_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. _PLATE I_ [Illustration: TYPHLOPS VERMICULARIS _After Sordelli_] [Illustration: ERYX JACULUS _After Sordelli_] _Scales._--Equal, 22 or 24 round the body. _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 that I am aware of, but, as some of the exotic species of which we know something more lay large, elongate eggs, it is probable that this species also is oviparous. SECOND FAMILY: BOIDÆ Maxillary, palatine, and pterygoid bones movable; transverse bone present; pterygoid extending to quadrate or mandible; supratemporal present, attached scale-like to cranium, suspending quadrate; prefrontal in contact with nasal; a coronoid element in the lower jaw. Teeth in both jaws. Vestiges of pelvis and hind limbs, usually terminating, at least in males, in a claw-like horny spur on each side of the vent.