186 Lacertuhe. 



Body rather strongly depressed. Head moderately depressed, Ih to 

 I3 times as long as broad, its depth equal to the distance between the 

 anterior corner or the centre of the eye and the tympanum, its length 

 34 to 3f times in length to vent in males, 4 to 4J times in females ; 

 snout pointed, as long as the postocular part of the head, with sharp 

 canthus and concave loreal region ; a lanceolate concavity on the upper 

 surface of the snout and the anterior half of the frontal ; a strong 

 keel below the eye. Pileus 2 to 2^ times as long as broad. Neck as 

 broad as or a little narrower than the head. The hind limb reaches 

 between the shoulder and the ear in males, the axil or the shoulder in 

 females ; foot a little longer than the head ; digits feebly compressed. 

 Tail 1|- to 2 times as long as bead and body. 



Upper head-shields strongly and coarsely striated and keeled ; 

 nostril between three shields; nasals forming a suture behind the 

 rostral ; frontonasal broader than long ; prefrontals longer than broad, 

 not reaching the first large supraocular, forming an extensive median 

 suture; frontal as long as or a little shorter than its distance fiom the 

 end of the snout, 1| to 2^ times as long as broad, narrower behind 

 than in front ; parietals longer than broad, rounded behind ; inter- 

 parietal as large as the f rontopai'ietals, in contact with or narrowly 

 separated from a much shorter occipital, the posterior border of which 

 is rounded and projects beyond the parietals. Two large supra- 

 oculars, pi-eceded and followed by small keeled scales ; first supra- 

 ocular as long as or a little shorter than its distance from the posterior 

 loreal, in contact with the posterior half of the frontal, second sometimes 

 narrowly in contact with the parietal ; 4< or 5 superciliaries, first longest 

 and forming a very oblique suture with the second ; 1 or 2 series of 

 granular scales between the supraoculars and the superciliaries. Lower 

 nasal broadly in contact with the rostral ; postnasal small, between 

 the upper and lower nasals ; anterior loreal as long as or a little 

 shorter than second ; 4, rarely 5, upper labials anterior to the sub- 

 ocular, which is much narrower beneath than above, and borders 

 the mouth.* A large upper temporal ; temporal scales rather large, 

 hexagonal, strongly keeled ; a narrow tympanic shield. Lower eyelid 

 with a series of vertically enlarged scales in the middle. 



5 pairs of chin-shields, the 3 anterior in contact in the middle ; 

 gular scales imbricate, passing gradually into the ventral plates, 19 to 

 23 in a straight median line. 



Dorsal scales rhombic-lanceolate, strongly keeled, acutely pointed 

 or shortly mucronate, nearly as large as upper caudals ; lateral scales 



* In a male from Moeleni the lower part of the subocular is cut off to form 

 a supplementary labial as in I. squamulosa. 



