LIPINIA VULCAN I A. 255 



ffontalibua contiguis ; supraocularibits amplissimis ; loreis duobus, 

 d'/itiibus, ad verticem versus elongntis ; temporalibits squami/ormibus. 

 Supra fiisea, cum vitta laterali subnigra ; infra unicolori. 



i 



SPEC. CHAR. Scales disposed upon thirty longitudinal series around 

 the body. Prefrontal plate large, subquadrangular ; postfrontals 

 contiguous ; supraoculars quite large. Two slender, vertically elon- 

 gated lorals. Temporal shields scale-like. Brown above, with a 

 lateral darker streak ; beneath unicolor. 



SY.\. Ltpinia vulcania, GRD. in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sei. Philad. November, 1857. 



OBSERV. From the information we possess regarding Lipinia pvl- 

 chella, GRAY (Catal. Lizz. Brit. Mus. 1845, 84), we are not prepared 

 to draw any comparative specific characters between the latter and 

 the species which we describe further on, beyond their system of 

 coloration, which, however, is quite peculiar in both. We hope some 

 one will take the opportunity of looking carefully into this subject, and 

 furnish us with an accurate description of the zoological traits of the 

 species from the specimens preserved in the British Museum. 



DESCR. The head is depressed, subconcave upon the interocular 

 region ; the snout being short and subacute, and quite declivous. 

 The eye is large. The rostral plate is well developed, transversely 

 elongated, maintaining its width sideways, where it is nearly as deep 

 as upon the middle line of the snout. The prefrontal is quite large, 

 eubquadrangular in shape, occupying the entire fronto-rostral space. 

 The postfrontals are subrhomboid, contiguous upon the middle line of 

 the head. The vertex plate is quite elongated, sublanceolated, obtuse- 

 angled anteriorly, and tapering posteriorly into an acute angle, extend- 

 ing somewhat beyond the middle of the supraocular region. Immedi- 

 ately behind the vertex plate, and in contiguity with it, are observed 

 the subtrapezoid parietals, contiguous upon their inner margin. The 

 middle occipital is moderate-sized, spear-shaped ; its anterior rather 

 obtuse angle engaging somewhat between the diverging parietals, 

 whilst laterally it is entirely inclosed by the latero-occipitals, the pos- 

 terior extremity of which, just approximating near the apex of the 

 plate we are now alluding to. As to the latero-occipitals.themselves, 

 they are larger than the parietals, being next in size to the vertex 



