BLINDWORM (Dan. blindor;n; so called on account of the small size of the eyes), or BLIND A name given to certain worm-shaped, burrowing reptiles and amphibians. It applies especially to those of three groups, none of which is really blind: (1) The serpent-like lizards of the family An guidfe, of which the common blindworm, orvet, or slo•-worm (.4 agais fragilis) of Europe and western Asia is a type. Both the body and tail are elongated and serpent-like, and rarely more than one foot long; it possesses no external traces of appendages, but has internally a rudimentary shoulder-girdle, sternum, and pelvis, placing it intermediate between the lizards, which have four legs, and the snakes, in which all traces of limbs are lost; indeed, it has been proposed to put several snake-like lizards, with more or less de generate legs, together with some of their allies, into one group and call them serpent-lizards (Saurophida). The eyes are bright, but small, giving rise to the belief that the animal is blind. It feeds on slugs and insects, and is perfectly harmless. It is so very timid that when startled its muscles contract violently, and the body is rendered so stiff and brittle that it is easily bro ken. 111indworms bring forth their young alive, and winter together in numbers under brush and leaves, or in loose, dry soil. Several genera of the same family. and presenting similar charac teristics. inhabit the warmer parts of America, some of which have part or all of their limbs externally developed; the beautiful green, brown banded. many-keeled lizard (Gerrhonotus multi carinatus) of California is an example.
Best known, however, is the `glass-snake,' fre quently found in the loose soil of dry fields from Illinois to Florida, and westward into Mexico. It has no feet, but by serpentine movements is able to move with considerable swiftness; and when overtaken can hardly be captured without injury, for its tail is so loosely articulated and so free of muscles that it breaks off like a bit of glass, to be quickly renewed by a new growth if the animal not further harmed. It is yellow ish-green above, with black lines. "The snout is long and pointed, the ear-pits large, the eyelids well developed, and each flank is provided with what is ordinarily a deep groove, but which, on the animal's swallowing some large object, ap pears as a tract of elastic skin, the rigid skin of the body generally being incapable of expan sion." It is perfectly harmless. Its technical
name is Ophisaurus rcntralis. Consult Cope, Crocodilians, Lizards, and Snakes (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1900).
(•2) A family of true serpents (Typhlopidx), called 'blind snakes,' because their eyes in all eases are minute and weak, and in some are almost invisible under overlapping plates. They rank lowest among serpents, are only a few inches in length. and have rigid bodies suitable for burrowing, shaped much like those of earth worms, and with curved tails. They occur in all the warmer parts of the world, boring their way through the loose top-soil and feeding on worms, grubs, and insects; and in India some times appear in large numbers above ground after showers, inspiring the natives with foolish dread, for they are quite harmless. Numerous genera and species inhabit the warmer parts of America. Consult Gosse, A Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica (London, 1851 ) .
(3) The CaTiiiida.. a family of degenerate uro delous amphibians for a long time classed among reptiles. The body is vermiform and without limbs, all traces even of the pelvic and pectoral girdles having been lost. The ribs are too short to encircle the body. and the vertebrre are articu lated as in fishes and lower amphibia, and not as in snakes. There are small scales in the skin, the eyes are very small, and in sonic species are cov ered entirely by the skin. There is neither tym panic membrane nor tympanic cavity. The small mouth lies on the ventral side of the conical head, and there is no tail, for the vent opens at the posterior end of the body. All these departures from the typical amphibian type are adaptive, fitting the crecilians for their subterranean bur rowing life. The young are hatched with exter nal gills, and gill-slits, and for a time lead an aquatic life. The ciecilians inhabit warm coun tries and feed on earthworms and inse•t-larva.; they are most Abundant in South America, and :Mexico and Ceylon possess several species. Some times they are called blind•orms, but these am phibia should not be confused with the lizards and snakes above mentioned.