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Show 512 MESSRS. MOLE AND URICH ON THE [June 19, manner. It is most curious to watch these snakes passing from branch to branch, the distances which they manage to bridge over without any support, except that given by a small portion of their bodies and their long tails, being almost incredible. LEPTODIRA ANNUL AT A. This pretty snake, which never exceeds, so far as we have had opportunities of judging, 30 inches, has many of the habits of the last-named species, but is more active in its movements, is not triangular in shape, being more rounded, and has a longer head. It has a chain of dark brown spots down the back and its groundcolour is generally light brown. W e have only had two specimens, one of which was caught in the rotten bough of a tree on a river-bank. The greater part of the bough was occupied by au ants' nest. Leptodira annulata feeds well on frogs and lizards, and when very much irritated attempts to bite, and when it has hold of a finger tries to work into the skin the large back teeth, one on either side of the upper jaw. One we kept for some months laid several eggs, which she afterwards devoured. SCYTALE CORONATUM. This snake when young is a bright coral colour, with a dark brown, sometimes nearly black, head, sometimes with a white collar. As the snake grows older it becomes brown, with a whitish-grey under surface. It is remarkable for its extreme shortsightedness, not being able to see its prey even when close to it. They feed largely on mice, and when one watches the clumsy efforts of these snakes to capture their nimble prey it is a matter for surprise how they manage to exist at all. The snake, when a mouse is in its cage, lunges out wherever he imagines the mouse to be. The nimble mouse avoids him with the greatest ease. It is only after hours of persevering effort the snake manages to get the mouse, probably when he is tired out with jumpiug about. There would be absolutely no chance for the snake at all if he had to catch his food in the open. In their wild state, therefore, they follow the mice and Ameiva lizards on which they feed into their holes and devour them in the furthest recess of their burrows. W h e n the Scytale catches a mouse in the open or in a trap or bottle he constricts it, throwing as many as three coils round it and pulling hard with his jaws, just as the Boas do. If Scytale finds a nest of young mice he does not take the trouble to constrict them, but bolts them as Coluber corais does. Scytale has a very smooth coat, and there is a peculiar shimmer about it which gives it a slimy-looking appearance. They are fond of making their homes underneath houses (West-Indian houses are, with few exceptions, raised from a few inches to several feet above the ground) and are useful snakes because of their mice-eating propensities. One in our possession laid nine eggs, which stuck together after being deposited. The following incident occurred in our snake-boxes :- |