i8o SNAKES. 



of the surrounding air. On the other hand, both in the freshwater- and sea-snakes 

 the eggs are retained within the body of the mother until they are hatched. 



THE BLIND-SNAKES. 

 Families TYPHLOPIDJE and 



The blind -snakes, which are now arranged under two families, are small, 

 worm-like creatures, with cylindrical bodies and short heads and tails, entirely 

 adapted for a subterranean burrowing life. Lacking the large inferior transverse 

 shields, characterising ordinary snakes, the blind-snakes have the body and tail 

 covered on all sides with round overlapping scales of equal size on both the upper 

 and lower surfaces ; while there are large shields on the forepart of the head, one 

 of which on each side covers the rudimentary eye. The cleft of the mouth, which 

 is very small, is placed on the lower surface of the head, and the jaws admit of 

 scarcely any dilatation. An important point of difference from all the other 

 members of the suborder is that teeth are absent in either the upper or lower jaws, 

 while in all cases larger or smaller vestiges of the pelvis remain. The most 

 important distinction is, however, to be found in the palate of the dried skull, 

 which differs from that of all other snakes in lacking the so-called transverse or 

 transpalatine bone, which connects the pterygoid or hindmost bone of the palate 

 with the posterior extremity of the jawbone or maxilla. In the first, or typical 

 family of the blind- snakes, the upper jaw, which is but loosely . attached to the 

 rest of the skull, is furnished with teeth, while the lower jaw is toothless; 

 the pelvis being represented merely by a single bone on each side. On the other 

 hand, in the second family (Glauconiidce) while the lower jaw is devoid of teeth, 

 there are a few teeth in the upper one, the pelvis being represented by a pair of 

 bones on each side, of which the two anterior ones meet in the middle line. As 

 regards their origin, it seems probable that the blind-snakes have little or no near 

 relationship with the other members of the suborder to which they belong. 



The typical blind-snakes, or those belonging to the first of the two families, 

 are inhabitants of all the warmer regions of the globe, and are represented by 

 nearly a hundred species arranged under three genera. By far the greater number 

 of these species belong to the genus Typhlops, which has a distribution coextensive 

 with that of the family ; the other two genera, namely, Helminthophis with five 

 species, and Typlilopliis with one, being confined to Central and South America. 

 The second family contains only the single genus, Glauconia, of which there are 

 nearly thirty species, found in America, Africa, and South- Western Asia. Very little 

 has been recorded in regard to the habits of these curious snakes, although it is 

 ascertained that they lay eggs, which are few in number, large in size, and elongate 

 in form. Although they generally remain in their subterranean burrows, in 

 showery weather these snakes not unfrequently come to the surface for a short 

 time. The remains taken from their stomachs show that they feed largely upon 

 millipedes and ants, and they probably also consume the larvae of many insects. 

 Captive specimens have been observed to drink freely. The European blind-snake 

 (Typhlops vermicularis) is an inhabitant of Greece and several of the adjacent 

 islands, Asia Minor, Syria, Arabia Petrsea, and the Caucasus as far as Transcaspia. 



