On a subsequent voyage, Dr. Stradling obtained three more of these so-called Jararacas, and described them by letter, and subsequently in Land and Water.
Echoing my own perplexities, he asks, ‘Is there such a snake as the Jarraracca? When I got three more living specimens of the same this last voyage in Pernambuco, I began to have my doubts, for I could not reconcile them with the description at all. One died, which fact I did not, by ill luck, discover till it was worthless; but I observed, as I thought, a well-developed fang. A few days later a good opportunity presented itself for picking up one of the survivors and examining its mouth; then to my surprise I found that the supposed fang was really a large curved tooth, situated quite out of the natural position of a fang, but symmetric with one on the opposite side. Then I looked at the other one, and finally let both bite me, which settled the matter. I set it down as Xenodon (a harmless snake), and was gratified to find on reaching home that Dr. Günther had pronounced my specimen at the Gardens’ (the one brought the previous September) ‘Xenodon rhabdocephalus, the long-headed snake, on its death. But I don’t find any mention of this extraordinary isolated tooth anywhere, though I have a vague idea that Dr. Wucherer, who has perhaps been the most earnest student of the Brazilian Thanatophidia, spoke of it in a communication to the Society some years ago. The real “Jarraracca” is still veiled in mystery.’ I also was ‘gratified’ to find the Corresponding Member of the Zoological Society so generously justifying my doubts about the supposed Jararaca, both in his letter to me and in a paper to Land and Water, 2d April 1881.
This was the first time I had ever heard of a Xenodon, a name which Dr. Günther was then so good as to explain meant ‘strange tooth;’ and he drew a little diagram of the jaw with five simple teeth curving back, and then a long, fang-like back tooth. Strange indeed! Heterodon I knew possessed a large, fang-like tooth, which had caused it to be called ugly names. Now here is more heterodox dentition.
Dr. Wucherer’s account of the Xenodon was discovered in the Zoological Society Proceedings for 1861. He also had been a C.M.Z.S.[112] in the same region, and his report of the curious Xenodon rhabdocephalus is that it is very voracious, feeding chiefly on frogs, but will swallow his friend too, should the latter have hold of one on which he has set his heart. It flattens itself remarkably, and thus gets through a very narrow chink. It is a fresh-water snake, called Cobra d’aqua in Brazil, also Surucucu (from its evil reputation). But Dr. Wucherer says not a word of those fang-like teeth.
Meanwhile Dr. Stradling had most kindly sent me the magnificent specimen of ‘Curucucu’ (Lachesis mutus), in spirits; and this, together with the investigation of certain other vernaculars, made the Xenodon of only secondary interest in our correspondence until exactly six months afterwards, when, on landing, June 1881, he wrote that he was sending a Heterodon and another Xenodon to the Gardens.
‘Where are the new snakes?’ I asked the keeper, hurrying to the Reptilium early next day.
‘What new snakes, ma’am? There are none fresh since you were last here.’
‘Ah, well, they are coming! Most interesting kinds. I shall wait for them.’
Sure enough, ere long a boy was seen approaching from the office with a ‘box of snakes.’ He also brought the news that the Doctor was expected ‘directly.’