B B C Z M -IA iÜ S V I R I D IS
V (Reptilia.__Plate 3') B U C E PH A LU S V IR ID IS .—S m it h .
R e p t il ia .—P la te III.—(M a l e .)
B. pallide viridis; oculis brunneis; scutis abdominalibus 181; scutis subcaudalibus serie duplici collocatis
circiter 101.
C olour.—Light grass-green, the abdominal plates with a slightly livid
tint j eyes dark brown.
F orm, &c .—Head moderately* elongated, distinctly quadrangular and
broader than the neck ; nose slightly rounded; nostrils small, nearly circular,
and directed outwards and backwards; eyes large, and situated rather
nearer to the tip of the nose than the angle of the mouth; gape wide ; upper
lip with seven plates on each side, lower with ten. Nasal plate triangular,
apex directed backwards ; anterior frontal plates two, somewhat triangular;
posterior frontal plates large quadrangular, the outer posterior angle rounded ;
vertical plate triangular, the apex behind, rounded; occipital plates large,
irregular and narrow behind; palpebral plates somewhat six-sided, the
two middle sides longest. Gular plates large, two in each row. The posterior
or mobile and grooved teeth of maxilla, eight on each side, from two to three
lines in length, and slightly curved ; four of each group placed for immediate
use, the rest recumbent between those and the inner portion of the spongy
sheath which envelopes the whole; the fixed or anterior teeth of maxilla
small and slightly curved, their points directed backwards; those of the palatal
arches and lower jaw somewhat similar. Body gradually increasing in
size till near the middle, from thence it tapers to the point of the tail, which is
armed with a horny aculeus; the figure of body and tail subcylindrical,
slightly flattened below. Skin as far as the tail loose, and only slightly
connected with the subjacent parts by a delicate cellular membrane ; towards
the head superabundant, and forming on each side of the neck a longitudinal
fold, which disappears when the gullet is distended. On the tail the
skin is firmly connected to the parts beneath. Scales immediately behind
occipital plates short, broad, and imbricate; from those to the base of the
tail they are disposed in slightly waved transverse bands, each of which
bands includes scales of several different forms ; the one immediately on the
centre of the back is narrow towards the base, broad and semilunar at the