EUPREPE3. 351 



'^' It appears to occur throagliout Persia to far east in Beloocliistan, and 

 was common near Gwadurand S. W. Persia," It occurs also commonly 

 throughout the Bolan and S. Afghanistan, whence I collected speci- 

 mens. 



Family, SCINCID^. 



S KINKS. 



Head covered with symmetrical shields. Tongue free, exsertile, 

 bilobed at the tip. Scales of the back rounded, quincuncial, imbricate ; 

 of the belly and sides similar. No gular or lateral fold. No femoral 

 or inguinal pores. Tail rounded;, fragile. 



Euprepes, Wagler, 



Each scale with several keels. Tail rounded and without spines. 

 Nostrils in a single small shield. Limbs four, each with 5 toes. Palatal 

 notch placed far behind. 



Euprepes carinatus, Schn. E. rnfescens, Cantor Gat. Mat. Rep.; 

 Gunth. Rep. Brit. hid. p. 79; Theoh. Gat. Rep. Brit. Ind. p. 49; 

 Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, Sfc, Sind, p. 257. — The Common Ii^fUiAN Skink, 



A pair of supra-nasal shields; scales three, sometimes five, keeled in 28 

 to 30 longitudinal and about 30 transverse series; the prse-frontal is gene- 

 rally separated from the rostral and vertical by the supra-nasals and 

 post-frontals, but sometimes touches one of them. Fifth upper labial 

 below the orbit much longer than high. Colour variable, rich olive 

 brown or bronze, darker on the sides, and with a pale lateral stripe from 

 over the eye down each side of the back. This lateral stripe is oftera 

 white spotted, or of a very pronounced yellow, and seasonally the sides 

 are suffused with red. Back often streaked or dotted blackish. 



Length. — 13 to 20 inches. 



Hah. — Sind, Punjab, N. W. Provinces, Bengal, Central and Southern 

 India, the Deccan, Ceylon, Arracan, Berars, Nepaul, Penang, &c., and 

 Afghanistan. Very widely spread. Gunther says — " It occurs in 

 almost every part of the Continent as well as of the Archipelago, from 

 Afghanistan to China and to the Phillipine Islands." It is even said 

 to inhabit the Sandwich Islands. Cantor says — " It is exceedingly 

 numerous in the hills and valleys of the Malayan countries. They may 

 be seen basking in the sun, in bamboo hedges or on trees. The female 

 deposits 6 to 12 yellowish white, oval, cylindrical eggs, half an inch 

 in length." 



Euprepes macularius, Bhjth, J. A. S. B. 1853, p. 652 ; Gunther, 

 Reptiles Br. Ind.. p. 81 ; Theoh. Gat. Reft. Br. Ind. p. 49. E. rufescens, 

 Shav) apud Cantor. — The Spotted Euprepes. 



Rostral longer than high; a pair of supra-nasals not contiguous; 

 prae-frontal quadrangular, its anterior and posterior points touching the 

 rostral and vertical ; post-frontals separated from each other by the 

 hind angles of the prse-frontal and triangular front of the vertical ; they 

 are each about half the size of the prae-frontal, and form sutures with 

 the post-nasal, first superciliary shield and loreal. Vertical elongate^ 



