46 



REPTILE GALLERY. 



Order III. APOD A, or LIMBLESS BATRACHIANS. 



Fl & - 36, These are worm -like burrowing crea- 



tures, destitute of limbs, without or with 

 only a rudimentary tail, frequently with 

 small scales imbedded in the skin; the 

 vertebrae are biconcave. About 35 species 

 are known, belonging to one family, 

 Coeciliidce, which is found in tropical Africa, 

 the East Indies, and tropical America. A 

 specimen of Siphonops annulatus, the com- 

 monest species in South America, and a 

 skeleton of Ichthyophis glutinosus, from the 

 East Indies, are exhibited. The species 

 figured (fig. 36) has been recently dis- 

 covered in West Africa. Very little is 

 known of their habits ; the majority seem 

 to live buried in mud or very soft moist soil, 

 some in water. The ova are of large size 

 and few in number. Some species are 

 ovoviviparous. Ichthyophis deposits its 

 eggs, shortly after impregnation, in a hole 

 in damp earth. These eggs form a small 

 mass, which the mother protects by coiling 

 herself round it. 



In the embryo large external gills are 

 developed within the egs; ; and the larva is 

 provided with an opening, or spiraculum, 

 on each side of the neck. 



UrcEotyphlus africamta, 



