394 sciNciD^. 



B. Suout obtusely conical. 



Fingers four, toes three 3. hrevipes, p. 395. 



Fingers three, toes two 4. persicus, p. 396. 



II. Limbs absent. 



Pracfrontals present, small, widely sepa- 

 rated ; frontonasal not half as long as 

 the frontal 5. punctatissimus, p. 397. 



No prajfrontals ; frontonasal nearly as 



long as the frontal 6. latastii, p. 398. 



1. OpMomoriis tridactylus. 



Sphenocephalus tridactylus, Blyth, Jouni. As. Soc. Beng. xxii. 1855, 

 p. 654 ; Gi'tnth. Kept. Brit. Ind. p. 98 ; Jerdon, Proc. As. Soc. Beng. 

 1870, p. 74; Stoliczka, Proc. As. Sue. Beng. 1872, p. 76 ; T/icob. 

 Cat. Bept. Brit. Ind. p. 70; Blanf. Zool. E. Persia, p. 395, and 

 Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xlviii. 1879, p. 123 ; Murray, Zool. Sind, 

 p. 356. 



Sphenoscincus tridactylus, Peters, Mon. Berl. Ac. 1875, p. 553, pi. — . 

 figs. 6-12. 



Snout wedge-shaped, with angidarly projecting labial edge ; 

 mouth inferior. Nostril close to the rostral, which is large and 

 nearly reaches the posterior border of the supranasals ; a small 

 anterior and a larger second loreal, latter usually coalesced with the 

 prsefroutal on each side ; frontonasal rather large, one half or two ^ 



thirds the length of the frontal ; latter as broad as or slightly broader i 



than long ; three or four very small supraoculars ; no supraciliaries ; 

 a proeocular ; interparietal as long as broad, as long as or slightly , 



shorter than the frontal ; frontoparietals small ; parietals band-like, f 



narrow ; a pair of nuchals, in contact with the interparietal ; first 

 and second lipper labials smallest, in contact with the nasal, fifth 

 much larger than the four anterior together. Ear hidden. Two 

 azygos postmentals. Body much elongate, with angular latero- 

 ventral edge, with two pairs of short tridactyle limbs ; the posterior 

 limbs proportionately much more developed than the anterior, and a 

 little longer than the distance between the fore limb and the anterior 

 corner of the eye. 22 scales rouud the body, those of the back and 

 of the two median ventral series narrower than the others. Two 

 slightly enlarged pra^anals. Tail shorter than head and body, 

 cyclotetragonal at the base, compressed and pointed at the end. 

 Cream-coloured, uniform or with longitudinal series of brown dots 

 on the back ; a more or less distinct brown streak passing through 

 the eye. 



millim. inillim. 



Total length 147 Fore limb 5*5 



Head 11 Hind limb 15 



AVidth of head .... 7 Tail 55 



Body 81 



Eastern Persia, Afghanistan, Punjab, Sind, Cutch. 



