. The illustrated natural history [microform]. Reptiles; Fishes; Mollusks; Natural history; Reptiles; Poissons; Mollusques; Sciences naturelles. L(JA'J1I-Wmi> iqiifn,!ni<ti HwjrWfovmh. Lower life'iiri.'.) ORKEM SX\KK.—O/'s (cMimt. (UiilH'illgm'c.) harsh cries, iluttor their wiiips noisily, aiul liy dint of continual annoyance will often (Irivp [\w. rc'ittilc away from tlie hicality. It lias been thon^lit that this Serpent was in the hahit of killing its prey by pressure, after the fashion of the boas, but this statement has not been satisfaetorily couliruied. The colour of this S
. The illustrated natural history [microform]. Reptiles; Fishes; Mollusks; Natural history; Reptiles; Poissons; Mollusques; Sciences naturelles. L(JA'J1I-Wmi> iqiifn,!ni<ti HwjrWfovmh. Lower life'iiri.'.) ORKEM SX\KK.—O/'s (cMimt. (UiilH'illgm'c.) harsh cries, iluttor their wiiips noisily, aiul liy dint of continual annoyance will often (Irivp [\w. rc'ittilc away from tlie hicality. It lias been thon^lit that this Serpent was in the hahit of killing its prey by pressure, after the fashion of the boas, but this statement has not been satisfaetorily couliruied. The colour of this Siiake is blue-black al)0ve, aiul ashen slate lielow, becoming rather whiter ujion tin; throat. In some specimens a number of spots are observed upon the hack of a deeper and duller hue than the general tint. In length the Black Snake generally reaches from live to six feet. Tiir, small, but interesting- family of the Dryadida^ contains a number of Serpents remarkable f .r the slender elegance of their form', the delicate beauty of their colouring, and the sinuular swiftness of their moyements. The well-known SxAKK oi North America is an useful example of tliis family. This remarkable reptile has not earned its popular name without good reason, for the n'seud)lanee between one of these Serpents and a leather whip-thong is almost incredibly The creature is very long in proportion to its wicUli, the neck and head are very small, the hodv gradually swells towards the middle and then as gradually diminishes to the tail, which ends in a small point. The large smooth scales are anannvd in smdi a manner that they just resiMuble the plaited bather of the whip, and the polislied brown-ldack of the surface is exactly like that of a well-worn thong. The movements of this Snake arc wonderfully quick, and when chasing its jirey, it seems to ilv over the ground. The mode of attack is very remarkable. Seizing the. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned
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Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubj, booksubjectfishes, booksubjectmollusks
