262 



BIJLLETIlSr 58, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MITSELTM. 



I have examined three specimens from the Riii Kius in the museums 

 in Tokyo, viz, two in the Science College Museum, from Okinawa 

 shima, and one in the Imperial Museum, Ueno Park, from Yaeyama 

 Island, southern group. There is also a specimen in the Hamburg 

 Museum (No. 1479) collected by Doctor Warburg in the "Liukius." 



List of specimens of Typhlops bmminus. 



a Description, p. 260. 



Family MATRICIDE. 



This family embraces the great bulk of snakes, in fact only some- 

 what less than two-thirds of all the species of snakes known. 



Figs. 23r)-238.— Head-shields of a natricid snake. cs\ anterior chin-shields; cs^, posterior 

 chin-shields; /, frontal; il, lower labials; in, internasals; /, loreal; lb, supralabials; m, 

 mental; Til, anterior nasal; n^, posterior nasal; p, parietal; pf, prefrontals; pro, fre- 

 ocular; pto, postocular; r, rostral; so, supraocular; /, temporals; v, ventrals. 



In this vast horde of species, considerably over one thousand, there 

 is a great uniformity of structure, making it difficult to formulate easily 

 recognizable groups. Our knowledge of the phylogenetic relation- 

 sliips of the various forms has been established only recently, thanks 



