The Uropeltidæ, or Rough-tailed Burrowing Snakes, are strictly confined to Ceylon and the adjacent parts of Southern India, and would almost alone serve to mark out our second Oriental sub-region. The genera are:—
Rhinophis (7 sp.), Ceylon; Uropeltis (1 sp.), Ceylon; Silybura (8 sp.), Anamally Hills and Neilgherries; Plecturus (3 sp.), Neilgherries and Madras; and Melanophidium (1 sp.), the Wynand.
Family 5.—CALAMARIIDÆ. (32 Genera, 75 Species.)
| General Distribution. | |||||
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| Neotropical Sub-regions. | Nearctic Sub-regions. | Palæarctic Sub-regions. | Ethiopian Sub-regions. | Oriental Sub-regions. | Australian Sub-regions. |
| 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3 — | — 2 — — | 1. 2. 3 — | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2 — — |
The Calamariidæ, or Dwarf Ground Snakes, are found in all warm parts of the globe, extending north into the United States as far as British Columbia and Lake Superior; but they are absent from the Palæarctic region, with the exception of a species found in Persia. The species are in a very confused state. The best characterised genera are the following:—
Calamaria (20 sp.), Persia, India to Java and the Philippine Islands, Celebes, and New Guinea; Rhabdosoma (18 sp.), Mexico and South America, and also the Malay Islands as far east as Amboyna, Timor, and New Guinea; Typhlocalamus (1 sp.), Borneo; Macrocalamus (1 sp.), India; Aspidura (3 sp.), India and Ceylon; Haplocerus (1 sp.), Ceylon; Streptophorus (3 sp.), Central and South America;—with a host of others of less importance or ill-defined.
Family 6.—OLIGODONTIDÆ. (4 Genera, 40 Species.)
| General Distribution. | |||||
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| Neotropical Sub-regions. | Nearctic Sub-regions. | Palæarctic Sub-regions. | Ethiopian Sub-regions. | Oriental Sub-regions. | Australian Sub-regions. |
| — 2. 3 — | — — 3 — | — — — 4 | — — — — | 1. 2. 3. 4 | — — — — |
The Oligodontidæ are a small family of Ground Snakes which have been separated from the Calamariidæ, and, with the exception of a few species, are confined to the Oriental region. The best characterised genera are:—
Oligodon (12 sp.), India, Ceylon, and Philippines; and, Simotes (24 sp.), India to China and Borneo. In addition to these, Achalinus is founded on a single species from Japan; and Teleolepis consists of three species from North and South America.
