VIPERA CORNUTAIIAuct.
R e p t il ia .— P la t e s XXXII a n d XXXIII.
V. supra purpureo-grisea, flavo-griseo-tincta; partibus superioriWs prdinibus quatuor macularum cas-
tanearum variegatis; infra subochrea, purpureo-brunneo-maculata.
Longitudo e naso ad basin caudee 12 unc.; caudee 1 a unc.
Hornsman of the Gape Colonists.
C o l o u r .— The ground colour of the upper and lateral parts lavender-
purple, tinted with yellowish grey, and broken by four rows of somewhat
quadrangular chesnut-brown spots, each spot freckled or spotted with liver-
brown. The spots of the two central rows which extend along the back, are
the most regular in form; those of the two other rows are smaller, less
distinctly defined, and disposed irregularly, particularly towards the head
and tail. Each spot is narrowly edged with bluish white, and the space
between such of the spots of the central and lateral rows as are opposed to
each other, is bluish white, tinted with pale Dutch-orange. The sides of the
head are brownish red with an oval bluish white blotch on each temple, and
an oblique yellowish white bar between the under eyelid and the edge of the
upper lip. The under parts pale sienna-yellow, mottled with light liver-brown
spots and dots. Eyes clear brown.
F o rm , &c.—Figure rather robust, greatest thickness near middle of body.
Tail short, conical, and pointed. Head posteriorly considerably broader than
the neck, above it is slightly convex, between the eyes rather concave; the
temples are much bulged and the muzzle broad and rounded ; the upper lip
is much more protuberant than the margin of the upper surface of the head.
The eyebrows are curved and armed with a clump of lengthened spinous
scales forming a sort of short horn. Fangs large and considerably curved.
The neck is rather slender, and like the body is somewhat cylindrical. Tail
flat below and subtriangular above. The skin covering the head and tail is
firmly attached to the parts under it, that of the neck and body rather loosely.