560 



A. Alcock & F. Finn — Afghan-Balnch Ileptilia. 



[Xo. 4, 



Collar nearly straight, the marginal scales feebly enlarged. Dorsal 

 scales minutely granular, smooth, equal. Ventrals equilateral or longer 

 than broad, forming oblique longitudinal series ; about 35 transverse 

 series, the longest of which contain about 22 plates. 



Prae-anal plate single or divided. 



The adpressed hind-limb reaches about to the ear or the eye ; foot 

 about as long as the distance between the arm and the nostril. Digits 

 flattened, smooth or keeled inferiorly, strongly fringed laterally ; the 

 ungual lamellae much enlarged, forming a suboval disc: a series of 

 large sub-tibia! shields. No femoral pores. 



Caudal scales smooth or more or less feebly keeled. Tail about 

 once-and-a-half to twice length of head and body. 



One specimen has the anterior loreal on each side double, or rather 

 two small shields are cut off laterally from the fronto-nasal. The 

 subocular may be in contact with two labials only. 



Colour in spirits blackish, spotted with whitish ; tail blackish 

 above, with ill-defined light median streak ; head brownish grey, 

 speckled with black ; lower surface white. 



A large specimen measures : — 



Total length 



Snout to vent 



Head 



Width of head 



Snout to fore limb 



Fore limb 



Hind limb 



Tail 





 75 



8 

 5 



15 

 

 75 

 525 



This species is nearest to 8. acutirostris, Boulenger, (Brit. Mus. Cat. 

 Lizards, Vol. Ill, p. 114) but differs (on comparison of actual speci 

 mens) from that species in the following characters : — In the new 



species — 



1. The lower nasal shield approaches the rostral more closely than 



it does in S. acutirostris. 



2. The vertex of snout (frontal, praefrontal, and fronto-nasal 



regions) is very much more deeply grooved. 



3. The prae-anal plate, which in the new species may be either 



single or divided, is also relatively very much smaller than 

 in S' acutirostris. 



4. The fringing of the digits is much more distinct than in S. 



acutirostris, and „the ungual lamellae form much broader 

 disks than in that species. 



