170 OPHIDIA. 



FAMILY OF BLIND SNAKES— TYPHLOPW^. 



Body cylindrical, with very short head not distinct from neck, and with a 

 very short tail. The body and tail are covered with rounded, polished, 

 imbricate scales, equal in size and form above and below ; fore part of the 

 head covered with large shields, upper labials four. Eye rudimentary, 

 covered by, and more or less transparent from below, the shields ; cleft 

 of the mouth inferior, very short and narrow ; jaws scarcely dilatable. A 

 few teeth in the upper jaAv only, none in the lower or on the palate ; 

 maxillaries very short, mandibles feeble ; no long-itudinal fold at the chin. 

 Rudiments of hinder extremities are hidden below the skin. 



This family contains forms which are most remote from the true Ophidian type. They 

 live under ground, their rigid body and short curved tail being adapted for burrowing. 

 After showers of rain they occasionally appear above ground, and then they are very agile 

 in their serpentine movements. The eye, which is scarcely 'visible in many species, can 

 give to them only a general perception of light. They feed on worms and small insects ; 

 the tongue is forked and, as in other snakes, frequently exserted. They ai'e o\iparous. 



The smallest species of snakes belong to this family, some of them being only half the 

 size of a common earthworm. Species are found in almost every part of the tropical 

 regions, and in the countries adjoining them. 



The determination of the species will be found to be not an easy task, and I consider it 

 necessary to give an explanation of the terms generally used in distinguishing the different 

 head-shields. 



„ r. Rostral. 



^ — Tv '^"- ' ■•, /T >\' jy '"" ^^ 



iQ^><OA ... -P '• ■^''''' f\\J' /^ /'*• Fronto-nasal. 



p^^^^^a — ^ /— L®VCV-<1 P^- I'rseocular. 



S^5S^ "^^^^^^^^3 °' Ocular. 



pr" J^ii^?f^^) P-f^' P^'sefrontal. 



j„ -'^r^^y f- Frontal. 



^::^y\jJj^SK ^P- Supraocular. 



ji ^ -' p Parietal. 



ip. Interparietal. 



The Indian species belong to the following genera : — 



Prffiocular none Ttjphlina, p. 171. 



A prseocular ; rostral obtusely rounded in front .... Typhlops, ^.172. 



A pr^ocular J rostral with a trenchant anterior edge . . . Onychocephalus, i^. 177 . 



