The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-08-02
PHILIPPINE SEA SNAKES.
Formidable Creatures, More Deadly than
the Cobra, Which are Greatly Feared by
Fishermen.

Not only do venomous reptiles and
other queer creatures abound in the forests
and swamps of the Philippines, but the
surrounding waters of these interesting
islands TEEN with veritable sea serpents.
These strange creatures, which pass their
entire existence In the water, possess
deadly fangs. They are great menace
to the fishermen, who are constantly ex-
posed to their attacks
Technically speaking, science has
named the group they constitute the
Hydrophidae. They differ from the ter
restrial snakes only in the possession of
a fat, paddle-like tail. These reptiles in
habit the tropical seas of the Old World,
and occasionally attain a length of eight
feet. Mr. D. Rudolph Weber, Professor
Of Drawing in Princeton Univerity, OBJ
served large numbers of these creatures
while on q steamer bound for Sumatra.
DR.. Weber was in charge of scientific
notice of them. He says that when the
vessel was some fifty miles off the coast,
myriads of sea snakes could be seen SWIM
ming about as far rs the eye could reach.
They kept upon the surface, and several
distinct species were recognized among
them. During calm weather these rep
tiles may be seen summing themselves
upon the surface of the sea, remaining
motionless except for slight undulation
caused by the movement of the water.
When alarmed, the agile reptiles dive like
arrows, leaving train of bubbles behind
them. Some species are extremely bril-
liant in coloriIg, being bright yellow,
banded with black, while others are tint
ed with delicate shades of green.
The food of sea snakes consists entirely
of fishes. Frequently fishes armed with
long sharp spines fall victims to their ap-
petites. Among these are the apogous
and siluorids, which are furnished with
spines three and five inches long. But
these do not embarrass the voracious
reptile in the least. The victim is first
killed by the snakes poison, after which
1t is swallowed head first. The spines,
naturally pointing toward the tail of the
victim and being relaxed in DEATH are
compressed against the body of the fish
as deglItition proceeds. While in search
of their prey, sea snakes sometimes ven
ture a short distance up the mouth of
large rivers. DR.. Weber records an in
stance where he was fishing in one of the
rivers on the east coast of Sumatra. He
WAS using drag net, and had cornered
a number of medium-sized fish. AS kthe
net was being brought in. two large sea
sknaes suddenly made their appearances
inside. They showed no signs OF uneasi-
ness at capture, but were hurriedly COB
bling down the cornered fishes. Nor did
they cease operations until the last fish
had disappeared. when the formidable
creatures made their escape.
Being air breathers, the sea SNAKES
lead similar existence to the whale.
Scientists have expressed much interest
as to how long they can remain under
water. Prof. r. p. Whitfield of the Amerl-
can Museum Of Natural History, while
dragging for corals, saw 3 large sea
snake lying motionless among some coral
growths, some eight feet below the sur
face. 1t showed no signs of fear, and re-
manned in the same position for half an
hour. The venom of these reptiles is even
m ore deadly than that Of the COBRA The
fangs are very short and conseQ uently do
not penetrate so deep as the fangs of
most serpents, but only a scratch from
them is necessary to produce serious re-
suits. Owing to their great shyness ac-
cidents are very rare. When cornered
they snap and bite viciously, retaining
their hold upon victim. AS these are
adapted only for use in the water, they
strike plindly when brough into the air,
although living for days when removed
from their native element.
d Many specimens hauled mp in fisher
mems nets have been sent to geological