scytal (sital)

A snake of the genus Scytale. scytale (sit'a-lē), n. [NL. (Boie), 2. [ cap.] The typical genus of Scytalidæ, or of Scytalinæ, colubriform snakes having the anterior teeth short, the rostral plate not protuberant, one row of subcaudal scutes, one preocular plate, and the body cylindrical. E. D. Cope.-3. The technical specific name of a coral-snake, not related to the foregoing. See Tortrix.-4. Erroneously, a venomous serpent of the family Crotalidæ. Scytalidæ (sī-tal'i-dē), n. pl. [NL., a snake. S. cerdale, 6 inches long, is found burrowing among rocks at low-water mark in the straits of Juan de Fuca.