Venomous animals / by Sir J. Fayrer.

  • Joseph Fayrer
Date:
1877
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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

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    7 8 Genera.—Hydrophis has numerous species, and probably many yet undeseribed. They are found in the Indian seas about For- mosa, and in Australia. Platurus: 2 species; Bay of Bengal, New Guinea New Zealand. Aipysurus: 3 species ; Java, New Guinea, Australia. Disteira: 1 species. Acalyphis: 1 species; S.W. Pacific. Enhydrma: 1 species; Bay of Bengal, New Guinea. Pelamis: 1 Austoalia & Eastern Seas- Emydocephalm: 1 species; Family Viperid,®.—In India, Ceylon, Africa, Europe. The com- mon viper Pelius berus has a very wide range, from Portugal to the Island of Saghalien (Wallace); it is poisonous, but not deadty. The daboia of India and Ceylon, echis of India puff- adder, cerastes of Africa, are deadly vipers. Genera--Vipera has 2 species, extending (Wallace) over Palse- arctie and Ethiopian regions, but not in Madagascar. Echis ■ 2 species m India Persia, North Africa. Athens: 3 species; con- fined to West Africa. J I amily Crotalim. The pit vipers, a numerous group, contain- ing some very deadly snakes. The craspedocephalus of the West Indies and the rattlesnakes of America. They are unknown in the Australian and Ethiopian regions. The genera areCraspedocephalus, of which there are seven species, in tropical America and the West Indies; some are very poisonous. Cenchrus, crotalophorus, uropsophorus, crotalus, in North America, from Canada and British Columbia to Texas; one species, Crotalus horndus, extending to South America. Trimere- surus, 16 species, all m India, Ceylon, Africa, Formosa, Philippines, Celebes They are poisonous, but not nearly so much so as are the rattlesnakes, Peltopelor and hypnale in India. Calloselasma, Siam, atroposA-Java. Halys, 3 species ;^Tartary,^Himalayas. These are not very poisonous; though they may cause severe symp- toms, are hardly able to destroy life. AmphibiaNone are known to possess a poison apparatus like that of opJndia, but toads and salamanders secrete a fluid in glands along the back, connected with the integument, which yields an actively venomous principle capable of causing local irritation, and when injected into the blood, death, preceded by symptoms indicating action on the cerebro-spinal nerve-centres. Doers seiz- ing the toad Bufo vulgaris, have been observed to suffer from swelling of the lips and salivation; and a case of death is related m a French journal, 29th March 1865, of a child in whom an abrasion of the hand came m contact with the secretion of a toad • death was preceded by vertigo, vomiting, fainting. Injected into guinea-pigs, small birds, and other animals, violent symptoms and death soon follow. It is a viscid, milky fluid with a slight yellow tint and peculiar odour; it is exuded, or may be pressed out from glands behind the orbits. Zalesky has shown that tbe land and water salamanders, S. maculatus and Triton cristatus
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