C. monspessulana s. lacertina is one of the largest snakes in Europe, reaching a length of 6 feet, of which the tail takes up 18 inches. Olive-brown or yellowish or reddish above, frequently with small, dark, light-edged spots. The sides are often blackish, with whitish specks. The under parts are yellowish white, with or without brownish markings. Some specimens are very green, with a dull blackish neck. One of the specific names of this terrestrial snake is the latinised form of Montpellier; the other refers to the shape of the head, which is not unlike that of a lizard, partly owing to the concave forehead. This species inhabits rather dry localities studded with shrubs, where it hunts for lizards, birds, and mice. It is sure to attract notice by its loud hissing when it is disturbed. When driven into a corner it strikes out furiously, but does not, as a rule, bite. I have caught some which after a few days became quite gentle. Small animals become torpid a few minutes after they have been bitten.
Macroprotodon cucullatus occurs in Andalucia, the Balearic Islands, and in North Africa. The dentition is peculiar. The fourth and fifth maxillary teeth are enlarged, followed by an interspace, then follow several small teeth, and lastly the two enlarged, grooved teeth. The sixth mandibular tooth is very long, separated by a space from the much smaller posterior teeth. The general colour of this sand-loving snake is pale brown or grey above with small spots or streaks on the trunk, and with a large black patch behind the head extending over the sides of the neck, hence the specific name. The under parts are bright red or yellowish, sometimes spotted with black. Total length under 2 feet.
Sub-Fam. 2. Elachistodontinae.–With only a few teeth on the posterior part of the maxillary and dentary bones, and on the palatines and pterygoids. Some of the vertebrae in the thoracic region have much-developed unpaired hypapophyses, which are directed forwards and pierce the dorsal wall of the gullet. In this respect Elachistodon westermanni, of Bengal, the only species, bears a striking resemblance to the South African Aglyphodont Dasypeltis (see p. [622]), and it is probable that this apparently very rare Indian snake also swallows eggs. It is brown above, with a yellowish vertebral stripe; yellowish below.
Sub-Fam. 3. Homalopsinae.–The nostrils of these absolutely aquatic and viviparous snakes are valvular, and are situated on the upper surface of the snout. The eyes are small with vertical pupils. The two dozen species, mostly very ugly, inhabit the rivers and estuaries of the East Indies from Bengal to North Australia. Some species have very small and narrow ventral scales, recalling the Hydrophinae, or the burrowing snakes, none of which use their ventral scales for locomotory purposes.
Homalopsis buccata, Cerberus rhynchops and Hypsirhina, e.g. H. plumbea, have well-developed ventral scales; the other scales of the first two genera are keeled, those of the third are smooth. In Hipistes the whole head is covered with very small scales; all the scales of the body are smooth except the very narrow ventrals, which have double keels. H. hydrinus, of Siam and the Malay Peninsula, has a compressed body, and in its general appearance much resembles the Hydrophinae. It lives, like its allies, upon fishes, and it swims far out into the sea.
Series C. PROTEROGLYPHA.
The anterior maxillary teeth are deeply grooved, or so folded as to appear hollow or perforated. Behind these enlarged poison-fangs the maxilla carries a series of smaller, solid teeth; hence the term "proteroglyphous," which means that the anterior teeth are grooved, in opposition to "opisthoglyphous." Both series have been developed independently.
The Proteroglypha are all extremely poisonous, mostly viviparous, and widely distributed over the whole of the Australian, Palaeotropical and Neotropical regions, with the exception of Madagascar and New Zealand; they extend northwards into the warmer parts of North America, and they also range over a great portion of the Palaearctic sub-region, being found in North Africa and South-Western Asia. They form two natural sub-families: Elapinae, with cylindrical tails, and Hydrophinae or Sea-Snakes, with laterally compressed tails.
Sub-Fam. 1. Elapinae.–The tail is cylindrical. The Elapinae comprise nearly 150 species, which have been grouped into a great number of, mostly somewhat imaginary, genera. In Australia they constitute the great majority of Snakes, there being besides the deadly Elapinae only a few Pythons and Typhlopidae, and very few Colubrinae.
