Opliiops. 201 



leschencudtil are characters of greater specializatiuu tliau are showu 

 bv the ludiau Oj^hiops with which we are at present acquainted. As 

 to the typical, Western species of the genus, 0. elecjans and 0. occiden- 

 talis, tlie smooth upper head-shields also preclude their derivation 

 from the existing species of Cahrita, whilst the agreement in many 

 points with Psammodromvs may be a case of convei'gence from a 

 common stock sharing characters with Nvcras and Lacerta. 



Sy>i02}sis of the S})ecies. 



I. Snout feebly or moderately depressed, as long as j)ostocular part of head ; 

 less than 50 scales and plates round middle of body, the lateral scales 

 passing gradually into the ventral plates ; toes feebly compressed. 



A. Upper head-shields strongly rugose, keeled, or striated ; 26 to 33 



scales and plates round middle of body ; 16 to 20 lamellae under 

 the fourth toe. 

 A single frontonasal, very rarely longitudinallj- bisected; prin- 

 cipal supraoculars much broader than posterior part of 



frontal O.^/ercZonu, Blyth, p. 201. 



Two or three frontonasals ; principal supraoculars not or bvit 



slightly broader than posterior part of frontal . 0. beddomii, Jerd., p. 205. 



B. Upper head-shields smooth or slightly rugose; 20 to 26 lamellae 



under the fourth toe. 

 24 to 30 scales and plates round middle of body ; superciliaries 

 in contact with supraoculars, granules between them absent 

 or reduced to a few . . . . .0. occidentalis, Blgr , p. 207. 

 28 to 49 scales and jjlates round middle of body ; a series of 



granules between supraoculars and superciliaries . 0. elegans. Men., p. 211. 

 II. Snout much depressed, longer than postocular part of head ; 

 upper labials projecting, angular ; 56 to 64 scales and plates 

 round middle of body : lateral scales abruptly differentiated 

 from the ventral plates ; toes strongly compressed, with 21 

 to 24 lamellffi imder the fourth . . . O. microlepis, Elanf., p. 222. 



1. OPHIOPS JERDONII. 



Ophiops jerdoni, Blyth, .Tourn. As. Soc. Beug. xxii, 1853, p. 653; 

 Stoliczka, op. cit. xli, 1872, p. 89, and Proc. As. Soc. Beng. 1872, p. 

 74; Bouleng. Cat. Liz. iii, p. 73 (1887), and Faun. Ind.. Kept. p. 174 

 (1890). 



Tropidosanra jerdoni, Theobald, Cat. Kept. As. Soc. Mus. p. 22 

 (1868). 



Pseudopliiops jerdoni, Jerdon, Proc. As. Soc. Beng. 1870, p. 71. 



Pseudophiops theobaldi, Jerdon, I.e. 



Cahrita leschenaultii (non IL-Edw.), Murray, Zool. Siud, p. 347 

 (1884). 



