THE COMMON INDIAN SNAKES. 381 



in contact with the 2nd and 3rd labials. Ocular — Touching the 

 3rd and 4th labials. Subocular — Absent. Temporal — One. Suprala- 

 bials — Four. Costals — In 20 rows in whole body. 



Distribution. — South Asia from Arabia in the West, throughout 

 India, Assam, Burma, and the Malayan Continent to South China. 

 The Malayan Archipelago to the Philippines. Islands of the 

 Indian Ocean, Ceylon, Cocos, Andamans (not hitherto recorded 

 from the Nicobars), Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros. Africa at 

 Cape Colony and North America. It is quite a common snake in 

 every part of the plains I have visited. 



TYPHLOPS DIAEDI. 

 Diard's Blind Snake. 



Described by Dr. Schlegel in 1844. After braminus this is 

 much the commonest of our blind snakes. In Burma it is called 

 " mywe-hsin-pyit " meaning literally "elephant darting snake." 

 There is a legend that it can spring off the ground and strike its 

 foe, and it is believed to be so venomous that if it strikes even an 

 elephant the creature will soon sicken and die. 



Identification. — The scale rows are 24 or 26. It will be recogni- 

 sed if it has 24 rows, by the partial suture above the nostril, and 

 the absence of pits beneath the snout. If the rows are 26 a rounded 

 snout will differentiate it from acutus, the only other species with a 

 similar number of rows. 



General characters. — Snout rounded, nostrils lateral. Eye fairly 

 distinct; beneath the ocular shield. Neck not apparent. Body 

 stout, cylindrical, of uniform calibre throughout. Diameter ^ tJ to 

 3 1 5 the total length. Tail short, with a small spine terminally 

 directed downwards, and slightly backwards. 



Length. — Up to 17 inches. 



Colour. — There are two varieties (a) typica. This is black or 

 blackish above, lighter below. The eyes very distinct. (b) cinereus 

 (Wall). Pale grey like a new slate pencil, the eyes very indistinct. 

 The latter 1 have only seen in Assam, where it is much the scarcer 

 of the two. 



Habits. — This the largest of our blind snakes with the single 

 exception of actihis lives like the other species for the most part 

 beneath the soil. It is rarely seen on the surface unless thrown up 

 with recently disturbed soil, dislodged from beneath stones and 

 debris, or swamped out of its natural haunts by heavy rains. 

 When unearthed it struggles most strenuously to regain safe 

 quarters beneath the soil, which if loose it burrows into with great 

 ease, and is soon lost to view. Its movements above ground 

 though energetic are not conducive to progress. In water it 

 swims expeditiously and strongly. The high polish on its scales 

 8 



