SAURIANS. 41 



Certain species have palatine teetli, and an emargination on the anterior 

 edge of the tympanum. 



Among this number, on account of its trenchant and somewhat 

 raised muzzle*, we should distinguish the 



Seine, officinalis, Schn.; Lac. scincus, Lin.; El Adda of the 

 Arabs; Le scinque des pharmacies, Lacep. I, xxiii; Bruce, Abyss, 

 pi. 39; Egypt. Rep. Suppl. pi. 2, f. 8. (The Officinal Seine). Six 

 or eight inches long; the tail shorter than the body; the latter of a 

 silvery yellow ; transverse blackish bands ; inhabits Nubia, Abys- 

 sinia, and Arabia, whence it is sent to Alexandria, and from thence 

 distributed throughout Europe. It possesses a surprising facility of 

 burying itself in the sand when pursued "[•. Among those which 

 have blunt muzzles we may observe a species diffused throughout 

 India; the Sc. rufescens, which is greenish, with a yellowish line 

 along the flanks ; each scale has three small raised ridges. There 

 is one from the south of Africa, very common in the vicinity of the 

 Cape — the Sc. trivittatus ; brown ; three paler lines along the back 

 and tail; black spots between the lines J. 



We should especially notice the great Levant species, Sc. cyprius, 

 Cuv., Lac. cyprius sincoides, Aldrov. Quadr. Dig. 666; Geoft". Desc. 

 de I'Egypt, Kept. pi. iii, f. 3, under the name oi Anolis (jigantesque, 

 which is greenish, with smooth scales ; the tail longer than the body, 

 and a pale line along each flank. 



In other Seines, the Tiliqua of Gray, the palatine teeth are wanting. 

 There is one of these very common in the south of Europe, Sar- 

 dinia, Sicily, and Egypt; Sc. variegatus, Sc. ocellatus, Schn. ; Daud. 

 IV, Ivi; Geoff. Eg. Rept. pi. v, f. 1, under th^ name of Jnolis 

 marhre; and better, Savigny, lb., Supp. pi. ii, f. 7, which has small, 

 round black spots, each marked with a white streak on the back, 

 flanks, and tail. There is most commonly a pale line along each 

 side of the back. 



* This species alone composes the genus Scincus of Fitzinger, the others con- 

 stitute his genus Mabouia. 



f The Greeks and Latins called the Terrestrial Crocodile, Scincus; it was conse- 

 quently a Monitor to which they attributed so many virtues; hut since the middle 

 ages, the above species is usually sold under this name, and for the same pui-poses. 

 Eastern nations, in particular, consider it as a powerful aphrodisiac 



X Add, Sc. erythrocephalus, Gilliams, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. I, xviii, (or the Scorpion 

 Lizard, Penn.); — Sc. biculor, Harlan, lb. IV, xviii, 1; — Sc. mulliseriatiis. Nob.; 

 Geoff. Eg. Rep. IV, f. 4, under the name of Anolis pave. — We also think it proper 

 to refer to this subdivision, although we have not been able to procure the animal, 

 the great Scincus, called in Jamaica the Galleij Wasp; Sloane, II, pi. 273, f. 9, 

 {Lac. occidua, Sh.) (n). 



^^ (a) Messrs. Peale and Green in the Oth vol. of the " Journal of the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia," describe a new species, which they call S. 

 ventralis. It is fifteen inches long, with a long tail, the body being above olivaceous 

 with some black spots, and white beneath; scales on the back carinated and imbri- 

 cate; folds spotted on each side of the body. These gentlemen propose to make 

 this species the foundation of a genus to be called Pterogasterus. It is a native 

 of Mexico, where it is known as an extremely venomous creature under the name 

 of Escorpion. — Eng. Ed. 



