SNAKES. 
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of the surrounding air. On the other hand, both in the freshwater- and sea-snakes 
the eggs are retained within the body of the mother until they are hatched. 
The Blind-Snakes. 
Families Typhlopidm and Gla uconiidje. 
The blind-snakes, which are now arranged under two families, are small, 
worm-like creatures, with cylindrical bodies and short heads and tails, entirely 
adapted for a subterranean burrowing life. Lacking the large inferior transverse 
shields, characterising ordinary snakes, the blind-snakes have the body and tail 
covered on all sides with round overlapping scales of equal size on both the upper 
and lower surfaces; while there are large shields on the forepart of the head, one 
of which on each side covers the rudimentary eye. The cleft of the mouth, which 
is very small, is placed on the lower surface of the head, and the jaws admit of 
scarcely any dilatation. An important point of difference from all the other 
members of the suborder is that teeth are absent in either the upper or lower jaws, 
while in all cases larger or smaller vestiges of the pelvis remain. The most 
important distinction is, however, to be found in the palate of the dried skull, 
which differs from that of all other snakes in lacking the so-called transverse or 
transpalatine bone, which connects the pterygoid or hindmost bone of the palate 
with the posterior extremity of the jawbone or maxilla. In the first, or typical 
family of the blind-snakes, the upper jaw, which is but loosely attached to the 
rest of the skull, is furnished with teeth, while the lower jaw is toothless; 
the pelvis being represented merely by a single bone on each side. On the other 
hand, in the second family ( Glauconiidce ) while the lower jaw is devoid of teeth, 
there are a few teeth in the upper one, the pelvis being represented by a pair of 
bones on each side, of which the two anterior ones meet in the middle line. As 
regards their origin, it seems probable that the blind-snakes have little or no near 
relationship with the other members of the suborder to which they belong. 
The typical blind-snakes, or those belonging to the first of the two families, 
are inhabitants of all the warmer regions of the globe, and are represented by 
nearly a hundred species arranged under three genera. By far the greater number 
of these species belong to the genus Typhlops, which has a distribution coextensive 
with that of the family; the other two genera, namely, Helminthophis with five 
species, and Typhlophis with one, being confined to Central and South America. 
The second family contains only the single genus, Glauconia, of which there are 
nearly thirty species, found in America, Africa, and South-Western Asia. Very little 
has been recorded in regard to the habits of these curious snakes, although it is 
ascertained that they lay eggs, which are few in number, large in size, and elongate 
in form. Although they generally remain in their subterranean burrows, in 
showery weather these snakes not unfrequently come to the surface for a short 
time. The remains taken from their stomachs show that they feed largely upon 
millipedes and ants, and they probably also consume the larvae of many insects. 
Captive specimens have been observed to drink freely. The European blind-snake 
(.Typlilops vermicular is) is an inhabitant of Greece and several of the adjacent 
islands, Asia Minor, Syria, Arabia Petraea, and the Caucasus as far as Transcaspia. 
