37
ZOOLOGICAL
VIPERID7E (Vipers; 54 Species). Plate 19, Map i.
True Vipers are entirely confined to the Old World, but are widely distributed, occurring throughout the whole of Africa and over the greater part of Europe and temperate and tropical Asia. They are entirely absent from Madagascar and the Australian region. In Britain one species occurs, the Common Viper or Adder, which is widely distributed in England and Scotland but absent from Ireland.
All Vipers are poisonous, and many of them deadly. About 10 genera have been distinguished. The Puff-Adders (Bitis) are characteristic of Africa, while the genera Atheris (5 species) and Atractaspis (20 species) are practically confined to the tropical and southern portions of that continent.
AMBLYCEPHALID.E (Blunt-Heads; 46 Species).
Plate 19, Map i.
The so-called “Blunt-Heads” may be distinguished from their close allies the Colubridx, by the absence of a chin-groove. The principal genus, Leptognathus, contains 29 species, which range over Central and South America, while 12 species of Amblycephalus occur in South-eastern Asia. These Snakes are of moderate or small size, and perfectly harmless.
HYDROPHIDjE (Sea-Snakes; 64 Species). Plate 19, Map i.
Sea-Snakes are creatures of marine habit, and their headquarters are the׳ Indian and Pacific Oceans. They do not seem to occur on the east coast of Africa, while, on the other hand, a single species is recorded from the western coast of the same continent. One species of Distira, strangely enough, inhabits a fresh-water lake in the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. The principal genera are Hydrophis, with 24 species, and Distira, with 25. All Sea-Snakes are very poisonous.
ELAPIDA¡ (Coral-Snakes, Cobras, &c.; 170 Species).
Plate 19, Map ii.
All the members of this family are poisonous, and some of them very deadly. They are widely distributed, and possess representatives in all the zoogeographical regions. They are especially abundant in Australia, where they constitute the great majority of Snakes, including the notorious species known as the Death-Adder (Acanthophis antarcticus). Over 60 species are known from this region. The Coral-Snakes (Elaps) are entirely American, about 40 species being known. Owing to their narrow gape, these snakes, which are brilliantly coloured, are practically harmless to man. Africa, on the other hand, possesses several dangerous species of this family, including several Cobras of the genus Naja. The Asiatic species, about two dozen in number, may be termed in general “ Kraits,” the best known of which is the justly dreaded Bungarus candidus, which ranges from India and . Southern China to Java and Celebes.
HOMALOPSIDiE (Oriental Fresh-water Snakes; 28 Species).
Plate 19, Map ii.
The members of this family inhabit the rivers and estuaries of tbe Oriental and part of the Australian region, one species occurring also some distance out at sea. The principal genus is Hypsirhina, with 17 species.
ELACHIST0D0NTID.3¡ (Elachistodon; 1 Species).
Plate 19, Map ii.
This family has been formed for the reception of a very rare species of Snake, which is confined to Bengal and only a few examples of which have been obtained. Nothing definite is known of its habits, but the structure of certain parts of its vertebral column, which resemble similar parts in the South African Dasypeltis, suggests that it also feeds on eggs, which are broken in passing down the gullet and the fragments of the shell afterwards, ejected.
DIPSADOMORPHIDiE (Tree-Snakes and their Allies; 320 Species).
Plate 19, Map ii.
This family is of wide distribution, with over 70 genera. The species-are divided about equally between the Old and New Worlds. Although found in Northern and Eastern Australia, only two species occur in that continent, while a similar paucity is characteristic of the eastern part of the Malay Archipelago. Pour species are found in Europe, but only in the extreme south. The best known of these is Ccelopeltis monspessulcina, which occurs along the borders of the Mediterranean and eastwards to the Caucasus and Persia. It is one of the largest Snakes in Europe, attaining a length of 6 feet. South America is the country most richly represented by members of this family, possessing over 90 different species.
RHACHI0D0NTIDA1 (Dasypeltis or Egg-eating Snake; 2 Species).
Plate 19, Map ii.
The remarkable Snakes constituting this family, of which only two species are known, are distributed over a wide area in Africa, as our Map shows. They are harmless to man and feed entirely on eggs. Eor this purpose they are provided with a wonderful arrangement of bones which pierce the gullet and are used for breaking the egg, the contents of which are then swallowed and the fragments of the shell ejected. A similar arrangement is found in the Elachistodontidx, as pointed out above.
