SNAKES OP CEYLON. 



Synopsis of chief characters in the Lepidosis of species 



of 



Typhlops. 









mirus. 



braminus. 



leucomelas 



Snout rounded 



Yes 



. Yes 



. Yes 



Breadth of rostral to head . . 



1 



2 



i 



• 3 



• i 



Nasals : — 









Suture above nostril com- 









plete 



Yes 



. Yes 



. Yes 



Suture below nostril to . . 



2nd lab . 



Prseoc 



. 2nd lab 



Meeting behind rostral . . 



Yes 



. No 



. No 



Labials : — 









Touching prseocular 



None 



. 2nd & 3rd . 



. 2nd & 3rd 



Touching ocular 



4th 



3rd & 4th . 



. 3rd & 4th 



Sub ocular 



One 



. None 



. None 



Temporals 



2 



. 1 



. 2 or 3 



Costal rows 



18 



. 20 



. 22 



Caudal spine 



No 



.Yes 



. Yes 



Typhlops mirus Jan. 



(Latin " mirus " wonderful, possibly on account of its 



diminutiveness.) 



Jan's Ceylon Typhlops (or Blind Snake). 



Synonymy. — Nil. 



History. — Described by Jan in 1860. 



General Characters. — Only about five inches long in its adult 

 state. Head of the same calibre as the body. Snout rounded. 

 Eyes indistinct or invisible. Nostrils ant ero -lateral. Body 

 rather elongate, its diameter being about 1/37 to 1/60 the 

 total length. Tail conical with no spine. 



Identification (for Ceylon). — The costals in 18 rows will 

 indicate the species. 



Colouration. — Brown dorsally, snout and lower parts 

 yellowish. 



Habits and Breeding. — Nothing known. 



Growth. — Maximum length : Up to 140 mm. (5J inches). 



Lepidosis. — Rostral : About half the breadth of the head. 

 Prefrontal, frontal, and interparietal: Subequal; rather 

 broader than the dorsal scales. Supraocular, prseparietal, and 

 postparietal : Subequal ; rather broader than the dorsal scales. 

 Supraoculars and prasparietals : Subequal ; rather broader than 

 the dorsal scales. Postparietal : Usually- subequal to the 

 prseparietal, sometimes broken up into two. Nasals : Some- 

 times in contact behind the rostral ; usually not ; quite 



