TYPIILOPS. 



235 



Small worm-like Snakes leading a subterranean life. The number 

 of species known is very great, nearly a hundred, constituting four 



-pro 



A B 



Fig. 68. Skull of Typhlops diardi. 

 A. Upper view. If. Lower view. 



genera, of which but one is represented in India and its depen- 

 dencies. They are found all over the hotter parts of the globe. 

 Oviparous : eggs very large, elongate, few in number. 



E 



Fig. 69. Head of Typhlops braminus. 



A. Upper view. B. Side view. 

 To illustrate the nomenclature of the shields. 

 /'. Frontal. o. Ocular. prf. Prsefrontal. 



ip. Interparietnl. p. Parietal. r. Rostral. 



I. Labial. f>o, Prreocular. so. Supraocular. 



??. Nasal. 



Genus TYPHLOPS, 



Schneider, Hist. Amph. ii, p. 339, 1801. 



Head with large shields ; nostril in a single or divided nasal. 

 Tail extremely short. 



Distribution. Southern Asia, borders of the Mediterranean, 

 Africa, Australia, Central and South America, and West Indies. 

 13 species are known from India and its dependencies. 



