Genus Python. (Dum.)
The great Serpents of the Old World are distinguished by the above name from those of the New, to which the generic term Boa is now restricted. The general organization, the appearance, and the habits of both are nearly identical; but the Pythons are distingushed by having the plates beneath the tail arranged in a doube series. The front of the head and muzzle are clothed with broad plates, and those on the lips are indented with pits or dimples. They attain a size fully equal, if not superior to the true Boas, there being authentic records of specimens approaching forty feet in length, and reports of their far exceeding even these colossal dimensions. Their appearance is very beautiful, the ground colour is commonly a yellowish grey, more or less intense, on which marks of brown of various shades are arranged in irregular patterns of bands, and spots, and chains. During life a rich iridescent gleam is reflected from the surface, in the sun, particularly
TAIL-PLATES OF PYTHON.
from the darker parts. The species are found in Africa (probably in most parts of that continent to the south of the Desert), in India, and in the great islands of the Oriental Archipelago.
The form and appearance of these great Ser-
