212 



OPHIDIA. 



duct of a small poison gland. This sub-order includes the Agly- 

 phodonta and the Opisthoglypha. 



Fam. Uropeltidae. With short pointed head, mouth not distensible, but with 



teeth in both jaws. Uropeltis philippinus Cuv. 

 Fam. Tortricidee. With small hardly discernible head and short conical 



tail. The teeth are small, and there are teeth on the palatine bones. They 

 have a rudiment of the pelvis with small anal claws. 

 Tortrlx scytale Hmpr., South America ; Cylindropliis 

 riifa Gray, Java. 



Fam. Pythonidae. With long oval heads covered 

 with scutes or scales, with rudiments of hind limbs 

 which terminate with an anal claw at the sides of 

 the cloaca, Eryx jaculus Wagl., South Europe ; 

 Boa constrictor L., Brazil; Python, reticulattis 

 Schn., Sumatra. 



Fam. Colubridee. The head is not very broad, 

 and is distinct ; it is covered with scutes. The 

 dentition is complete. The tail has a double row 

 of scutes on the under surface. Coronella austriacct 

 Laur.=l Icevis Lac., widely distributed in Europe; 

 Liophis co'bella L. Brazil; Tropidonotus natrix 

 Gesn., Ringed snake. With obliquely keeled scutes. 

 The species is widely distributed in Europe. Tr. 

 tesselatus Meyr. ; Coluber (Calopeltis) jEscidapii 

 Ge8n. = C.Jtavescens Gm., the snake of ^Esculapius, 

 South Europe, Schlangenbad, Austria ; Zamenis 

 atrovirens Shaw, South Europe ; Herpetodryas 

 carinatus L., Brazil. 



Fam. Dendrophidae. Tree snakes. Body thin 

 and slender, head usually long, flat and distinct 

 from the neck. The ventral scutes usually with 

 two keels. Ventral caudal scutes in two rows. 

 Dendrophis picta Gm., East Indies; Alicetulla 

 smaragdina Boie, West Africa. 



Fam. Dryophidae. Body very long and slender, 

 as is the head ; snout thin and sometimes prolonged 

 into a flexible appendage. Dryopkis argentea Baud., 

 Cayenne. 



Fam. Psammophidae. Sand snakes. The posterior 

 tooth of the upper jaw is grooved. Psa-inmopJiis 

 lineatus Dum. Bibr., Mexico ; Ccelopeltis lacertina 

 Wagl., Egypt. 

 Fam. Dipsadidae. The body tolerably slender, strongly compressed ; with 



short tail, broad at the end. and very distinct. There are usually posterior 



grooved teeth. Dipsas dendropliila Reinw., East Indies ; D. fasciata Fisch., 



West Africa. 



Fam. Scytalidae. The hindmost tooth in the upper jaw is the longest, and is 



grooved. Scytale coronatum Dum. Bibr., Brazil. Oxyrlwpm plumleus Wied., 



South America. 



Sub-order 3. Proteroglypha. Poisonous snakes with large grooved 



FIG. 638. Typhlops lumbri- 

 calls (regne animal). 



