298 
REPTILES. 
TRIBE I.-ANGUINES. 
Teeth small, nearly of equal length ; tongue with a luniform 
notch; ribs united in a greater or smaller degree so as to sup¬ 
ply the place of a sternum, or breast-bone ; eyes provided with 
three eyelids. 
Genus 1.—O PHIS A UR US.— Daudin. 
Generic Character. —With an external visible tympanum ; 
maxillary teeth conical; palate provided with two small groups 
of teeth. 
Ophisaurus ventralis. — The Bellied Ophisaurus. 
Yellow-green above, spotted with black; pale yellow below ; 
sides with a deep longitudinal groove, and smaller scales; tail 
longer than the body. Twenty-four inches long. Inhabits 
North America.— Catesby’s Carolina, II. plate 59. 
Genus 2.—A N G UIS. — Cuvier. 
Generic Character. — Tympanum hid under the skin; maxil¬ 
lary teeth compressed and hooked ; palate destitute of teeth. 
Anguis fragilis. — The Blind Worm. 
Plate LXXI. fig. 4. 
Yellow above, with metallic reflections ; dusky beiow, scales 
smooth and shining; back with three longitudinal dorsal lines, 
which change into spots by age, and alternately disappear, tail 
longer than the body. 
Genus 3.—ACONTIAS_ Cuvier. 
Generic Character. —Without sternum or pelvis ; teeth conic ; 
second lobe of the lungs merely rudimentary. 
Acontias meleagris. — The Spotted Acontias. 
Back with eight rows of longitudinal brown spots; tail short 
and obtuse. Inhabits Guiana. — Seba, II. pi. 21, fig. 1 . 
TRIBE II.-SERPENTES. 
Having no sternum, nor scapular bones, and without a third 
eyelid. 
