CROCODILIANS, LIZARDS, AND SNAKES. 615 



Tongue nearly entirely covered with ol)liqne i)lica' ; no prelrontiils; frontopari- 

 etals present ; lower eyelid scaly ; limbs short ; toes 5-5 Cicif/na Gray. 



Like Cicifjna: digits 4-4 Saiiroi)his Fitziuger. 



Like Cicigna; limbs minute, undivided Ccstia Gray. 



Tongue nearly entirely covered with imbricate scale-like papilhe; no prefron- 

 tals; frontoparic tals present or absent; lower eyelid with a large, transparent 



disk Cordjilosaurus Gray. 



n. Nostril pierced between two nasals, the rostral, and the first labial; ventrals 

 not forming straight transverse series. 



A lateral fold along the body; no frontoparietals Zonoaaurus Bonlengcr. 



No lateral fold on the body; frontoparietals present Tracheloptychm Peters. 



SCINCID^. 



ScincoicUens Cuvieu, part, Rigue Anim., II, 1817, p. 52. 



Scincido', Angitido', Guay, part, Ann. Phil. (2), X, 1825, p. 201. 



Cordyloidea, Scincoidea, Gymnophthahnoidea Fitzingek, part, Nene Classif. Rept., 



1826. pp. 18, 23, 20. 

 Lacertm autarcho(jlo>i>iiv Wagler, part, Syst. Amph,, 1830, p. 141. 

 Scinci, Gymnophthahni Wikomanx, part, Herp. Mex,, 1831, p. 11. 

 Scincidn', Gymnoplithalmida', lihodonidn- Gray, part, Ann. Nat. Hist., II, 1838, 



p. 287. 

 Chalcidieiis, Scincoidiens saurophthalmes and ophioptliahnes, Dumeril and Bibron, 



part, Exp. C.<n., V, 1839, pp. 318, 553, 805. 

 Gymnoplithalmida', Scincida', Opltiotnoridw, Sepsidw Gray, part, Cat. Liz. Brit. 



Mns., 184.5, pp. G2, 70. 120, 121. 

 Scincido', Sepsida; Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1864, p. 229. 

 Scincida Boulenger, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), XIV, 1884, p. 120; Cat. Liz. 



Brit. Mus., 2d ed., Ill, 1885, p. 130. 



Boulenger's description is as follows: 



Tongue moderately long, free and feebly nicked in front, covered with imbricate 

 scale-like papillte. Dentition pleurodont, teeth conical, bicuspid, or with spheroidal 

 or compressed crowns; the now teeth hollow out the base of the old ones. Pterygoid 

 teeth may be present. 



Prtemaxilliary bones two, sometimes ineompletelj' separated; nasal double; fron- 

 tal single or double; parietal single; postorbital and postfrontotemporal arches 

 complete, osseous; interorbital septurn and columella cranii well developed; infra- 

 orbital fossa present, bounded by the maxillary, the transverse bone, the palatine, 

 and often also by the pterygoid. Skull with bony dermal ])lates overroofiug the 

 suprateniporal fossa. 



Limbs present or absent ; pectoral and pelvic arches constantly present. Clavicle 

 dilated and usually perforated proximally, interclavicle cruciform. Ossified abdom- 

 inal ribs are absent. 



Body protected by bony plates underlying the scales, which are cycloid- 

 hexagonal, rarely rhomboidal, imbricate, arranged quincuncially. These plates 

 provided with symmetrical tubules, which usually consist of a transverse one anas- 

 tomosing with several longitudinal ones. Head covered with aymmetrical shields; 

 an azygos occipital is rarely present. Pupil round. Eyelids well developed. No 

 femoral pores. 



Scincoids are cosmopolitan, the bulk occurring in Australia, the islands of the 

 Pacific, the East Indies, and Africa; they are comparatively very poorly represented 

 in South America. As far as wo know at present, all species are ovoviviparous. 

 Adaptations to every mode of life, save aquatic and aerial occur. 



This family presents considerable variety in the details of the strnc- 

 ture of the viscera. In such genera without interuasal plates as I have 



