CONTIA 205 



Genus CONTIA, Baird and Girard 



Maxillary teeth subequal. Head not or but 

 slightly distinct from neck ; eye moderate or rather 

 small, with round pupil. Nasal single; no subocular 

 shields. Body moderately elongate ; scales smooth, 

 with apical pits. Tail moderate. 



This genus, with certain modifications in the 

 above definition, is made to embrace about twenty- 

 five species from South- Western Asia and Sind and 

 North and Central America. One of the species 

 inhabiting Asia extends into a very small part of 

 Europe. 



16. Contia modesta, Martin 

 The Dwarf Snake 



Form. — Moderately slender. Head small, quite 

 flat above ; snout obtuse, feebly prominent. Length 

 of tail four to five times in the total length. 



Head -Shields. — Rostral a little broader than deep, 

 visible from above. Suture between the internasals 

 as long as or a little shorter than that between the 

 prefrontals. Frontal once and a half to once and 

 two-thirds as long as broad, as long as or longer 

 than its distance from the end of the snout, shorter 

 than the parietals, as broad as or a little broader 

 than the supraocular, widely separated from the 

 preocular. Nostril in the middle or upper part of 

 the nasal. Loreal square or longer than deep. One 



