198 Lacertidee. 



Tostral'* ; frontonasals as long as broad or broader than long, usually 

 separated from each other by an azygos shield t; frontal as long as 

 its distance from the end of the snout, If to 2 times as long as broad, 

 narrower behind than in front ; parietals longer than broad ; inter- 

 parietal as large as or a little smaller than the frontoparietals, sometimes 

 nearly as broad as the parietals, IJ- to If times as long as broad; 

 occipital usually absent.J Two large supraoculars, what is usually the 

 first being mostly broken up into 2 to 4 small shields, a fourth absent 

 or very small and widely separated from the frontoparietal ; 3 super- 

 ciliaries, second very long ; a series of granules between the supraoculars 

 and the superciliaries. A single nasal, in contact with the first upper 

 labial, followed by two superposed postnasals ; anterior loreal shorter 

 than the second; 4, rarely 3 or 5, upper labials anterior to the subocular, 

 which is much narrower beneath than above and borders the mouth. 2 

 or 3 large, keeled upper temporals, the first the longest ; temporal scales 

 moderately large, hexagonal, strongly keeled ; a narrow tympanic shield. 



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

 gular scales large, imbricate, 14 to 18 in a straight line between the 

 symphysis of the chin-shields and the ventral plates. 



Scales large, rhombic and strongly keeled, posterior nearly as large 

 as caudals, laterals much smaller than dorsals ; ventral plates in 6 or 

 8 longitudinal and 19 to 23 transverse series ; 26 to 30 scales and 

 plates round the middle of the body. A large preanal plate, bordered 

 by one or two semicircles of smaller plates, or two large plates, one in 

 front of the other. 



Scales on upper surface of tibia rhombic and keeled, a little smaller 

 than the dorsals. 10 to 15 femoral pores on each side. Subdigital 

 lamellse bi- or tricarinate, 17 to 19 under the fourth toe. 



Caudal scales strongly keeled, upper larger than lower, 16 to 22 in 

 the fourth or fifth whorl behind the postanal granules. 



Bronze brown above, with a whitish lateral streak from the super- 

 ciliary edge to the base of the tail, and sometimes a second from tlie 

 upper lip, through the tympanum, to the base of the hind limb ; a 

 series of black spots or cross-bars often present on each side of 

 the back, above the dorsolateral streak ; sides with black spots, 

 sometimes small, sometimes very large ; hind limbs and tail red or 



* In a male from Eajpur the upper part of the nasal is produced backward, 

 forming a suture with the prefrontal, the frontonasal being much reduced in 

 consequence. 



t Out of 14 specimens one has two small shields between the prefrontals, 

 and in two the azygos shield is absent. 



t Present, short and broad in two specimens (Eajpur and Godavery). 



