Page:Natural History, Reptiles.djvu/226

218 unaccountable narration, by carping at some unimportant particulars, while the real gist of the matter is left untouched.

In this genus the head is depressed, almost oval, somewhat compressed before, and wider behind the eyes: the upper part is covered with small scaly plates, three of which (the vertical, and the two occipitals,) are larger than the rest; the scales of the body are lance-shaped, and keeled; the belly is clothed with broad shields, and those beneath the tail are arranged in a double series; the tail is short, and tapers abruptly; there are no pits or grooves in the scales before the eyes.

The Common Viper, or Adder (Pelias verus, ), the only venomous reptile found in the British Isles, is even more common than the Ringed Snake, particularly in the northern part of Great Britain; in Ireland, however, it is unknown.

It is less fond of water than the Ringed Snake, preferring dry woods, sandy heaths, and chalky districts. It grows from two to three feet in length, and is commonly of a yellowish olive hue, marked with a black zigzag band down the body, formed by a series of lozenge-shaped spots, which run into each other