. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. Birds; Reptiles. PUFF-ADDEES. sionally tlie spots forming the middle row are connected like the beads of a necklace, whence the name Cobra monil (literally Coluber moniliger), applied to the young of this Viper by the Indo- Portuguese, and now corrupted into " Cobra de Manilla," which bears the reputation of being a highly poisonous Snake of diminu- tive size; it attains, however, to a length of nearly five feet, the tail then measuring about eight inch
. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. Birds; Reptiles. PUFF-ADDEES. sionally tlie spots forming the middle row are connected like the beads of a necklace, whence the name Cobra monil (literally Coluber moniliger), applied to the young of this Viper by the Indo- Portuguese, and now corrupted into " Cobra de Manilla," which bears the reputation of being a highly poisonous Snake of diminu- tive size; it attains, however, to a length of nearly five feet, the tail then measuring about eight inches, with considerable thick- ness of body. It is nocturnal, and preys chiefly on Mice. InBurmah this ^formidable Viper is dreaded almost as much as the Hama- dryas. It has been obtained in the Himalayas at an elevation of 5,500 feet, at Almorah, and elsewhere. Mr. Theobald has known one to kill a Bull-terrier in twenty minutes. The D. xanthina is a second species of this form inhabiting Asia Minor. The genus Clotho consists of the terrible Puff-adders of Africa, of which there are at least four or five species. Among the best known of them are the ordinary Puff-adder (C arietans), and the Berg-adder (C. atropos), of the Cape colonists. The Rhinoceros Puff-adder, C. na- sicornis, of Guinea, has the scales over the nostrils of the male produced into a long recurved spine ; and in the Horned Puff-ad- der, C. cornuta, of South Africa,there is a group of small horn - like scales over each eye. Examples of the Common and of the Rhinoceros Puff-adders may generally be seen in the reptile house of the London Zoological Gardens. The last mentioned is a huge Viper of wondrous beauty, both of colouring and in the complex pattern of its markings, especially. Fig. 21 The Horned Puff-adder {Clotho cornuta).. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perf
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecad, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectreptiles
