46 OPHIDIAN EEPTILES. 



guishing characters of all poisonous Snakes, as assigned by sundry 

 mischievously ignorant writers, are those of the third of the fore- 

 going sub- orders almost exclusively. Even the broad, flat, and 

 lanceolate form of head is exemplified in certain Tree Snakes of 

 the non-venemous genus Dipsas, and not in the Cobras and others 

 that are quite as deadly e.g. Hoplocephalus, Bungarus, Naja, 

 Elaps, and others constituting the Colubriform family Elapidce. 



FIRST SUB-ORDER. 



OpMdii Coluber if ormes (Giinther), Innocuous Snakes. 



These are distributed by Dr. Giinther under numerous families, 

 of which we can only notice the more prominent, and some of the 

 more conspicuous species, in a popular exposition. 



The Typhlopidte, or Blind Snakes, comprise forms which are 

 the most remote from the true Ophidian type. They live under 

 ground, their rigid body and short curved tail being adapted for 

 burrowing. After showers of rain they occasionally appear above 

 ground, and then they are tolerably agile in their serpentine 

 movements. The eye, which is scarcely visible in many species; 

 can give to them only a general perception of light. They feed 

 on worms and small insects, the tongue being forked, and, as in 

 other Snakes, frequently exserted. They are oviparous. The 

 smallest species of Snakes belong to this family, some of them 

 being only half the size of a common earth-worm, to which they 

 bear a superficial resemblance. Such, indeed, are the small 

 vermiform Snakes already referred to, as being foolishly con- 

 sidered venemous by most natives of India. Species of this 

 family inhabit almost every country within and near the tropics. 



The Tortricidce are akin to the Typhlopida, and have rudiments 

 of hind limbs hidden in a small groove on each side of the vent, 

 also a longitudinal fold at the chin. The " Coral Snake " of 

 Demarara (Tortrix scytale) appertains to this family; and the 

 genus Cylindrophis, different species of which inhabit the great 

 Asiatic archipelago, with the island of Ceylon, 



The family Xenopeltidtf consists of a single species only, so far 

 as hitherto known, the Xenopeltis unicolor, which is common in 

 the Indo-Chinese and Malayan countries. It grows to three or 

 four feet in length, and when alive is uniformly steel-blue, 



