212 



OPHIDIA. 



duct of a small poison gland. This sub-order includes the Agly- 

 phodonta and the Opisthoglypha. 



Fam. TTropeltidae. With short pointed head, mouth not distensible, but with 



teeth in both jaws. TTi'Opeltis philippinus C'uv. 



Fam. Tortricidae. With small hardly discernible head and short conical 



tail. The teeth are small, and there are teeth on the palatine bones. They 



have a rudiment of the pelvis with small anal claws. 

 Turtrl.r *<-ytale Hmpr., South America ; Cijlindroplris 

 ni /'a Gray. Java. 



Fam. Pythonidae. With long oval heads covered 

 with scutes or scales, with rudiments of hind limbs 

 which terminate with an anal claw at the sides of 

 the cloaca. Eryx jnculvst Wagl., South Europe ; 

 Bon constrictor L.. Brazil ; Python retictilatiis 

 Schn., Sumatra. 



Fam. Colubridae. The head is not very broad, 

 and is distinct : it is covered with scutes. The 

 dentition is complete. The tail has a double row 

 of scutes on the under surface. Cwtntclla nvstriucu 

 Laur.^C". Icevis Lac., widely distributed in Europe; 

 Lio2)ltix coljclla L. Brazil ; Tropidonot'us natrir 

 Gesn., Ringed snake. With obliquely keeled scutes. 

 The species is widely distributed in Europe. Tr. 

 tesselatux Meyr. ; Coluber (Calopeltis) uEsciiliipii 

 Gesn.= C. Jiarescens Gm.. the snake of ^Esculapius. 

 South Europe, Schlangenbad, Austria ; Zatiu'nis 

 nfrariri-Hx Shaw, South Europe ; Herpetodrya* 

 cfii'inutux L.. Brazil. 



Fam. Dendrophidae. Tree snakes. Body thin 

 and slender, head usually long, flat and distinct 

 from the neck. The ventral scutes usually with 

 two keels. Ventral caudal scutes in two rows. 

 Drndropliix pu-ta Gm., East Indies; Alia-tnlln 

 smaragdina Boie, West Aji'ica. 



Fam. Dryophidae. Body very long and slender, 

 as is the head ; snout thin and sometimes prolonged 

 into a flexible appendage. Dryophis argentea Daud.. 

 Cayenne. 



Fam. Psammophidae. Sand snakes. The posterior 

 tooth of the upper jaw is grooved. Psamtnophis 

 linratus Dum. Bibr., Mexico ; Ccelopi'lt'ix lai-rrtina 

 Wagl., Egypt, 

 Fam. Dipsadidse. The body tolerably slender, strongly compressed ; with 



short tail, broad at the end. and very distinct. There are usually posterior 



grooved teeth. Dipsas dcndropJiila Reinw., East Indies ; D. fasciata Fisch., 



West Africa. 



Fam. Scytalidae. The hindmost tooth in the upper jaw is the longest, and is 



grooved. Scytale conmatitm Dum. Bibr., Brazil. O.ryrhojmx j)lvmbrnx Wied.. 



South America. 



Sub-order 3. Proteroglypha. Poisonous snakes with large grooved 



FlG. 638. Typhlops lumbri- 

 calis (regne animal). 



