514 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



gigantic earth-worms ; while some of them seem to temporarily 

 inhabit water. They form the family Cceciliadce (so called by 



Fig. 278. Ophiomorpha. a Siphonofs annulatus, one of the Caecilians, much reduced : 

 b Head ; c Mouth, showing the tongue, teeth, and internal openings of the nostrils ; 

 d Tail and cloacal aperture. (After Dumeril and Bibron.) 



Linnaeus from their supposed blindness), and are characterised 

 by their snake-like form, and by having the anus placed almost 

 at the extremity of the body. The body is cylindrical and 

 worm-like, and is completely destitute of limbs. The skin is 

 glandular, naked, and viscous, thrown into numerous folds, 

 and containing numerous delicate, rounded, horny scales, 

 which are dermal in their character, and are wanting in Sipho- 

 nops annulatus. The mandibular rami are short, and are 

 united in front by a symphysis. The teeth are long, sharp, 

 and generally recurved ; and a row of palatine teeth forms a 

 concentric series with the maxillary teeth. The tongue is 

 fleshy, fixed to the concavity of the lower jaw, and not pro- 

 trusible (fig. 278). The ribs are numerous, but there is no 

 sternum. The adult possesses lungs, one of which is smaller 

 than the other, and the nose opens behind into the mouth. 

 The eyes are rudimentary, nearly concealed beneath the skin, 

 or altogether wanting. 



The position of the Cacilia was long doubtful; but their 

 Amphibian character was ultimately proved by the discovery 

 that whilst the adult breathes by lungs, the young, in some 

 cases, possess internal branchiae, communicating with the ex- 

 ternal world by a branchial aperture on each side of the neck; 

 while in other cases the adult is viviparous, and the young, 



