ETJPREPIS VENUSTUS. 231 



region, tapering considerably towards the snout, which is subconical. 

 The tail, somewhat depressed at the base, is subconical upon the rest 

 of its length, and tapers into a point. The fore limbs, when bent for- 

 wards, will reach the anterior rim of the orbit with their longest 

 finger. The only specimen before us measures four inches and a 

 quarter, two inches belonging to the head and body combined, the 

 rest to the tail. The species attains larger dimensions, for, a colored 

 sketch, made from life in October, 1838, represents an individual more 

 than six inches in total length. 



According to our nomenclature, the cephalic plates are : two supra- 

 nasals, contiguous ; a prefrontal, lozenge-shaped ; two subrhomboid 

 postfrontals ; a vertex plate, pentagonal, elongated, and narrowest 

 posteriorly ; a parietal, subhexagonal, narrowest anteriorly ; an occi- 

 pital, large, and crescent-shaped ; two small postoccipitals ; five tem- 

 poral shields, scale-like, and subrhomboid ; one nasal ; one postnasal ; 

 two lorals ; five supraoculars, and five supraciliaries. 



The rostral is prominently convex, elevated, extending somewhat 

 to the upper surface of the snout. The internasals are well developed, 

 elongated, broadest anteriorly, and contiguous exteriorly to the nasal 

 and postnasal. The prefrontal, as already observed, is lozenge-shaped, 

 contiguous anteriorly to the internasals, laterally to the first loral, and 

 posteriorly to the postfrontals. The second and third supraoculars 

 are the largest of the series ; the fifth is very small, and contiguous, 

 together with the fourth and last postorbital, to the angle of the 

 occipital. The temporal shields constitute two series; the uppermost, 

 composed of three shields, extends between the sixth labial and the 

 postoccipital, whilst the lowermost, composed of two shields only, 

 extends from the seventh labial to the scales of the neck. The post- 

 nasals are very small, and situated between the first labial beneath, 

 the anterior loral behind, the internasal above, and nasal in front. The 

 posterior or second loral is quite large, and is the plate which enters 

 elsewhere into the orbit, and then called anteorbital or foremost infra- 

 orbital. 



The dorsal scales are conspicuously carinated, whilst on the sides, 

 the keels become quite obsolete, and along the abdomen, they appear 

 perfectly smooth. The caudal scales are smooth, and considerably 

 larger than around the body. On the upper aspect of the limbs, the 

 scales are likewise keeled, and smooth or nearly so beneath. 



The upper surface of the head and the dorsal region are chestnut- 



