176 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
the others in size or shape, in which it offers a marked contrast 
to any other snake that I have ever seen. Its eyes are covered 
by the plates on the sides of the head (ocular plates, I suppose) 
which gives it the appearance of being blind. Hence the popu- 
lar name of ‘‘blind worm.’’ Those plates are translucent, how- 
ever, and the eyes can be well seen through them. The specimen 
examined and described is 6 inches long. Miss Gertrude Van- 
Wagenen tells me that this species has the right lung only, 
the left being aborted. 
Although a perfectly harmless creature, this little species is 
feared by the natives, who are afraid to handle it. Indeed 
Professor Thomas reports that a man who was helping him and 
Mr. Stoner collect insects could not be induced to remain in the 
vicinity of one of these Typhlops. This man, by the way, gave 
the interesting information that all of the other snakes in An- 
tigua had been killed by the mongoose, and that the Typhlops 
was habitually produced by spontaneous generation. 
There are several species of turtles. One is a land tortoise 
known as the ‘‘gopher,’’ belonging, I suppose, to the genus 
Testudo. It is a very peculiar form, with the carapace highly 
arched and truneate behind. The plates have a central yellow- 
ish polygonal area surrounded by a very dark brown border 
consisting of numerous close-set parallel ridges conforming to 
the outline of the plates. The plastron, as well as the carapace, 
is very solid and heavy, the whole armature making an unusual- 
ly solid box into which the head, feet, and tail can be complete- 
ly retracted. The feet, particularly the hind ones, greatly re- 
semble those of an elephant in form, but the soles are covered 
with heavy cobblestone-like rounded plates. There are five 
toes on the front feet and four on the hind. The nails are 
strong and considerably flattened. 
This species differs from the ‘‘gopher’’ of Florida in several 
particulars, such as the shape of the front lobe of the plastron, 
and the absence of a nuchal shield. In general appearance it 
looks a good deal like a small edition of the gigantic land tor- 
toise of the Galapagos Islands. It seems to be entirely terres- 
trial in habit and burrows deeply into the ground. The flesh 
is eaten by the natives, but we did not experiment with it. The 
