CHARACTERS AND ARRANGEMENTS OF THE SERPENTS. 137 



country, and of Harlan in America, have contributed a 

 vast mass of information on these animals ; while to 

 Cuvier, Conybeare, and Home^ we are almost ex- 

 clusively indebted for the investigation of those immense 

 reptiles which belonged only to a former world. M. 

 Cuvier, more especially, has carried his profound re- 

 searches among the living serpents, and, by judiciously 

 combining the labours of others with considerable 

 additions of his own, has given us in the Regne Animal 

 the grand outlines of all .that has been since accom- 

 plished. 



(137.) The arrangement of Cuvier is that only of 

 which we shall give a short abstract. He commences with 

 the slow-worms (Angiiis), as obviously leading from 

 lizards to serpents, and which he arranges under four 

 sub-genera, the more typical of these animals being 

 considered as the common Anguis fragilis of Europe. 

 The next family after the AnguidcB, are the AmphishcentE . 

 these are supposed to lead to the great tribe of true 

 serpents^ properly so called, and which are divided into 

 two principal groups, one venomous, and the other not. 

 These correspond to our Coluheridce and OphidcB, and 

 comprise a vast number of smaller groups, sub-genera, 

 and sections, which it is needless here to enumerate. 

 After the venomous group, Cuvier places another com- 

 posed of the aquatic serpents (arranged by us under 

 the Hydrophidce), and of the extraordinary genus 

 Cceeilia : our author making use of this latter form 

 to pass into the batracians or frogs ; but in the opinion 

 of Mr. Bell, these singular animals belong more pro- 

 perly to the Amphibia. The innumerable genera and 

 sub-genera of the German herpetologists, M. Cuvier 

 considers, and we think with great justice^ as mostly 

 too trivial to be adopted. They have, in fact^ been 

 " established" without any other intention than to dis- 

 tinguish small groups per se, and they therefore require 

 further investigation before they can be admitted ; 

 more especially as they have been so multiplied of late, 

 as to render it almost impossible to comprehend their 



