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FAMILY 2.-TORTRICIDE. (3 Genera 5 Species.)

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION.

ETHIOPIAN

NEOTROPICAL NEARCTIC PALEARCTIC
ORIENTAL AUSTRALIAN
SUB-REGIONS, SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS.

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1.2.3.4 1

The Tortricidæ, or Short-tailed Burrowing Snakes, are a small family, one portion of which ranges from India to Cambodja, and through the Malay islands as far as Celebes and Timor; these form the genus Cylindrophis. Another portion inhabits America, and consists of:

Charina (1 sp.), found in California and British Columbia; and Tortrix (1 sp.), in Tropical America.

We have here a case of discontinuous distribution, indicating, either very imperfect knowledge of the group, or that it is the remnant of a once extensive family, on the road to extinction.

FAMILY 3.-XENOPELTIDE. (1 Genus, 1 Species.)

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION.

NEOTROPICAL NEARCTIC PALEARCTIC ETHIOPIAN ORIENTAL AUSTRALIAN SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS.

SUB-REGIONS,

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The curious nocturnal carnivorous Snake, forming the genus Xenopeltis, and the sole representative of this family, ranges from Penang to Cambodja, and through the Malay Islands to Celebes.

FAMILY 4.-UROPELTIDE. (5 Genera, 18 Species.)

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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.), Anamafly Hills and Neilgherries; Plecturus (3 sp.), Neilgherries and Madras; and Melanophidium (1 sp.), the Wynand.

FAMILY 5.-CALAMARIIDE. (32 Genera, 75 Species.)

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION.

PALEARCTIC

ETHIOPIAN

ORIENTAL

AUSTRALIAN

NEOTROPICAL NEARCTIC
SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS.

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The Calamariidae, 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 Palearctic region, with the exception of a species found in Persia. The species are in a very confused state. best characterised genera are the following:

The

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.-OLIGODONTIDE. (4 Genera, 40 Species.)

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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.

FAMILY 7.-COLUBRIDE. (50 Genera, 270 Species.)

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION.

NEOTROPICAL NEARCTIC PALEARCTIC ETHIOPIAN ORIENTAL AUSTRALIAN SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS.

SUB-REGIONS.

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The Colubrine Snakes are universally distributed over the globe, and they reach the extreme northern limits of the order. They are, however, almost absent from Australia, being there represented only by a few species of Tropidonotus and Coronella in the northern and eastern districts. This great family consists of four divisions or sub-families: the Coronellinæ (20 genera, 100 species), the Colubrina (16 genera, 70 species), the Dryadinæ (7 genera, 50 species), and the Natricinæ (7 genera, 50 species). The more important genera of Colubridæ are the following:

Ablabes, Coronella, Ptyas, Coluber, and Tropidonotus-all have a very wide distribution, but the two last are absent from South America, although Tropidonotus reaches Guatemala ; Tomodon, Xenodon, Liopis, Stenorhina, Erythrolampus, Elapochrus, Callirhinus, Enophrys, and Dromicus-are confined to the Neotropical region; Hypsirhynchus, Cryptodacus, Jaltris, and Coloragia, are confined to the West Indian Islands; Chilomeniscus, Conophis, Pituophis, and Ischcognathus, to North America, the latter going as far south as Guatemala; Compsosoma, Zamenis, Zaocys, Atretium, Xenochrophys, and Herpetoreas, are peculiarly Oriental, but Zamenis extends into South Europe; VOL. II.-25

Lytorhynchus, Rhamnophis, Herpetethiops and Grayia, are Ethio-
pian; Rhinechis is peculiar to Europe; Megablabes to Celebes, and
Styporhynchus to Gilolo; Cyclophis, is found in the Oriental re-
gion, Japan, and North America; Spilotes, in the Nearctic and
Neotropical regions; Xenelaphis in the Oriental, Ethiopian, and
Palearctic regions; Philodryas, Heterodon and Herpetodryas in
America and Madagascar, the latter genus being also found in
China.

FAMILY 8.-HOMALOPSIDE. (24 Genera, 50 Species.)

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The Homalopsidæ, or Fresh-water Snakes, have been separated from the Hydride by Dr. Günther, and they include some groups which have been usually classed with the Natricinæ. They are especially characteristic of the Oriental region, where considerably more than half the genera and species are found; next comes the Neotropical region which has 6 species; while none of the other regions have more than 4 or 5. It is to be observed that the Ethiopian species occur in West Africa only, and mostly constitute peculiar genera, so that in this family the separation of the Ethiopian and Oriental regions is very well marked. The best characterised genera of the family are the following:

Cantoria (10 sp.), ranging from Europe to Japan, the Philippines, and Timor, with one species in Guinea; Hypsirhina (6 sp.), Bengal, China, and Borneo; Fordonia (3 sp.), Rangoon to Borneo and Timor; Homalopsis (2 sp,), Cambodja to Java; Cerberus (2 sp.), Ceylon and Siam, the Malay Islands, New Guinea, and North Australia; Herpeton (1 sp.), Siam; Ferania (1 sp.), Bengal to Penang; Pythonopsis (1 sp.), Borneo; Myron (2 sp.), India and North Australia; Homalophis (1 sp.), Borneo; Hipistes (1 sp.), Penang; Xenodermus (1 sp.), Java; Neusterophis and Limnophis, with one species each, are peculiar to West

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Africa; Helicops (2 sp.), North and South America; Farancia and Dimodes, with one species each, are from New Orleans; and a few others imperfectly known from Tropical America.

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FAMILY 9.-PSAMMOPHIDE. (5 Genera, 20 Species.)

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION.

ORIENTAL AUSTRALIAN

NEOTROPICAL NEARCTIC PALBARCTIC ETHIOPIAN
SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS. SUB-REGIONS.

1.2.3.4 1

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The Psammophidæ, or Desert Snakes, are a small group characteristic of the Ethiopian and Oriental regions, but more abundant in the former. The distribution of the genera is as follows:

Psammophis (16 sp.), ranges from West Africa to Persia and Calcutta; Calopeltis (1 sp.), North and West Africa; Mimophis (1 sp.), Madagascar; Psammodynastes (2 sp.), Sikhim to Cochin China, Borneo and the Philippine Islands; and Dromophis (1 sp.), Tropical Africa.

FAMILY 10.-RACHIODONTIDE. (1 Genus, 2 Species.)

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The Rachiodontidae are a small and very isolated group of snakes of doubtful affinities. The only genus, Dasypeltis (2 sp.), is confined to West and South Africa.

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