Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 31 
species resembles tbe female of Wilhelmi, but is distinct therefrom by 
the dorsal scaling, by tbe greater elongation of tbe bead, and by its 
elongated interparietal scute. 
Tbe South African species of Platysaurus can be distinguished 
by aid of tbe following key : — 
Enlarged gular scales in a double row ... P. torquatus Pet. 
Enlarged gular scales in a single row, no occipital 
P . capensis Smith 
Occipital usually not reaching the interparietal ; dorsal 
lepidosis practically homogeneous ... P. guttatus Smith 
Occipital reaching the interparietal and forming with it a 
comparatively broad suture ; dorsal scales varying 
considerably in size in the same transverse line 
Pi wilhelmi n. sp. 
ZONBBTTS. 
The two commonest Transvaal species of Zonurus (Z. vittifer 
and Z. jonesii) were also described from insufficient material, and 
the ascribed specific characters demand some revision. 
Zonurus vittifer Beichenow. — Of this species the Transvaal 
Museum has numerous specimens, and it is probably the most 
abundant species in the Transvaal. The original description (Zool. 
Anz., 188T, p. 3T2) cites as the chief distinctive character: “ Eronto- 
nasals*very small and four-sided”; this, however, is not always nor 
even usually the case. The frontonasal is often five-sided and of 
moderate size or comparatively large ; if it is four-sided the 
prefrontals meet in the mid-line, but when it is five-sided there is 
usually a small square scute between the frontal and the frontonasal, 
thus separating the prefrontals, or the large pentagonal frontonasal 
itself may separate the prefrontals. 
The species closely resembles Z. cordylus, but differs in that the 
nasals form a comparatively long median suture and the frontonasal 
is small, or, if large, not transversely elongated, whilst in Z. cordylus 
the median suture of the nasals is short and the frontonasal is 
transversely elongated and large ; also the dorsal scutes of the second 
row posteriorly to the parietals are longitudinally elongated, which 
is not the case in Z. cordylus L. 
Dr. Jean Boux has proposed (Zool. Jahrb. Ab. Syst. XXV, 
p. 418) to sink this species as a variety of Z. cordylus L., but whilst 
admitting the close relationship of the two forms, I consider that 
the differences between them are really of specific importance ; for, 
firstly, the above-mentioned differences are structural and quite 
definite, that is to say, it is easy to distinguish between the two 
species by consideration of either of these two characters alone, and 
our long series have nothing whatever that can be regarded as inter- 
mediate ; and, secondly, they occupy different areas of distribution, 
Z. vittifer being found in the Transvaal and Xatal, whilst Z. cordylus 
is found in Cape Colony and ranges northwards along the western 
part of the sub-continent to tropical West Africa. 
Zonurus vittifer reaches- no great size, the length of the adult 
being about T inches. 
Zonurus jonesii Boul. is also abundant in the Transvaal. It was 
described (Ann. and Mag. X.H. 6, VII, p. 417) as having pentagonal 
frontonasals longer than broad, separating the prefrontals and 
