(8) P. ferox.—Snout very broadly rounded. Scales on the body in 23 rows; 235 ventrals; 60 pairs of subcaudals.
Colour black above, yellowish beneath.
(f) Denisonia.
Maxillary bones prolonged as far as the palatines, with a pair of large grooved poison-fangs, followed by 3-5 small solid teeth; anterior mandibular teeth greatly developed. Head fairly distinct from the body; eyes small, with round or vertically elliptic pupils; nasal shield entire or divided. Body cylindrical; scales smooth, in 15-19 rows; tail moderate or short; subcaudals in a single row, except in one species.
According to the British Museum Catalogue, the genus Denisonia includes twenty-one species, the principal characters of which are as follows:—
Fig. 52.—Denisonia superba (The Copperhead).
(1) D. superba (The Copperhead. Fig. 52).—Scales in 15-17 rows; nasal shield entire, in contact with the præocular; ventral scales 145-160; subcaudals 41-50.
Colour brownish to dark olive on the back, often yellow or salmon-red on the sides; belly yellowish or greyish-olive.
Total length, 1,010 millimetres; tail 160.