716 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 



CATODONTA. 

 GLAUCONIIDyE. 



Glauconiidce Boulengku, Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus., I, 1893, p. 57. 

 GLAUCONIA Gray. 



lHauconia Gray, Cat. Liz. Brit. Mus., 1845, p. 139. — Boulenger, Cat. Snakes 



Brit. Mus., I, 1893, p. 59. 

 Stenosioma Wagler, Nat. Syst. Ampliib., 1830; not of Latreille, 1810 (Coleoptera). 

 Eena Baird and Girard, Cat. Rept. N. Amer., Pt. 1, Serpents, 1853, p. 142. — Cope, 



Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc., 1886, p. 481. 

 Catodon Dumeril and Bibron, Erp. Gen., VI, 1844, p. 318; not of Artedi. 

 Siagonodon Peters, Gesellsch. Naturforsch. Freunde, Berlin, 1881, p. 71. 

 iejj/oiJ/j^/iZojJsSxEJNEGER, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1891, p. 501 (after Fitzinger; iiomcn 



nndttm). 



Head slightly depressed and continuous with the body. Snout blunt 

 and rounded, overlapping considerably the lower jaw. A large rostral 

 plate. One or two nasals. One ocular shield, which extends to the 

 labial border. Medial row of scales extending over the head to the 

 rostral. I^ostrils lateral, oblong, situated between the nasals. Eyes 

 covered by continuous epidermis. 



This genus is found throughout tropical Africa and America, and it 

 embraces a considerable number of species in all the faunal regions of 

 the latter. These are of subterranean habits, which are little known. 

 Some of them are said to inhabit ants' nests. One species is known 

 from India. 



Three species are known from our fauna. They differ as follows: 



a. Supraorbital scales present. 



Two superior labials in front of the ocular; postocular bounded by three scales 



posteriorly ; colors pale G. dissecta Cope. 



One superior labial in front of ocular; postocular bounded posteriorly by two 



scales ; colors pale 0. dulcis Baird and Girard. 



aa. Supraorbital scales absent. 



One superior labial in front of ocular; parietals not divided ; brown. 



G. humilis Baird and Girard. 



GLAUCONIA DISSECTA Cope. 



Glauconia dissecta Cope, Amer. Naturalist, 1896, p. 753. 



Stenoatoma dulce Copk, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1883, p. 11; not of Baird and 

 Girard. 



Nasal entirely divided J rostral rounded behind, reaching the line of 

 the eyes. Two labials anterior to the ocular, the posterior reaching the 

 eye. Frontal and supraorbital scales smaller than those posterior to 

 them. The eye is close to the nasal, and distant from the supraocular. 

 Postocular reaching last labial, and bounded i^osteriorly by three sub- 

 equal scales. Inferior l*,bials five, the second twice as large as any of 

 the othejvs; the fourth bartjly reaching the commissure of the mouth, 



