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occur in Vidarbha,Ophisops jerdoniBlythin Vidarbha andOphisops
beddomei(Jerdon), in South Maharashtra.
Monitor lizards of the family Varanidae are confined to the oldworld,
being found in the warm areas of southern Asia, Africa, andAustralia.
They are carnivorous and eat any animal that they can overcome and
largely live on birds and their eggs, small mammals, reptilesand their eggs
and large insects. They take carrion. They are at timesdestructive to
poultry but are particularly useful because of the large number of rats and
mice which they destroy. A single species,Varanus bengalensis(Daudia)
occurs in Maharashtra. Found both in remoteforests and in the outskirts of
villages. This species may attain a body length of 750 mm. with a 1000
mm. tail. They can move fast and when chased usually take refuge in the
hollow of a tree or by climbing up the trunk. Their ability to climb nearly
vertical surfaces is said to have been used in former days for assaulting
forts. The 'Ghorpad'is eaten and the skin is of commercial use.
The sub-order Serpentes, Snakes, can be distinguished from lizards
bya combination of characters : the body is elongated and limbless or
withvestiges of a hind pair; eyes are lidless and ear opening is absent;
thetwo halves of the lower jaw are not fused but united by ligament
andmovable independently. The tongue is deeply forked and retractileinto
a sheath and in snakes is mainly an organ of smell. Snakes inspiteof their
uniformity of shape have adapted themselves for life underdifferent
environmental conditions unlike other snake-like reptiles andamphibia
which are terrestrial and subterranean. Of the 226 species of68 genera and
9 families recorded from the Indian sub-continent,60 species of 36 genera
and 7 families occur in Maharashtra.
The family Typhlopidae or Blind Snakes is widely distributed in
thetropical zone of the old and new worlds. Small, worm-like snakeswith
highly polished scales they are usually found below the soil or indecaying
wood or vegetation. Three species occur in Maharashtra.Typhlops
braminus(Daudin) the Common or Brahminy Blind Snake,is the species
most often seen in gardens under stones and debris. Incolour, brown or
blackish above, lighter below, the snout and tail endbeing usually whitish.
FAUNA 631