The Ophidia of New Hampshire. 



BY WII^IvIAM H. HUSK. 



The Ophidia are distinguished from the other reptiles by a 

 cylindrical body, tapering towards the tail, and covered with 

 scales that are attached to the skin so as to allow considerable 

 expansion of the latter. The bones, excepting those enclosing 

 the brain, are attached to each other by ligaments, and can 

 thus accommodate themselves to any expansion of the skin. 

 This occurs whenever anything larger than the snake itself is 

 swallowed. The mouth is usually large. The tongue, which 

 is forked, can be protruded through a small opening in the front 

 of the mouth. This little member is constantly used as a tac- 

 tile organ to reinforce the defective vision, and has given rise to 

 many a needless fear regarding a snake's power of stinging. 

 The senses of smell and touch are more acute than that of sight. 

 There are no external organs of hearing ; hence that sense can- 

 not be very keen. The sense of taste is probably not very 

 acute, but I do not think it is entirely wanting, as is stated by 

 some, for I have seen a ribbon snake {T. sauritus) show unmis- 

 takeable signs of taste. 



The body is covered with scales, which are either smooth or 

 keeled (carinated) . These are arranged in all our native spe- 

 cies in longitudinal rows on each side of a vertebral row. The 

 under side is covered with one row of transverse band-like scales, 

 called ventral plates or gastrosteges, as far back as the vent. 

 From there to the tip of the tail the plates are arranged in pairs, 

 and are known as sub-caudal plates or urosteges. To each ven- 

 tral plate a pair of ribs is attached ; hence these plates are of 



