1895.] BATEACHIAJfS FBOM ADEIf . 639 



about, the rocks were so hot as to be unpleasant to the touch. I 

 also found it in considerable numbers on the trunks of large babool 

 trees about 4 miles on the Aden side of Lahej." 



"3. Hemidactylits sinaitus, Bouleuger. 



Hemidactylus sinaitus, Boulenger, Cat. Liz. B. M. 2ud ed. 

 i. 1885, p. 126. 



1 c? , 2 2 , and 2 juv. Shaikh Othman. 



1 5 . Lahej. 



This species was founded by Mr. Boulenger on a female from 

 Mount Sinai. In it the nostril is formed by the rostral and by 

 three nasals, the first labial being excluded from the nostril by 

 the junction of the lowest nasal and the rostral \ In five of the 

 specimens collected by Colonel Yerbury, the first labial enters the 

 nostril by a fine point, whereas in one it enters the nostril on one 

 side and is excluded on the other by the junction o£ the lowest 

 nasal and the rostral, so that the formation of the nostril is subject 

 to variation. In only 3 out of 24 specimens obtained by me on 

 the African coast of the Eed Sea (Suakin) does the first labial 

 enter the nostril. 



In the type of the species there are no transversely enlarged 

 subcaudal plates. The specimen from Shaikh Othman, a 2 , agrees 

 with it in this detail, whereas in one from Aden the siibcaudals are 

 slightly transversely enlarged, whilst, on the other hand, a male 

 from the latter locality has a mesial line of transversely enlarged 

 sub-caudals, a feature also present in two young specimens. It 

 would thus appear that the definition of the species, so far as its 

 subcaudals also are concerned, requires modification. 



There are also in the type 9 upper and 8 lower labials, but in two 

 adults from Aden and in the Shaikh Othman specimen the labials 

 are as follows : — f, |-, -j-^. The dorsal tubercles of the type are 

 considerably smaller than those of H. turcicm ; but in three Aden 

 specimens they are even smaller than in the former, but not more 

 so than might be expected to occur in specimens from localities so 

 widely apart as Aden and Mount Sinai. 



In the type there is a large chin-shield on each side of the 

 mental, in contact with its fellow behind the latter, and in 

 relation externally with the first and second labials. Behind it is 

 a much smaller shield with some enlarged scales posterior to it. 

 The chin-shields of the Aden specimens follow a similar arrange- 

 ment, but with slight modifications. 



The number of the lamellae under the digits and the extent of 

 their lateral development are important characters in the species 

 of this genus. In these details the Aden G-eckoes agree broadly 

 with H. sinaitus, but, as in every other character, these features are 

 subject to variation. The following are the numbers of lamellae 



^ In the original description the rostral, instead of the first labial, is said not 

 to enter the nostril, but tne relation of these shields to the nostril in the type 

 specimen is as stated above. 



