SAURIANS. 41 



Certain species have palatine teeth, and an emargination on the anterior 

 edge of the tympanum. 



Among this number, on account of its trenchant and somewhat 

 raised muzzle*, we should distinguish the 



Seine, officinalis, Schn.; Lac. scincus, Lin.; El Adda of the 

 Arabs; Le scinque des pharmacies, Lacep. I, xxiii; Bruce, Abyss, 

 pi. 39; Egypt. Rep. Suppl. pi. 2, f. 8. (The Officinal Seine). Six 

 or eight inches long; the tail shorter than the body ; the latter of a 

 silvery yellow ; transverse blackish bands ; inhabits Nubia, Abys- 

 sinia, and Arabia, whence it is sent to Alexandria, and from thence 

 distributed throughout Europe. It possesses a surprising facility of 

 burying itself in the sand when pursued -j\ Among .those which 

 have blunt muzzles we may observe a species diffused throughout 

 India; the Sc. rvfescens, which is greenish, with a yellowish line 

 along the flanks; each scale has three small raised ridges. There 

 is one from the south of Africa, very common in the vicinity of the 

 Cape — the Sc. trivittatus ; brown ; three paler lines along the back 

 and tail; black spots between the lines J. 



We should especially notice the great Levant species, Sc. eyprius, 

 Cuv., Lac. eyprius sincoides, Aldrov. Quadr. Dig. 666; Geoff. Desc. 

 de l'Egypt, Rept. pi. iii, f. 3, under the name of Anolis gigantesque, 

 which is greenish, with smooth scales; the tail longer than the body, 

 and a pale line along each flank. 



In other Seines, the Tiliqua of Gray, the palatine teeth are wanting. 

 There is one of these very common in the south of Europe, Sar- 

 dinia, Sicily, and Egypt; Sc. variegatus, Sc. ocellatus, Schn. ; Daud. 

 IV, lvi; Geoff. Eg. Rept. pi. v, f. 1, under the name of Anolis 

 marbre; and better, Savigny, lb., Supp. pi. ii, f. 7, which has small, 

 round black spots, each marked with a white streak on the back, 

 flanks, and tail. There is most commonly a pale line along each 

 side of the back. 



* This species alone composes the genus Scincus of Fitzinger, the others con- 

 stitute his genus Mabouia. 



f The Greeks and Latins called the Terrestrial Crocodile, Scincus; it was conse- 

 quently a Monitor to which they attributed so many virtues; but since the middle 

 ages, the above species is usually sold under this name, and for the same purposes. 

 Eastern nations, in particular, consider it as a powerful aphrodisiac. 



X Add, Sc. erythrocephalus, Gilliams, Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. I, xviii, (or the Scorpion 

 Lizard, Penn.);— Sc. bicolor, Harlan, lb. IV, xviii, 1; — Sc. multiseriatus, Nob.; 

 Geoff. Eg. Rep. IV, f. 4, under the name of Anolis pave.—'We also think it proper 

 to refer to this subdivision, although we have not been able to procure the animal, 

 the great Scincus, called in Jamaica the Galley Wasp; Sloane, II, pi. 273, f. 9, 

 (Lac. occidua, Sh.) (a). 



IggT (a) Messrs. Peale and Green in the 6th vol. of the " Journal of the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia," describe a new species, which they call S. 

 uentralis. It is fifteen inches long, with a long tail, the body being above olivaceous 

 with some black spots, and white beneath; scales on the back carinated and imbri- 

 cate; folds spotted on each side of the body. These gentlemen propose to make 

 this species the foundation of a genus to be called Pterogasterus. It is a native 

 of Mexico, where it is known as an extremely venomous creature under the name 

 of Escorpiou. — Enc;. En. 



