NORTH AMERICAN 
HERPETOLOGY. 
Orver HI. OPHIDIA. Brogniart. 
a 
Serrents form a very natura] order, as they present peculiar anatomical and 
natural characters. “Of all reptiles, they best merit the name, as they creep 
only by alternate folds of their long and slender bodies, and though deprived of 
feet, or obvious external organs of locomotion, they glide swiftly on the ground, 
ascend trees, move rapidly along their branches, and even swim with great 
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facility. 
The order Ophidia includes the families Anguina and Serpentia, of which latter 
I shall only speak in this place. Cuvier again subdivides the family Serpentia 
into two tribes, Amphisbena and Serpentes, or true serpents, which are the only 
ones of the Order found in the United States. 
SerPentes.—Cuwvier. 
CHARACTERS. 
1. The head varies in form; the branches (rami) of the lower jaw-bone are not 
firmly united to each other at their anterior extremities, but are joined by 
