24 W. T. Blanford — On some Lizards from Sind. [No. 1, 



tral. Upper labials square, about 30 to 34 in number, rostral very little 

 broader : mental larger than the rostral. Both eyelids fringed with elon- 

 gate pointed scales, the upper in front and behind only, the lower 

 throughout. Orifice of ear exceeding the nasal shield in size, the upper 

 edge has a few spinose scales in some specimens, but no long fringe 

 covering part of the orifice ; tympanum very little sunken. 



Scales of the back smooth or very faintly keeled, subimbricate, arranged 

 in oblique rows, and with some much enlarged scales scattered among them ; 

 each enlarged scale is about the size of four ordinary scales, it is pale in 

 colour, often forming the centre of a pale spot, and rather bluntly keeled 

 and pointed behind. These enlarged scales occur also on the basal portion 

 of the tail, but not on the limbs. All the tail-scales are keeled except below 

 near the base, the keels forming longitudinal lines throughout the greater 

 portion of the tail ; the scales are not arranged in rings. Scales on the 

 limbs subequal, those above keeled, those beneath smooth, except on the feet, 

 where the scales above are smooth, those beneath the feet and toes sharply 

 keeled. Claws moderate ; those on the fore feet very little longer than on 

 the hind, none of them half the length of the thumb without its claw. 

 Scales of the abdomen all smooth, rhomboidal, a single row of about 10 to 

 12 pores just in front of the anus in males. I count about 120 scales 

 round the body. 



Colour above, when alive, olive brown of a paler or darker tint, spotted 

 with pale yellow, each spot corresponding to one of the enlarged dorsal 

 scales. A dusky longitudinal line on each side of the back of the neck, and 

 3 or 4 pairs of blackish spots of irregular shape at a distance along the 

 back. In some specimens the anterior portion of the shoulder is indigo 

 blue. A large red mark with dusky edges is always found below the throat 

 in living individuals of both sexes, it is more or less concealed by the throat 

 fold and it disappears in specimens kept in spirit. Tail marked above with 

 alternating dusky and pale bands equal in width. 



This species is distinguished from all others by its colouration, and, 

 when alive, by the presence of a red patch beneath the throat. It may be 

 easily distinguished from T. ruderatus by its much smoother surface, and 

 its scales arranged in regular rows, and from T. megalonyx by its shorter 

 claws and by there being little, if any, difference in length between those 

 on the fore and hind feet. It is probably more nearly allied to the Egyp- 

 tian T. mutabilis. Compared with the figure in the ' Description de l'E'gypte' 

 (Supp., PI. I, Fig. 6), it differs in colouration, in the distribution of the en- 

 larged scales and in their not being sjfinose. In T. mutabilis also there are 

 tubercles on the upper surface of the limbs. 



I found this new Trapelus not very common on the " Pat" or sandy 

 desert and semi-desert along the base of the Khirthar hills in western Sind. 



