Photo by H. G. F. Spurrell, Esq.] [Eastbourne.
LEOPARD-SNAKE.
A harmless and beautifully marked species inhabiting Italy and Sicily.
Photo by H. G. F. Spurrell, Esq.] [Eastbourne.
TESSELATED SNAKE.
A European species, similar in size and habits to the British ringed snake, but more handsomely marked.
An interesting little group, connecting the Boas and Pythons with the Common Snakes, is that of the so-called Shield-tails, or Earth-snakes, of India and Ceylon. These reptiles are earth-burrowers, like the Blind-snakes, previously referred to, but have well-developed eyes, and are further distinguished by the abruptly truncated contour of their posterior extremity, which may be either a naked disk or covered with keeled scales. Their bodies are cylindrical, with the scaly covering very smooth and polished, the scales of the under-surface being but little larger than the upper ones; the jaws, in conformity with the peculiar modification of their skull, are not capable of wide distension. Seven genera and a large number of species are recognised, some being brilliantly coloured with tints of red or yellow. Their main diet is earth-worms.
The family of the Common Snakes includes the greater number of species, the majority of the most venomous as well as harmless varieties being comprised within its limits. The characters that are made the basis for separating these snakes from the Boas are associated with the structure of the skull, and are not therefore readily recognised without having recourse to dissection. It will suffice to mention that, in this and the remaining groups, there is an entire absence from the lower jaw of the slender supplementary bone known as the "coronoid," which is present in the Boas and Pythons. From succeeding groups, such as the Viperine series, they are distinguished by the circumstance that the upper jaw is firmly fixed in a horizontal position, and is not capable of erection in a vertical plane, or like the lid of a box, as obtains with the Vipers.
