THE AFRICAN PYTHON. 57 



GLAUCONIA. 

 Six Species in South Africa. 



1. Glauconia nigricans. Black Blind Snake. Zwart Blind Slang. 



Synonyms — Typhlops nigricans ; Stenostoma nigricans. 

 Colour — Brown or blackish, with scales edged with lighter. 

 Average length — 6 inches. 



Distribution — Both provinces of Cape Colony ; Natal ; Orange Free 

 State, Transvaal. 



2. Glauconia conjuncta. The Intermediate Blind Snake. 



Synonyms — Stenostoma conjunctum ; Stenostoma nigricans ; Stenostoma 

 groutii. This species connects G. nigricans with G. scutifrons. 



Average length — 6 inches. 



Distribution — Both provinces of Cape Colony ; O. F. S.* ; Basutoland , 

 Natal ; Zululand ; Transvaal ; Northwards to East Africa. 



3. Glauconia gracilior. The Slender Blind Snake. 

 Colour — Uniform brownish-black. 



Average length — 8 inches. 



Distribution — Western Province, Cape Colony. 



4. Glauconia scutifrons. 



Synonyms— Stenostoma scutifrons ; Glauconia latifrons. 

 Colour — Brown or blackish above ; whitish beneath. 

 Average length — 6 to 8 inches. 



Distribution — Eastern Province of Cape Colony; Natal; Zululand; 

 O. F. S. ; Transvaal ; Southern Rhodesia ; Northwards to Angola. 



5. Glauconia distanti. Distant's Blind Snake. 



Colour — Uniform blackish, the borders of the scales lighter. 



Average length — 5 to 6 inches. 



Distribution — Transvaal ; Bechuanaland ; Southern Rhodesia. 



6. Glauconia labialis. 

 Distribution — South West Africa. 



The Python or Rock Snake (Python Seb^). 

 Family III. Boid^. Genus Python. 



The Python belongs to a family of snakes known as the 

 BoidcB. There are nine species or kinds of Pythons, three in 

 Africa and the rest in the Malay Archipelago, India and Aus- 

 tralasia. Belonging to the same family is another sub-family of 

 snakes called Boas, chief among which is the terrible Anaconda 

 of America, which is stated to attain a length of over thirty feet. 

 None of these Boa-constrictors inhabit Africa. 



The largest snake on record is the Malay Python {Python 

 reticulatus) which is just under thirty-three feet in length. 



The African Python. 



The South African Python, also known as the Natal Rock 



Snake {Python sebce), is common in the Southern portion of Africa, 



mostly towards the East side. In West Africa it is replaced by 



* O. F. S. throughout this volume stands for Orange Free State. 



