parietal or inter-parietal plates (Vide Plate XLII. Fig. f>.),. Temporal plates
six, the hindermost one the largest. 1Meatus auditorius externus edged anteriorly
by a narrow projecting plate. Scales of body slightly imbricate, and
arranged in transverse rows ; they are quadrangular in form, and in proportion
to the size of the species are larger than in any other species of the genus
yet described ; they are all quite smooth, and destitute even of the rudiments
of a keel. Lateral duplicature well developed. Plates of belly quadrangular,
and disposed in transverse rows, eight scales in each, their greatest
width transversely. Femoral pores eight. Preanal plates three in a row, the
middle one diamond-shaped. Length from nose to base of tail, 1 inch
11 lines ; length of tail, 4 inches.
So far as I know, only a very few specimens of this species have yet been obtained, and the
only two I myself procured were caught among short grass in the vicinity of a low rocky
know], in Great Namaqualand.
The uniformly smooth surface of the scales of this species distinguish it at-once from the
others of the genus. The small depth of the body is also another diagnostic character, and a
third is the gre^t size of the scales, when compared with the size of the Lizard.
R e p t il ia .— P l a t e XLI. F ig . 2.
G. dorso lateribusque lineis angustis alteme fuscis et flavo-brunneis variegato; labio superiore brunneo,
flavo-albo-fasciato; corporis squamis multiliratis, caudse carinatis.
Longitudo e naso ad basin cauda 2 unc. 3 lin.; caudas 5 unc.
Scincus sepiformis, Scbneid, Hist. Amp. fasc. ii. p. 191, Merr. Tent. Syst. Amp. p. 70,
C o l o u r .—Back and sides variegated with from twenty to twenty-four
narrow longitudinal lines, half of which are of a tint intermediate between
umber and deep reddish brown, the other half between yellowish and deep
reddish brown, and they vary in depth in different specimens. The dark
lines are of unequal width, and the one which extends along the edge of the
back on each side is invariably the narrowest, being seldom more than a
simple line, from which circumstance the light coloured lines on each side
of it are broader than those elsewhere. In some specimens the sides, instead
of being marked with distinct lines, are dark brown sprinkled with small
white spots, both irregular in regard of size and distribution. Upper parts of
tail coloured like the back, only the lines are less distinct, and scarcely if at
all visible towards its point, sides of tail umber-brown more or less profusely
variegated with small white spots or longitudinal streaks. The lateral fold
of skin, the throat, the belly, and the under surface of extremities intermediate
between yellowish and greenish grey,—the scales of the former
edged with brownish red. Under surface of tail intermediate between
broccoli and hair-brown. Legs and toes orange-coloured brown, freely
shaded or deadened with umber-brown, the hinder ones darkest. Upper lip
transversely barred yellowish white and liver-brown, anterior portion of
lateral fold variegated with transverse bars alternately white and light reddish
brown.
F orm , & c .—Figure fusiform, the tail very long,* and tapered to a fine
point. Head small, and the muzzle slightly pointed. Body subquadrangu-
lar, as is also the tail at its base, elsewhere the latter is cylindrical. Frontal
plate oblong, six-sided, the two anterior and posterior sides much shorter
The specimen represented in the Plate had the tail unusually short.