104 



Description of New or Utile known 



smooth, Limbs none, exserted. Tail cylindrical, short 

 rounded at the end. — Gray, 



Acontias Layardi. n. nobis. 



Light olive, and spotted longitudinally with brown spots, 

 paler beneath. 



Length of young 4 inches. 



Habitat Soil of the Cinnamon Gardens of Colombo. 



The form of this reptile is distinguished from that of Nessia, 

 above described, by the absence of limbs ; in other respects 

 it is very like the outline characters of Nessia. Mr. Layard 

 procured us the specimens (apparently young) of this curious 

 lizard. 



The only other species described in Gray's Catalogue, is 

 one from the Cape of Good Hope. 



Mr. Blyth writes that he has described an allied Genus, 

 from Rangoon, by the name of Ophiseps. 



FAM. UROPELTIDJE. 

 ROUGH TAILS, DAPAT-NAYA, Sing. 



Head conical, compressed, shelving and acute in front, flat 

 above, behind. Crown covered with regular shields. Rostral 

 produced, moderate, convex, horny, subtriangular, erect, 

 produced, and acute behind. Nostrils roundish, lateral, 

 simple, in the middle of the front of an erect subtriangular 

 band-like nasal. Internasal none, frontonasal subtriangular, 

 truncated below, contiguous above, frontal and frontoparietal 

 distinct. Nape scaly. Labial shields ! distinct. Eyes dis- 

 tinct, lateral, in the middle of the front of an erect eye-shield, 

 and covered by the shield without any eyelids. Eyebrow 

 shield none. Tongue elongate, flat, forked at the tip. Body 

 cylindrical, Scales 6 sided, smooth, those of the hinder part 

 and above the tail sometimes 2-keeled. Yent with three 

 scales in front. Tail cylindrical, obliquely truncated above. 



This family is intermediate between the Lizards and the 

 Snakes ; following Cuvier and others, I was induced to refer it 

 to the latter order, and therefore did not insert it in the Synopsis 



