Gainesville daily sun. (Gainesville, Fla.) 190?-1938, 1906-04-27
VICIOUS SEA SNAKES
THERE ARE FIFTY VARIETIES, ALL or
THEM VENoMous.

with the Exception OG the CObva and
Bushmaster of Africa. No serp~ne
on Land Kills sO QnickIy aad Ter
FibIy 49, Do Those Of the Ocean.
FearlessHess il one OF the most strik-
ing characteristics OF sea snakes, and
It adds greatly to the danger that Is to
be apprehended from them, for 1t often
leads them to attack fishermen aud
swimmers, and even to climb up the
anchor chains and through the hawse
holes and attack the crew, and AZ the
bite OF every one Of the fifty known
varieties In fatal there is great fear felt
Of them in the ocean spaces which they
inhablt.
These hfty varieties are all classified
under the general title Of thanato-
phidia. None OF them ls able 10 live
anywhere except In ocean water. Every
variety and subvariety In ~ poisonous
90 the cobra or the bushmaster OF AZ
r.ca. Indeed, with the exception Of
these two land varieties, there IL no
snake on land that kills 30 swiftly and
90 terribly as do the sea snakes. Ow-
ing 70 their fatal weapons and their
ease and celebrity In swimming there
are practically no enemies which de-
StrOy enough OF tpem to diminish their
numbers.
Almost all the thanatophldIa are
beautifully col0red, even more gorgeous
than any Of the land snakes, with the
possible exception OF the coral, Grass
and carpet snakes. They are banded,
striped, specified and blotched with
green, olive, yellow, blde and black and
present a most brilliant spectacle AZ
they are seen swimming below the sur
face OF the transparent blue OF the Lndl-
an ocean. When they are swimming at
the ordinary rate Of speed they seem
To undulate all over, They do not wind
through the water m the eel does, but
their lOcOmOtion resembles that Of the
caterpillar except that IL liz far more
graceful. and an they move aud twist
the colors play along their sides and
backs N they do on the dolphin when
they dash at their prey at full speed
they move Hike an arrow. with their
heads aud necks thrust straight before
them II they are swimming under the
surface. or. II they are darling along |
the top " the water. with their heads
elevated just enough TO clear the
waves. When they are racing along
thus their sole means OF IocomotIon In
their broad. paddle shapei tail, which
In peculiar To aIl the sea snakes and |
forms the only striking difference be- /
tween them and the ordinary land ser.
pent.
This paddle N used like a steamers
screw aud has Immense power. Bent
sideways II will stop the snake lmms-
diately IN II the creature had anchored
suddenly. When dosing ar resting over
reefs, which ARE common In the coral
banks, snakes hold fast 10 the rocks or
bottom with their broad tails and will
often sway in this way for hours In
calm wea Their.
Men may have recovered from the
bites 81 these serpents, but there are
certainly nOae ON record Most Of
their victims are Malay aud other na-
tive fishermen. and shore jewellers and
physicians rarely get 20 ere them.
statlHtFs ara not kept In that part
af the world, Ao IL is impossible 10
ascertain how many arc killed In this
way each year Travellers any that
here Ia hardly nshIng village which
las not itH tale ~ death IN toll
SCIENTISTS oncc held 10 the opinion
that the dendlinssn or the bite was due
not tn the venom. like that uf the Ia nd
snaAes, hut 10 some property that
ca used blood poison. az doses the bite
NJ many hshrs which are not poisonous
la tbamselves, But this oplnion waa
rhanpsl after the medical men on
hoard the British warShtp AhsvriRe had
made cawfui observations 90 = sailor
who had hccu bitten. They proved
that the SNAKES were directly poisson
naA and that they carry fangs charged
with ssast,. exactly hkr the cobra.
The Open cream il the hume 81 the
ssa anakes They do NOT even ascend
The Rivera Their favoJtte haunts are