SCINCIDAE 



561 



parous, the egg-membrane being very thin, and the two or three 

 embryos are ripened in uterus-like dilatations of the oviducts. 

 The period of gestation is about three months, and the l)irth 

 takes place, in South Australia, about April. According to 

 Fischer ^ this species, which is often in the market, is easily kept. 

 It requires warmth, sand and stones for basking, and water, in 

 which it soaks itself preparatory to the shedding of the 

 skin, which takes place half-a-dozen times in the year, and is a 

 slow process, requiring eight to ten days. The food consists 

 chiefly of worms, lizards, and snakes, but meat, cabbage, and 

 lettuce are also taken. The total length is about one foot. 



Fig. MF). — TracJij/savrns ritgosus. xl. 



Cyclodus s. Tiliqua, of Australia, Tasmania, and the Malay 

 Islands, has stout lateral teeth with spherical crowns. The 

 imbricating, cycloid scales of the body and the rather short but 

 pointed tail are quite smooth and shiny. C. gigas, of New 

 Guinea and the Moluccas, reaches a length of nearly 2 feet. 

 The general colour is brownish yellow, with broad, dark bands 

 across the body and tail. 



Scincus, of North Africa, Arabia, Persia, and Sindh, has penta- 

 dactyle limbs, with laterally serrated digits. The eyelids are 

 well developed, but the ear is hidden under scaly flaps. S. 

 officinalis, of the Sahara and of Egypt, grows to about 8 

 inches in length. The snout is peculiarly shaped, cuneiform. 

 Tlie eyes are very small. The scales of the body are perfectly 

 smooth ; the sides of the belly are somewhat angular. The 



1 Zool. Gart. 1882, ji. 206. 

 VOL. VIII 2 



