  Skull compact, with short, toothless lower jaw, without transverse bone; palatine and pterygoid reduced and toothless; maxillary small, loosely attached to lower surface of cranium and bearing a few small teeth; no supratemporal, the quadrate articulated to the proÖtic; a coronoid element in the lower jaw. Rudiments of a pelvic arch, reduced to a single bone. Body vermiform, covered with uniform cycloid scales; head small, not distinct from the body; mouth small, crescentic, inferior; eyes under the more or less transparent head-shields, sometimes entirely hidden. Worm-like, smooth, shiny snakes, of small or very small size, the largest measuring little over 2 feet, of subterranean habits, or found in rotten trees, under stones, or in the saw-dust of sawmills; rarely appearing on the surface except when the ground is soaked by heavy rains. Inhabit the intertropical parts of the whole world, as well as South Africa, Southern Asia, and Southern Genus TYPHLOPS, Schneider Head with large shields; nostril in a single or divided nasal. Tail extremely short. 1. Typhlops vermicularis, Merrem The Greek Blind-Snake Fig. 14 (after Sordelli) Form.—Slender, worm-like, the greatest diameter of the body 40 to 52 times in the total length. Tail about as long as broad, ending in a short spine. Snout depressed, rounded, strongly projecting. Eyes distinguishable, appearing as a small black spot surrounded by an unpigmented circle; nostrils lateral. Head-Shields.—Rostral about one-third, or a little less than one-third, the width of the head, extending on its upper surface nearly to the level of the eyes. Nasal incompletely divided, the cleft proceeding from the second labial. Preocular present, about as broad as the ocular, in contact with the second and third labials. Upper head-scales feebly enlarged and subequal. Four upper labials. TYPHLOPS VERMICULARIS ERYX JACULUS Coloration.—Brown or yellowish-brown above, yellowish beneath. Total Length.—10 inches. A specimen from Cyprus is reported to measure 14 inches. Distribution.—This species has long been known from Greece, the Ionian Islands, and the Grecian Archipelago. It is on record from the Eli-Deren Pass, in Bulgaria. A specimen stated to come from Constantinople is preserved in the British Museum. The range further extends over a considerable part of South-Western Asia, viz., Asia Minor, Syria, Cyprus, Transcaucasia, Persia, Turkestan, and Afghanistan. Habits.—Pretty alert in its movements, this little snake has considerable constricting powers, and coils itself fast round the fingers when handled. It lives much after the manner of earth-worms, and if dug out of loam or sand a specimen must be instantly grasped, as it draws back with extraordinary quickness. Its food probably consists mainly of earthworms and small insects. Some exotic species of the genus are known to feed on termites, and are often dug out of their nests. Reproduction.—No observations have been made |
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