AND BATBACHIANS OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS. 43 



fourth toe little longer than third, with L3 lamellae under its dilated portion j 



30 scales round the body L. virens. 



Five supraoculars, first largest, but much shorter than the four others together ; ear- 

 opening small ; fourth toe little longer than third, with 16 lamellae under its 

 dilated portion ; 38 scales round the body L. nnolis. 



CoKUCU, Gray. 

 Corucia, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1855, p. 217. 



Maxillary and mandibular teeth with compressed sharp-edged angular crowns, wear- 

 ing out obliquely. A few teeth on the pterygoids. Palatine and pterygoid bones 

 not meeting on the median line of the palate. Eyelids well developed, lower without 

 transparent disk Ear exposed. Limbs well developed, with five strong digits. Tail 

 prehensile. Nostril pierced in a single plate ; no supranasals ; a large frontonasal ; 

 a pair of prsefrontals, a frontal, a pair of fronto-parietals, an interparietal, a pair of 

 parietals, several occipitals. Scales on the body large, those on the back slightly 

 striated. 



The an-angement of the tubules in the osteodermal plates of the dorsal region differs 

 considerably from that of other Scincoids, approaching nearest that of Cyclodus. Instead 

 of a transverse tubule anastomosing with the vertical ones, there is a large network of 

 tubules which occupies the middle of the plate ; there are eight longitudinal ones 

 anteriorly and twelve posteriorly. 



This interesting genus contains a single large-sized species, the habitat of which 

 appears to be restricted to the Solomon Islands, and, perhaps, only to the island of 

 San Christoval ', whence the two original specimens were brought, in 1855, to the 

 British Museum, by John McGillivray, who accompanied the expedition of the ' Herald.' 

 More recently a third specimen, stated to be from the Solomons, has been purchased 

 from a dealer. The Lizard was very shortly characterized by Gray, but an excellent 

 figure accompanies the description. 



13. COEUCIA ZEBEATA. (Plate VII. fig. 3.) 

 Corucia zebrata. Gray, 1. c. p. 218, pi. viii. 



The head is thick, triangular, distinct from the neck, the upper surface perfectly 

 plane, the sides nearly vertical ; the snout is very short, broader than long, rounded, 

 considerably shorter than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening ; the latter 

 is vertically elliptic, oblique, and nearly as long as the eye. 



The body is stout, fusiform, four times as long as the head. The limbs are strong; 

 if stretched forwards, the fore limb reaches the tip of the snout or slightly beyond ; 

 the hind limb reaches about two thirds the distance between groin and axilla. The 

 digits are short and strong, feebly compressed, with powerful, sharp, curved claws ; the 



' See footnote, p. 37. 



VOL. XII. — PAET II. No. 2. — Aiwil, 1886. h 



