370 



DR. J. ANDERSON ON PERSIAN, 



[Mar. 5, 



the fore limb, when laid forward, reaches to the snout ; but in the 

 specimen before me it reaches only to the anterior angle of the eye. 

 The tail of my individual is forked at its middle, the two prongs 

 being of nearly equal length, the longest measuring ljL", and the 

 undivided portion of the tail ^V, total length of the organ being 

 2 T L". The body is lU" long," the head &'", the fore limb T %", 

 and the posterior limb -]-§-" in length. 

 Hab. Ladak. 



Fig. 1. 



Avgiiis orientalis. 



Anguis orientalis, n. sp. (Fig. 1.) 



Rostral triangular. Two supranasals on each side enclosing an 

 azygos quadrangular shield in contact with the rostral in front, and 

 the internasal and postfrontals behind. Internasal triangular, pointed 

 in front, with the fronto-nasals on each side of it. Fronto-nasal 

 pentagonal or elongately oval and pointed at each end, lying be- 

 tween the posterior supranasal, internasal, and frontal, in contact 

 behind with two shields, one of the side of the head, and one of a 

 longitudinal line of eight small shields between the supraciliaries 

 and the eye. Frontal rather large, triangular, broadly truncated in 

 front, with a wavy posterior margin. Three postfrontals in a trans- 

 verse row, more or less quadrangular. Six rather large supra- 

 ciliaries ; two small scales behind the eye. Vertical very large, 

 broader in front than behind, lateral margins divergent, and then 

 passing inwards at an obtuse angle to the posterior margin, which is 

 transversely truncated. Two pairs of quadrangular parietals behind 

 the supraciliaries, the external shield the largest, the inner one 

 touching by its internal margins the vertical and parietal. The 

 latter is a long wedge-like pentagonal shield truncated anteriorly, 

 but with its lateral margins convergent to a point behind. A pair 

 of large oblong obliquely placed exoccipitals, with a triangular pos- 

 teriorly pointed small shield between their posterior margins. Two 

 rows of temporals, three on either side, but each external to the 

 parietals and exoccipitals. A single row of small shields from the 

 fourth lower labial round anteriorly to the corresponding labial of 

 the opposite side. Two rows of small shields from and below the 

 fourth to the last lower labial. A large azygos chin-shield behind 

 the infralabial line of scales, with four large pairs posterior to it, 



