2 THE OEDEE OE SNAKES— OP J?IZ)i4. 



Snakes are naked, that is, they are not supplied with any external 

 covering such as hair or feathers. Their epidermis is laid in scale-like 

 folds on the back and sides, and forms plates on the belly, and generally 

 broad though not imbricate plates on the crown (except in the genus 

 Morelia — the Diamond and Carpet Snakes — which have the head covered 

 \ with numerous irregular small scale-like plates). The epidermis is shed, 

 at regular intervals, several times a year, and removed in one piece, 

 including the part over the eyes, which, being without lids, may be 

 easily traced in the cast-off skin. At some period before the epidermis is 

 shed, the snake retires to a quiet, and, if possible, damp place, where the 

 skin soon loses the usual gloss and becomes opaque, whilst the eyes grow 

 blind, as the new skin is formed beneath the used-up epidermis. "When 

 ready, the reptile selects a forked branch, or the cleft of a rock, and, 

 pressing through, emerges from the old covering, which is left complete, 

 and turned inside out behind. The shedding of the skin in a perfect 

 state is a sign of good health ; but when removed in shreds, the snake is 

 suffering from some malady. Shortly after this metamorphosis serpents 

 become very sensitive, and more inclined to bite, when disturbed, than at 

 other times. 



The teeth are hook-like, curved backwards, very sharp, and designed 

 for retaining, not crushing or masticating, the prey ; with few exceptions, 

 the palate is furnished with teeth also. 



All the viscera are of a peculiar elongate form, there is but one 

 lung developed, and the organs of generation are double. Some serpents 

 bring forth their young alive, others lay eggs, but in many cases these 

 eggs when deposited contain already well-developed young. Only one 

 family — the Pythons — incubate their eggs. 



The division between Snakes and Lizards is not clearly defined, and 

 one group merges into the other by scarcely percej)tible degrees. The 

 first family of Blind Snakes presents many characters which remind us 

 of the lizard type ; such as the large, polished, adherent, and rounded 

 scales, the narrow mouth, and the frequent absence of the gular furrow 

 peculiar to almost all Ophidians. 



Some authors have classed the Blind Snakes with the Lizards, but 

 they differ from them in the loose connection of their jaw-bones — a 

 character which, according to Giinther, mvist be considered as peculiar to 



