18 SECOND YARKAND MISSION. 



12. EEEMIAS VERMICTJLATA. PL II, fig. 5. 



Jour. As. Soc. Bengal, 1875, xliv, Pt. 2, p. 194. 

 ? Podarces (Eremias) pylzowi, Strauch, Przewalski's Reptiles, p. 28, PL vi, fig. 1. 



E. supra grisea, nigro-vermiculata, subtus albida, elongata, gracilis ; dorso granuloso, 

 scutis nasalibus tumidis, prcefrontali unico a rostrali supranasalibus atque a verticals 

 postfrontalibus longe disjuncto ; supraorbitalibus convexis, omnino squamis minimis rotimdis 

 circumdatis ; infraorbitali late ad labrum pertinente, dentibus palatalibus nullis ; scutis 

 ventralibus in series 16-20 longitudinales (potius obliquas), atque 36-41 transversas disposi- 

 tis ; ports femoralibus utrinque 19-23 ; squamis infradigitalibus vix carinatis. Long. 7'4 

 poll., caudfe 5'1. 



1, 2, Yarkand ; 3, Kizil, Eastern Turkestan. 



Description. General form very slender, the tail more than twice as long as the head 

 and body. Limbs moderate, the fore limb reaches nearly to the end of the snout, the hind 

 limb in front of the shoulder, nasal plates swollen. Scales beneath the toes but little keeled. 

 No palatal teeth. Length of the largest specimen 7'4 inches, of which the tail measures 

 5'1, head 0'55, the fore limb is 0'85 long, hind limb 1'5. 



Scales of the back round, granular, minute in the middle, becoming larger on the sides, 

 all arranged in transverse rows. Ventral scales in transverse and oblique rows, 18 to 20 

 across the abdomen and 41 along it in the two Yarkand specimens, but only 16 across and 36 

 along in the Kizil individual. Tail scales all keeled, except below near the base. None of 

 the prse-anal scales are much enlarged. Femoral pores from 19 to 23 beneath each thigh. 

 The enlarged scales below the tarsus extend about half-way across. Scales beneath the soles 

 of the feet granular and very small. Plates beneath the toes on the fore feet keeled, but not 

 prominently, those on the hind feet are smooth, except towards the end of the toes, collar 

 free, scales about the same size as those of the abdomen, rather irregular in the specimens 

 examined, and passing gradually into the small granules of the throat. 



Head shields. The single prsefrontal is large, and is separated from the rostral by the 

 supranasals and from the vertical by the postfrontals ; suture between the supranasals about 

 equal to that between the postfrontals, and, in each case, in the specimens examined, about 

 half the length of the prsefrontal. Nasals normal. The supraorbitals are somewhat more 

 convex than the other shields and are completely surrounded by granules, those separating 

 them from the vertical and prseoccipitals being rather larger than those towards the super- 

 ciliary ridge. 



Praeoccipitals each about a quarter the size of a postoccipital. A small central occipital, 

 no azygos shield behind it, five or six supralabials in front of the large infraorbital, which 

 descends to the lip, the lower edge being equal to that of the preceding shield or longer. 

 Lower eyelid granular. Temples covered with small granular scales. Edge of ear not 

 toothed. 



Colour. Grey above, finely vermiculated with black lines, which tend to form longi- 

 tudinal bands along the middle of the back. Upper surface of head and limbs the same ; 

 lower parts white. 



This is easily distinguished from the former species by being much more elongate, with 

 a much longer tail and hind limbs, by its having more numerous ventral scales, and swollen 



