1870.] Indian and Malayan Amphibia and Reptilia. 203 



Full, or nearly full, grown specimens become uniform brown above, 

 whitish below. The upper brown colour is distinctly denned from 

 the lower white one at the lateral angle of the ventrals. In one 

 of my Nicobar specimens this angle is pure white, and more than 

 the basal half of each ventral is ashy brown, the subcaudals are 

 nearly all white. This same specimen has the whole length of the 

 body a median dorsal pale yellowish brown band, and one or two 

 hardly conspicuous darker bands on either side. However, it must 

 be remarked that this uniform colouring is not always a sign o£ 

 maturity ; it seems to be rather local, for there are often large 

 specimens seen with various spots and blotches of brown and 

 yellow. 



Steindachner (Novara Kept, p. 74) quotes L. aulicus from 

 Java and from Amoy, which again indicates the relation of the 

 Nicobar to the Javaen Eeptile fauna, and of both through the 

 Andamans to Arracan and Burma. Fitzinger appears to have 

 favoured the species also with a new name, L. capueinus. 



61. Tetragonosoma effrene, Cantor, (variai.) PI. XI, Fig. 3, 

 (G u n t h., 1. cit. p. 320). 



I have obtained a fine specimen of what appears to be an adult 

 of this species from Banca, but as it shews some marked differences 

 from the type, I have given a view of the head and append a de- 

 scription, in order to facilitate comparison. 



Body slender, head depressed, distinct from neck, long, with 

 abroad rounded snout. Scales smooth in 17 rows, those of the back 

 larger than at the sides, hexagonal or pentagonal ; total length 31^ 

 inches, of which the tail is 6^", being very slender; ventrals 223, 

 anal bifid ; subcaudals 84. 



Eostral shield low, much broader than high, deeply indented at the 

 base, anterior frontals irregularly squarish, about one-third the size 

 of the posterior ; vertical subtrigonal, with convergent sides which 

 are, however, somewhat irregular and incline to form an angle near 

 the posterior end ; supraorbitals of moderate size, shorter than 

 vertical ; occipitals much longer than broad, obtusely and narrowly 

 truncate behind ; upper labials 9, the first is the smallest, the second 

 tho largest, the third, fourth and fifth enter the orbit ; the greater 



