Venomous animals / by Sir J. Fayrer.

  • Fayrer, Joseph, Sir, 1824-1907.
Date:
1877
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Venomous animals / by Sir J. Fayrer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    27 7 on either side, and a double palatine row. There # . . # are no small fixed teeth behind the fangs as in colu- brines, but in a fold of mucous membrane at the base of the fangs, both in vipers and colubrines, a . . set of loose reserve fangs will be found. In Hydrophidae the fangs are arranged like those of the cobra, but are very minute, and no reliance can be placed on any mark made by them. The circumstances under which a bite is inflicted will generally help to indicate the kind of snake. Harmless snakes have a double row of equal or ’ nearly equal-sized teeth in the maxillary and pala- * * tine bones. There are certain innocent colubrine snakes that have long anterior maxillary teeth that might cause doubt as to the nature of the bite, but such are very exceptional. There is nothing (except the hood in Hajadae) in colubrine snakes peculiarly characteristic, in their general aspect, of their venomous character; at first sight for ordi- nary observers it is difficult to say whether they are poisonous or not. Indeed, several of the innocent have a more repulsive aspect than poisonous species. The viperine and crotaline snakes are remarkable for their broad arrow-shaped heads, often without shields, their thick bodies and short tails. They have thick, swollen looking lips, from the large fangs underneath them; and the nasal pits in Crotalidae are very conspicuous. The Hydrophidae are recognised by their compressed bodies and tails. Their peculiar heads, which in some species is very small, the valvular nostrils, and the absence, except in one genus, Platurus, of ventral scales. They are obviously aquatic, and are always found in the sea or on the shore. Space will not admit of more than a general indication of the genera, and of the geographical distribution of the venomous Snakes. These belong to the families Elapidae, Hydrophidae, Viperidae, Crotalidae. Elapidae is a large group, widely spread over the Indian and Australian regions, and in America. It contains the truly venomous snakes, such as ophiophagus, naja, bungarus, hoplo- cephalus, pseudechis. The genera naja, ophiophagus, bungarus, pseudonaja, xenurelaps, doliophis, magrophis, and calophis are Oriental, and in Japan. An ophiophagus has been found in Hew Guinea. Cyrtophis, elapsoidea, and poccilophis in Africa. Elaps in America, but not in the West Indian Islands. Diemenia, acanthophis, hoplocephalus, brachiurophis, tropidechis, pseud- echis, cacopliis, pseudonaja. Denisonia and vermicella are Austra- lian. The two first in the Moluccas and Hew Guinea. Ogmodon in the Fiji Islands (Wallace). There are 100 species. Family Hydrophidae.—These are sea snakes, and probably all very poisonous. They have a wide range of distribution in the Indian and Australian seas, from Madagascar west to Panama east.