1881.] ON THE COLEOPTERA OF SOCOTRA. 469 



dark lateral stripe continuing the furthest. Limbs spotted above. 

 Lower parts white. The head above is greyish brown speckled with 

 white. 



In the largest individual, the length from nose to anus is 1"9 

 inch, head 0-48, fore limb OG, hindhmb MS. The tail is imperfect. 

 The only specimen with the tail nearly perfect is 4'.') inches long, 

 of which the tail measures 2-75, and the body 1-7^. 



I know of no nearer ally to this Lizard than E. (Mesalina) par- 

 dalis^, which is a more elongate form, with longer limbs, smaller 

 scales on the back, and of a totally different coloration. 



Four specimens of this species have been obtained. 



EUPREPES PERROTTETI, Var. 



There are four specimens of a Scinque with a transparent lower 

 eyelid, the dorsal scales each with three strong keels, 31 to 32 scales 

 round the body, and the back unstriped. I can find no sufficient 

 character to separate this form from the Western-African E. per- 

 rotteti, of which a specimen was obtained by Mr. Jesse in Abyssinia 

 (Geol. Zool. Abyss, p. 456). 



In the Socotran Scinque, the postfrontals just meet ; and in one 

 example they are separate and the anterior point of the vertical 

 shield is in contact with the rostral, whereas in E. perrotteti from 

 Western Africa, as a rule, the postfrontals form a broad suture to- 

 gether, and completely isolate the vertical from the prsefrontal. But 

 there is much variation, and I find one specimen at least of E. per- 

 rotteti, from Senegal, with the postfrontals separate. Also the 

 lobules in front of the ear are in general more elongate and pointed 

 in the Socotran variety ; but they are very variable. 



The coloration of the Socotran examples is uniform dull olive 

 on the back, upper part of limbs, and tail, rufous-brown on the head, 

 and white below. The largest specimen measures 8g inches, of 

 which the tail is nearly 5. 



E. isseli (Peters, Monatsber. ilkad. Berlin, 18/1, p. 567), from 

 Northern Abyssinia (Bogos), must be closely allied, but differs in 

 colour, being striped along the side, and in having a single prseocci- 

 pital shield instead of two. 



5. On the Coleopterous Insects collected by Prof. I. Bailey- 

 Balfour in the island of Socotra. By Charles O. 

 Waterhouse. Communicated by Dr, Gunther, F.R.S. 



[Received March 30, 1881.] 



(Plate XLIII.) 



Although the number of species of Beetles collected by Prof. Balfour 

 in Socotra is only twenty-four, there is enough to show, what one 

 would naturally have expected, that the fauna is distinctly African. 



' I am unable to distinguish between this form and E. quftulafa, as I am not 

 sure that the diilorences shown ia Lichtenstein's, Dumti-il and Bibrou's, and 

 Gray's descriptions are constant. 



