OPHIODES STRIATUS. 225 



OPHIODES STRIATUS, Wagl. 



SPEC. CHAR. Body subcylindrical, tapering, surrounded upon its 

 middle with twenty-seven longitudinal series of scales. Snout sub- 

 conical and rounded. A postnasal plate and one loral. Two pairs 

 of parietals and four occipitals. Two series of supraoculars, of five 

 plates each. Lower eyelid scaly. Olivaceous-brown, provided above 

 with longitudinal dark brown lines or streaks, varying in number, 

 according to age. Beneath lighter and unicolor. 



SYN. Pygo'Jactylus gronovii, FITZ. Neue Class. Kept. 1826, 53 (non Pygodactyfus 

 gronocll, MERR.). WAGL. Isis, XXI, 1828, 741 ; &, Naturl. Syst. Amph. 1830, 160. 



Pygopus striatus, SPIX, Spec. nov. Lacert. Bras. 1825, 25. Tab. xxvm, fig. 1. 



Pygopus cariococca, SPIX, Spec. nov. Lacert. Bras. 1825, 26. Tab. xxvm, fig. 2. 



Ophiodes striatus, WAGL. Isis, XXI, 1828, 740; &, Naturl. Syst. Amph. 1830, 

 159. GRAY, in Ann. Nat. Hist. II, 1839, 334. DUM. & BIBK. Erpet. gen. V, 1839, 

 789. GRAY, Catal. Lizz. Brit. Mus. 1845, 99. GRAVENH. in Nov. Act. Nat. Cur. 

 XXIII, r, 1851, 379. PI. XLIV. 



Blpes striatus, Cuv. Regu. Anim. 2d ed. II, 1829, 65. GRIFF. Anim. Kingd. IX, 

 1831, 161. 



Bipes cariococca, Cov. Regn. Anim. 2d ed. II, 1829, 65. GRIFF. Anim. Kingd. IX, 

 1831, 161. 



Bipes striatus, GRAY, Synops. Kept, in Griff. Anim. Kingd. IX, 1831, 73. 



OBSERV. Were the nomenclature of the various plates and shields 

 which protect the head, more precise, we would have simply alluded 

 to the present species, whose history and zoological traits can easily 

 be traced through the authors quoted in the above synonymy. The 

 following description is offered, in order to render our Report as accu- 

 rate as circumstances will permit : 



DESCR. The head is slender and depressed, tapering towards the 

 snout, which is subconical, and rounded upon its periphery. The rostral 

 plate is large and hemidiscoid; immediately behind, are two pairs of 

 rhomboid internasals of moderate size ; the anterior pair is the 

 smallest, situated transversely upon the snout, between the nasals. 

 The posterior pair is contiguous laterally to the postnasal and the 

 loral. There is a large, odd, heptagonal frontal, contiguous anteriorly 

 to the internasals, laterally to the loral and first supraocular of each 

 series, and posteriorly to the vertex plate. The latter is the largest of 

 all, elongated, narrowest in front, and subhexagonal ; it is contiguous 



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