500 



ilR. G. A. BOULEJfGER ON" THE 



[May 18, 



14. SCEL'jrORUS i.ICKI. 



Scehpoi'us licl-i, Vau Denbui'gh, Proc. Cal. Ac. (2) v. 1895, 

 p. 110, pi. X. 



Head-shields smooth ; frontal transversely divided, in contact 

 with the interparietal ; latter as long as broad or a little broader 

 than long, broader than the parietal s ; a series of four large trans- 

 verse supraoculars bordered inwards by an incomplete series of 

 scales, the last two supraoculars being in contact with the inter- 

 parietal and parietal ; one or two series of scales between the 

 large supraoculars and the supraciliaries ; one or two canthal 

 scales ; four or live poiuted scales, much longer than broad, form 

 a deuticulation on tlie anterior border of the ear. 



Dorsal scales much larger than veutrals, as long as broad, 

 strongly keeled, very strongly mucronate and denticulate, the 

 keels forming parallel longitudinal lines ; 32-38 scales be- 

 tween the interparietal shield and the base of the tail; 7-9 

 (exceptionally 6 or 10) scales correspond to the length of the 

 shielded part of the head. Lateral scales graduating into dorsals 

 and ventrals, strongly keeled, pointing upwards and backwards. 

 Ventral scales small, smooth, bi- or tricuspid. 36-38 scales round 

 the middle of the body. 



The adpressed hind limb reaches the ear, or between the ear 

 and the eye ; tibia longer than the shielded part of the head ; the 

 distance between the base of the fifth toe and the extremity of the 

 fourth equals the distance between the end of the snout and the 

 collar-fold. 14-16 femoral pores on each side. 



Caudal scales as large as dorsals, strongly keeled and mucronate. 

 Males with enlarged postanal scales. 



The follomng description of the colours is taken from fresh 

 specimens by Mr. Van Denburgh : — 



" Back and sides olive-brown, many of the scales having centi-al 

 markings of deep blue or green ; a nari'ow line of verdigris-gi'een 

 runs along each side from the eye to the base of the tail ; below 

 this, a narrower similarly-coloured line runs from the ear to a 

 point a short distance above and behind the axilla. A patch in 

 front of the shoulder, the central part of the belly, and the 

 anterior and lower surfaces of the thigh black, which colour- 

 gradually fades into the cyanine blue of the sides of the belly ; 

 throat ohve-grey, with greenish-white lines, which converge to a 

 point midway between the neck-patches. Tail brown, suffused 

 with campanula^blue and beryl-green towards its base. One male 

 has a single large blue patch on the throat, through which the 

 ordinarily whitish lines show as lines of paler blue." 



