six. This snake was observed by Catesby in Carolina, and is described by Mr Say (under the title of *Crot. tergeminus*) as an inhabitant of those lonely sterile plains which stretch between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains. It is regarded as more dangerous than the preceding; its small size and peculiar colour prevent its attracting notice, and its rattle is too feeble to be heard at any distance. People are thus apt to tread or even to sit down upon it unawares, and the consequences are as easily imagined as described. It lives on frogs and insects, is by no means timid, but is easily killed by the slightest blow. It was figured long ago both by Séba and Catesby.

Lastly, *Crotalus mutus* differs from the other species in having the tail terminated by a hardened point instead of rattle. Its head is clothed with scales. The back is keeled, and the scales are surmounted by a tubercular ridge. Abdominal plates 227, sub-caudal forty-nine. This great serpent inhabits Cayenne, Essequebo, Surinam, and other parts of South America. It sometimes measures above ten feet in length, and may be regarded as the most gigantic of all poisonous reptiles. In its mode of life it somewhat resembles *Trigonocophalus* (and is in fact described as a species of that genus by Baron Cuvier). But it is essentially a rattle-snake, though destitute of the particular part from which these species derive their general name. It seems the same as that described under the title of *Curucu* by Marcgrav. Its poison has been experimented on by Dr Hering.

Genus *Vipera*. Nasal pit wanting. Head usually covered by ridged lanceolated scales. General form thickish, tapering towards each extremity. Tail short and conical.

The species of this genus, greatly restricted since the time of Linnaeus, still exhibit a considerable diversity of character when compared among each other. They inhabit either open sandy plains, or desert heaths, where the vegetation is not umbrageous. Hence their abundance in Africa, and their comparative scarcity in other countries. Venomous Serpents. None occurs in America, a few are found in the drier districts of Asia, three inhabit Europe, and one (of a somewhat anomalous nature) is native to New Holland.

The common viper of Great Britain, and of most parts of the Continent (*Vipera berus*, Daudin—*Cobuber berus*, Linn.), is the most poisonous of European reptiles. It rarely exceeds two feet in length. The upper portion of the head is protected by a few plate-like scales, somewhat larger than the others. The usual colour is pale ashy brown above, with a space between the eyes, and a patch on each side of the occiput, deep brown or black. A zigzag band of black (composed in some of confluent spots) extends along the back from the nape to the tail; and there is also a parallel row of small black spots on each side. The abdomen and sub-caudal region are steel-blue, sometimes marbled by a yellowish tint, sometimes uniform, or nearly black. The abdominal plates are about a hundred and forty-five,—the sub-caudal about thirty-five. This species is widely spread over the central and northern parts of Europe, but some uncertainty prevails regarding the so-called common viper of Italy and other southern regions. M. Gisl describes the viper of the environs of Munich as having an upturned snout, which is a character of the aspic; and although Metaxa enumerates *Vipera berus* and its varieties as occurring in the Roman territories, others are of opinion that all its alleged localities are doubtful beyond the Alps. It seems, however, to be found in the temperate parts of Siberia, in Russia, Hungary, all Germany, parts of France, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and, we believe, Norway. Though common in Great Britain, and many of the western isles of Scotland, it is not indigenous in Ireland. Its vertical as well as horizontal range is considerable, for although it affects the low wide heaths of Groningen, Overysel, and Friesland, it also occurs on the summit of the Inselberg in Thuringia, at an elevation of nearly three thousand feet above the level of the sea. The viper preys chiefly on mice and insects. A specimen, on the tail of which we inadvertently tramped while crossing a moor in Glennuiick, and which our friend Dr Greville struck down with his umbrella, was found on dissection to have a large field-mouse in its abdomen. Schlegel describes ten species.

The bite of this reptile is seldom fatal to animals of moderate size. We have several times seen sporting dogs bitten by vipers on the Scotch moors; and although the cheek might swell, and a heaviness of spirits, and disinclination to distant ranging, usually ensued for a few hours, no perceptible effect could be traced on the following day. A sparrow, however, or even a pigeon, dies in a few minutes after being bitten. Sheep usually escape without any serious consequences. Fontana ascertained, that the hundredth part of a grain of poison was sufficient to kill a sparrow, and that a pigeon required six times that amount. From these data he made a calculation, that it would take nearly three grains to kill a man, and as a viper does not carry above two grains of poison in its vesicles, and does not entirely exhaust that quantity, even after many bites, it was concluded that a human being might receive the bite of five or six vipers without dying in consequence. Now this may be all accurately reasoned in its way, but as physiology is by no means a science of calculation, we would not advise anyone to try the experiment. Several facts have been recently adduced to prove, that the bite of this reptile is frequently dangerous, and occasionally fatal. Dr Pauliet, in his obser-

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1 Edinburgh New Phil. Journ., iii. p. 21. 2 Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, p. 234 and 236. 3 Isis, 1829, p. 1132. 4 Theosophy, ii. pl. 95. 5 Carolus, pl. 42. 6 Trig. rhombifer, Régne Animal, ii. 90. 7 Hist. Rept. Nat. Brasilie, lib. vi. 8 Nees, Beitrag, p. 465. 9 Vip. berus of Cuvier, and of some other French naturalists, seems to be identical with the aspic, *viper aspis*—a species common in France and Switzerland. 10 Isis for 1829, p. 1071. 11 Monograph of the Serpents of the Environs of Rome, p. 42. 12 Physiol. des Serpens, ii. 397. Schlegel's vations on the viper of Fontainebleau, states, that an infant of seven years and a half, which was bitten beneath the internal malacous of the right foot, died at the end of seventeen hours,—while another infant of only two years, which was bitten in the cheek, took two days to die. Dr Hervez de Chigoni mentions the case of a woman, aged sixty-five years, in good health, and of a sound constitution, who having been bitten in the thigh only once by a single viper, expired under the most deplorable symptoms in thirty-seven hours.

