LIZARDS OF THE GENUS TROriDOPnORUS. 779 



4. TnoriDOPnoRus assamensis. ' • 



Tropidophortis assamensis Annandale, Rec. Ind. Mus. 1912, 

 viii. p, 58. 



Still known only from the type-specimen, which I have ex- 

 amined. From 1\ cocincinensis it differs in having the 4th 

 supralabial largest and below the middle of the eye, in having no 

 small shields interposed between the loreals and supi'alabials, 

 and in the strongly mucronate dorsal scales. It has one largo 

 anterior and one posterior loreal scale. The ventral keeling is 

 probably an immature character as the specimen is not yet fully 



5. TRoriDonioRUS iiainanus, sp. n. 



Type. Author's number 0997, collected at Aug Mao, alt. GOO m., 

 near the Five Finger mountain, island of Hainan, in January 1923. 

 Presented to the British Museum (Natural History). 



Description of the type. — Upper hciad-shields strongly striated ; 

 frouto-ujisal single, as long as broad, in contact with the fi-ontal ; 

 frontal once and two-thirds longer than broad, as long as the 

 fronto-parietal and interparietal together ; parietals in contact 

 behind the interparietal ; 4 supraoculars, the anterior two 

 touching the frontal, the fourth just entering the supraciliary 

 border ; 5 supraciliary shields anterior to the fourth supraocular ; 

 nostril in a single shield ; two anterior and two posterior loreal 

 shields ; temporals small, with strong striae like the upper head- 

 shields ; G supralabiaLs, the fourth largest and below the middle 

 of the eye ; 5 infralabials, the first in contact with the azygos 

 postmeutal and anterior chin-shield. Tympanum as large as the 

 eye-opening. 



Thirty-two scales round the middle of the body ; dorsals and 

 laterals strongly keeled, not mucronate, most of the scales in the 

 median dorsal row with two keels, or where unicarinate smaller 

 than the others ; laterals smaller than the dorsals, the upper rows 

 with a feeble obliquity upwards and backwards ; ventrals larger 

 than the dorsals, quite smooth ; gulars feebly keeled ; a pair of 

 enlarged prasanals ; three rows of smooth scales below the tail, 

 the median row transversely enlarged. The hind-limb reaches 

 the wrist. 



Dark reddish brown above, with indistinct light dark-edged 

 cross bars, the anterior two V-shaped ; flanks with large whitish 

 dark-edged blotches ; belly white speckled black ; throat with 

 white longitudinal streaks. ■ 



Variation. — Six specimens examined from the type-locality 

 (Nos. 6996 to 7001), and one (No. 7002) from the foot of the 

 Five Finger mountain about 20 miles distant. 



The praefrontals are separated in every example; there are 

 seven supralabials in No. 7002, the 5th being below the middle 

 of the eye ; one specimen has only 30 scales round the body, 

 another has 34 ; in some examples only a few scales of the 