ORDER CASUARIIFORMES (21 Species).
DROMiEIDiE (Emus ; 2 Species). Plate 18, Map vi.
The Emus are represented at the present day by two species, which are entirely confined to Australia. The Common Emu (Dromxus novse-hollandix) inhabits the interior of the eastern portion of that country, having become, through incessant persecution, extremely rare, and in danger of complete extinction. In former times its range was more extensive, and it even inhabited Tasmania and the Islands in Bass Strait. In Western Australia its place is taken by the second species, known as the Spotted Emu (D. irroratus), a more slender bird, whose feathers are barred with dark grey and white. Both species are sometimes placed in the same family with the Cassowaries, from which, however, they differ in the absence of the bony prominence of the skull, in having no wattles on the neck, and in the still more rudimentary condition of the wings, which are without the bare quills. Moreover, the Emus inhabit sandy plains or open country rather than the wooded districts tenanted by the Cassowaries.
CASUARIID7E (Cassowaries; 19 Species). Plate 18, Map vi.
The Cassowaries are only found in New Guinea, New Britain, Ceram, the Aru Islands and a narrow band of country in the extreme north-eastern portion of Australia. They are large and handsome birds like the Ostriches, but inhabit a different kind of country, preferring as a rule districts which are rather densely wooded. They are remarkable in having a large bony prominence at the top of the skull, and in the neck being naked and sometimes furnished with brightly-coloured wattles which hang down, and with the helmet, give the bird a very handsome and characteristic appearance. Their wings are merely represented by a few stout barbless quills.
ORDER STRUTHI0NIF0RMES (4 Species).
STRUTHIONIDAl (Ostriches; 4 Species). Plate 18, Map vi.
The Ostriches are confined to Arabia, Southern Palestine and Africa, ranging in the latter country from the Soudan and Somaliland to the Equator, and also in the southern portion of the continent. Formerly they also occurred in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Central Asia. It is a matter of some doubt whether there is really more than one species. Yet there is a marked difference between the birds (and also in the texture of the shells of their eggs) from Somaliland and the neighbouring regions and those from Southern Africa, while the form found in the north, and ranging from the Soudan to Arabia, is sometimes recognised as a third species, Quite recently (in 1898) a form was described (making the fourth so-called species) from Masai-land.
These birds are the largest of all living birds, though their size was much exceeded in the past by other birds belonging to allied and now quite extinct families. They always inhabit dry, sandy regions or such as are covered with low stunted bushes. The handsome wing-and tail-feathers are well-known articles of commerce, for the supply of which these birds are much persecuted. In some parts they are extensively domesticated, and the annual value of the plumes disposed of is about a million sterling.
ORDER RHEIFORMES (3 Species).
RHEIDA3 (Rheas or American Ostriches; 3 Species).
Plate 18, Map vi.
The members of this family are entirely confined to South America, l’anging from North-eastern Brazil to Patagonia. They represent in this continent the well-known Ostriches of Africa, but the plumes furnished by them are much less valuable. The Rheas differ from the true Ostriches in possessing three toes instead of two, and these have claws instead of nails. The neck is well feathered, while there is no distinct tail.
CLASS REPTILIA (Reptiles).
ORDER OPHIDIA (Snakes; 1917 Species).
CROTALILiE (Pit-Vipers and Rattlesnakes; 72 Species).
Plate 19, Map i.
The members of this family are all poisonous, and may be divided into two divisions, viz., the Pit-Vipers and the Rattlesnakes. The former occur in both temperate and tropical America and also in the southern half of Asia, ranging as far as Timor and the Moluccas. Some 53 species are known, which belong to two genera. The Rattlesnakes on the other hand, are restricted to the New World, only one of the 19 known species extending into South America. They are distinguished from the Pit-Vipers by the possession of a series of horny bells at the end of the tail which form a rattle, the vibration of which may be heard at some distance.
The Crotalidx may he distinguished from the true Vipers by the presence of a deep pit on each side of the snout, between the nostril and the eye, whence their popular name of “ Pit-Vipers.”