Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-08-31
DEADLY SEA SNAKES.
VILE REPTILES THAT INFEsT THE WA
TIERS OF THE PHILIPPINES.
The Venom of These serpents Is More
Fatal Than That of the Cobra and n
Mere Scratch From Their Fangs viii
Produce Serious Results.

Not only do various reptiles and other
| queer creatures abound IN the forests
and swamps of the Philippines, but the
surrounding water of these interesting
islands team with veritable sea serpents.
These strange creatures, which pass
their entire existence in the water, pos
sess deadly fangs. They are a great
| menace to the fishermen, who are con-
stantly exposed to their attacks.
| Technically speaking, science has
named the group the Hydrophide.
\ They differ from the terrestrial snakes
only in the possession of a fat, paddle
like tail. These reptiles inhabit the
tropical seas of the old world and occa-
sionally attain length of feet. DIR.
Rudolph Weber, professor of drawing
in Princeton university, observed large
numbers of these creatures while ON a
steamer bound for Sumatra. DIR. Weber
was in charge of a scientific expedition
| and naturally took special notice of
| them. He says that when the vessel was
| some so miles off the coast myriads of
| sea snakes could be seen swimming
| about as far as the eye could reach.
| They kept upon the surface, and several
| distinct species were recognized among
| them.
During calm weather these reptiles
| may be seen summing themselves upon
| the surface of the sea, remaining mo-
| tionless except for a 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 extreme
ly brilliant in coloration, being bright
yellow, banded with black, while others
are tinted with delicate shades of green.
The food of sea snakes consists entire
ly of fishes. Frequently fishes armed
with long sharp spines fall victims to
their appetites- Among these are the
apogous and siluroids, which are fur
nished with spines three and five inches
long But these do not embarrass the
voracious reptile in the least. The vic
tim is first killed by the snakes poison,
after which ie 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 deglutition proceeds.
While in search of their prey, sea
snakes sometimes venture short dis
lance up the mouth of large rivers
DR.. Weber records an instance where
he was fishing in one of the rivers on
the east coast of Sumatra. He was using
dragnet and had cornered a number
of medium sized fish. As the net was
being brought in, two large sea snakes |
suddenly made their appearance inside. |
They showed no signs of uneaSiness at
capture, but were hurriedly gobbling
down the cornered fishes Nor did they
cease operations until the last fish had |
disappeared, when the formidable crea- |
lures made their escape.
Being air breathers, the sea snakes |
lead a similar existence to the whale. |
Scientists have expressed much interest
as to how long they can remain under |
water. Professor r. p. Whitfield of the |
American Museum of Natural History,
while dragging for corals, saw large |
sea snake lying motionless among some |
coral growths, some eight feet below |
the surfa ce. 1t showed no signs of fear |
and remained in the same position for |
half an hour. The venom of these rep |
tiles is even more deadly than that of }
the cobra. The fangs are very short, |
and consequently do not penetrate so |
deep as the fangs of most serpents, but |
only a scratch from them is necessary !
to produce serious results. Owing to
their great shyness accidents are very
rare. When cornered, they snap upon
victim. As the eyes are adapted only |
for use in the water they strike blindly |
when brought into the air, although |
living for days when removed from
their native element.
Many specimens hauled up in fisher
mems nets have been sent to geological
gardens. The London gardens even
went so far as to build special tank
for their accommodation. But these
captured specimns either die en- route
or short time after being placed in
captivity. Seeking a dark corner of
their tank, they refuse all food and ul-
timately starve TO death. Around the
numerous volcanic islands of the Malay
an archipelago these reptiles are par
ticularly numerous. Frequent eruptions
occur among these islands, which are
hardly more than the body of the vol
cano.
During the time of an eruption the
few people residing near by take to the
water in their boats to escape the rain
of ashes and mud.
1t is generally case of jumping
from the frying pan into the fire, how
ever. At such times the sea becomes
uncomfortabiy warm from its CLOSE
proximity to the burning mountain,
and the sea snakes swim wildly about
for escape They endeavor TO climb
over the gunwales of the refugees
boats, while they Irvine their bodies IN
great masses about the forward chains
When about to lay their eggs, these
serpents approach the shore. The eggs
are laid above high water mark and
left to hatch by the heat of the sun.
Many creatures prey upon the young
reptiles Among their enemies are
sharks and other large fishes, while the
adults. in spite of their death dealing
fangs. fall victims to sea eagles and
large gulls- After the great typboons,
which are common in the Philippines
and their vicinity many of these crea- |