OCR Text |
Show 148 MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON THE VISCERAL [June 7, The location of the different organs of the body and the lengths of some of them in relation to the total length of the body differ in this serpent from the corresponding situation and measurements of Hydrus platyurus, which are placed side by side for the purposes of easier comparison. P. cobubrinus. //. platyurus. Length of body to vent ....... 14 inches. 23 inches. From tip of snout to base of heart ............................... inches. 5 inches. From tip of snout to anterior end of liver ....................... 5% inches. 6 inches. From apex of heart to anterior end of liver ....................... | inch. g inch. Length of liver ................... 3f inches. 3 inches. Posterior end of liver to gallbladder ............................... | inch. lrj inches. Posterior end of liver to anterior end of kidneys ... lg (R), 2^ (L). 7| (L), 7 (Ii). Length of kidneys ............... b inch, i inch. 2f, 2f. Posterior end of kidneys to vent ................................... 1? (R), | (L). 3 | (R ),2 i(L ). It is plain from these measurements that the situs viscerum shows important differences in the representatives of the two Hydrophiine genera. In Hydrus the heart is placed much further forward, i. e. the neck is shorter than in Platyurus, and the kidneys of the latter are relatively further from the posterior end of the body. In both, the anterior end of the liver lies close behind the heart, as is the case in Viperine serpents, a fact also noted by Cantor in the species dissected by him. Alimentary viscera.-The liver is long and thin, and thus characteristically Ophidian. It is very long compared with that of Hydrus, measuring as it does about one-fifth of the total body-length (including the tail), or nearly one-fourth if the tail be omitted. Taking the length of the body (to the vent) as 100 in all cases, the following are the proportions of the liver in a number of serpents. Zamenis Jlagelliformis, 19^. j Hydrus platyurus, 14|. ,, gemonensis, 20jf. Python spilotes, 15g. Coronella getula, 23j§. Eryx jaculus, 22^. Coluber melanoleucus, 18|. „ conicus, 21], Tarbopliis obtusus, 21|. Heterodon platyrhinus, 22|. Naia tripudians, 214. Boa constrictor, 171. Ophiophagus bungarus, 24|. j Causus rhombeatus, 23^. Platyurus corallinus, 21g. ; Lioheterodon madagascari-ensis, 201. The liver shows a peculiarity not without interest, which has been also figured and referred to by Dr. Cantor * in the Sea-Snake dissected by him. In Platyurus, however, this character-the * hoc. cit. |