210 OPHIDIA. 



state that specimens have been received in Paris from New 

 Holland : this, however, requires confirmation. 



Order III. OPHIDIA. 



The body is very long and flexible, without legs; 

 mouth dilatable ; all the facial bones moveable, except 

 in the Typhlopidae ; no external ears ; eyes not provided 

 with lids ; skin covered with scales, which are generally 

 larger on the belly, serving as a means of progression ; 

 over all is spread an epidermis, which is changed 

 periodically. 



Family TYPHLOPID^l. 



Serpents with worm-like bodies of small size, with 

 polished scales, all of the same kind ; the mouth very 

 small ; no teeth .in the lower jaw ; upper jaw projecting 

 far beyond the lower ; eyes small j generally covered by a 

 thin, transparent horny plate. 



Genus TYPHLOPS. 



Head depressed, furnished with plates ; snout rounded 

 at its extremity ; rostral plate folded back over the muzzle, 

 extending more or less over the front of the head ; pupils 

 of the eyes round, more or less distinct ; nostrils lateral, 

 semicircular. 



Typhlops vermicularis. 



Typhlops vermicularis, Ddm. et Bib. vol. vi. p. 303 ; Sohinz, Europ. 

 Faun. vol. ii. p. 37. 



Description. — Tail conical, blunt, slightly bent, about one- 

 fourth longer than the transverse diameter of the head; 



