ELGARIA SCINCICAUDA. 211 



two transverse series of scales from the occiput to the vent, constitu- 

 ting fourteen longitudinal series, instead of sixteen ; of these fifty-two 

 transverse rows, ten or eleven belong to the neck proper. The middle 

 dorsal series presents the same form as in E.formosa, but the adjacent 

 ones of the back and sides are proportionally broader and less trape- 

 zoid in their outline (fig. 7). The keels are less conspicuous, parti- 

 cularly on the sides. In Elgaria formosa, four pairs of continuous 

 ridges appear prominently along the back, whilst in E. scincicauda five 

 single series only are noticed. The granular zone is broader on the 

 sides of the neck, and the auricular aperture larger in E. scincicauda 

 than in E.formosa. The abdominal shields constitute twelve longitu- 

 dinal series in both species, and forty-three transverse rows from the 

 origin of the fore limbs backwards in this, whilst there are only 

 forty of them in E. formosa. The preanal shields are considerably 

 larger than the rest, in the species which is the subject of the present 

 description. The pectoral and gular shields are irregular in size and 

 shape. The mental shields acquire also a very great development. 

 The vertex plate is subdivided, but, as we presume, merely accidentally. 

 The outer row of supraoculars is more developed than in E. formosa, 

 and apparently less than in E. multicarinata. The pavement-like 

 plates covering the eyelids are also more conspicuous, and the occipi- 

 tal plates and temporal shields smoother. The scales on the upper 

 and anterior part of the fore limbs are slightly keeled in both E. for- 

 mosa and E. scincicauda. The hands and fingers have the same 

 structure. The posterior surface of the thighs exhibits a much finer 

 granulation in E. scincicauda than in E. formosa. The sole of the 

 feet is covered with small, somewhat raised, and subtubercular scales 

 in both species; the toes, constructed on the same pattern, present a 

 greater development of the inferior scales in E. scincicauda than in E. 

 formosa. 



The ground color is brownish-olive. Ten transverse bands of black- 

 ish-brown, occupying one scale in width, may be observed from the 

 neck to the origin of the tail, leaving a space of three scales between 

 each ; the tip or margin of the dark scales is generally whitish ; while 

 some of these dark bands run across a continuous row of scales, others 

 make a sudden break, and pass to the adjoining row, immediately 

 behind, or to the second and even third row, as observed towards the 

 inferior region of the flanks. The upper surface of the head is spotted 

 with brown. Brown blotches may be seen along the upper region of 