The aspic, *Vipera aspis*, is a species nearly allied to the preceding, of which it is by some regarded as a variety, and of which it seems to assume the place in the south-western countries of Europe, extending as far as the island of Sicily. Its form is more slender, its head larger, its top covered by irregularly-formed scales, and the muzzle is slightly turned up. The aspic is the species which served the experiments of Redi, Charas, and Fontana. It inhabits the dry and rocky countries of Italy, has been observed in Switzerland, and is common in France from the 49th degree of north latitude, spreading into Savoy, the Pyrenees, Spain, and the Mediterranean shores. It is the viper of Fontainebleau, and is also found in the forest of Montmorency; but in Burgundy, and the more northern parts of France, it is replaced by our common viper.

New Holland produces a rare and remarkable species, which some class as generically distinct, under the title of *Acantophis*. It is of a thickened form, with a slender hard-pointed tail, the upper part of the head protected by nine plates. The eye is surrounded by plates, of which the superciliary are elevated, and inclined towards the top of the head. It is the *Vipera acanthophis* (M. Schlegel),—*Acanthophis cerastes*, Lacépéde. (See Plate V., fig. 8.)

A still more remarkable and anomalous species is the famous *Vipera cerastes* of Africa figured and described by Bruce the traveller, and also in the great French work on Egypt. Its head is very broad, and heart-shaped; its muzzle broad, obtuse, and rounded; its nostrils rather narrow, vertical and terminal; and its scales surmounted by a tubercular ridge. One of the superciliary scales on each side is converted into a projecting horn-like process, curved forwards; and the ancient name *cerastes* is no doubt derived from this peculiar character,—the Greek word ἀσπις signifying horn.

Cornus praetendens immanis fronde cerastes, Dum torquet spinae sibilat seco vagans.

It seldom much exceeds a foot in length, and inhabits the sandy deserts of the north of Africa. Its description by Bruce has been so often quoted that we shall rest satisfied by the reference already given to the writings of that impugned author.

Very similar to the *Vipera cerastes* of Egypt is the *Vipera nasicaornis* of the western coast of Africa, which has two of the scales on its snout elevated above the general surface. It was discovered during Captain Tuckey's voyage.

**Schlegel's Arrangement of Serpents.**

**Division I.—Innocuous Species.**

**Family I.—Burrowing Serpents.**

| Genus I.—Tortrix. | |------------------| | Sp. 1. Tortrix scytale | South America. | | 2. rufa | Java, &c. | | 3. maculata | Ceylon. | | 4. Eryx | Asia. | | 5. pseud-eryx | Australia. | | 6. xenoplia | Java, &c. | | 7. Boa | New Ireland. |

**Family II.—Vermiform Serpents.**

| Gen. Calamaria. | |----------------| | Sp. 1. Calamaria lumbricoides | Java, &c. | | 2. Linnæi | Java. | | 3. Orbignyi | Chile. | | 4. amona | North America. | | 5. diadema | Australia. | | 6. rhinoceros | Java, &c. | | 7. badius | Ceylon. | | 8. arctiventeris | Cape of Good Hope. | | 9. melanocphala | America. | | 10. punctata | North America. | | 11. oligodon | Java, &c. | | 12. scytale | Philippines, Ceylon. | | 13. striatula | Martinique. | | 14. elapoides | Java. | | 15. Blumii | South America. | | 16. coronata | Coast of Guinea. | | 17. atrocineta | Chile. | | 18. Coronella | |

**Fam. III.—Terrestrial Serpents.**

| Gen. 1.—Coronella. | |-------------------| | Sp. 1. Coronella venustissima | South America. | | 2. coccinea | North America. | | 3. Merremium | Brazil. | | 4. Regina | Guyana, &c. | | 5. pallida | America. | | 6. balicora | Malayan Asia. | | 7. invia | Europe. | | 8. chilensis | Chili. | | 9. rhombata | Cape of Good Hope. | | 10. rufescens | Cape of Good Hope. | | 11. rufa | Cape of Good Hope. | | 12. aurora | Cape of Good Hope. | | 13. octolineata | Java, &c. | | 14. Russell | Bengal. |

| Gen. 2.—Zenodon. | |------------------| | Sp. 1. Zenodon severus | South America. | | 2. rhinoccephalus | Brazil. | | 3. inornatus | Java. | | 4. purpurascens | Java. | | 5. Schotti | Brazil. | | 6. Michahellis | Southern Europe. | | 7. typhlos | Guyana. | | 8. bicinctus | Brazil. |

| Gen. 3.—Heterodon. | |--------------------| | Sp. 1. Heterodon platycephalus | North America. | | 2. rhinostoma | Brazil. | | 3. coccineus | Mexico. |

| Gen. 4.—Lycodon. | |------------------| | Sp. 1. Lycodon Hebe | India, &c. | | 2. carinatus | Ceylon. |

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1 Although the title of *Aspic* has been applied to this species, it is not the reptile so named in ancient days, which was not a European species, but more probably the *Naja loje* of Africa. 2 Ann. du Mus. iv 100. 3 Travels, v. pl. 41. 4 Atlas, pl. 6, fig. 3, vol. xxv. 83.