OCR Text |
Show 674 MR. *W. T. BLANFORD ON PERSIAN REPTILES. [June 7, I now turn to the Central-Asiatic specimens. These are distinguished at the first glance from all the Persian examples by the greater development of keels to the scales throughout, and by those of the head, neck, and back being more spinose. This coincides with Pallas's description1 of Lacerta sanguinolenta-" L. squamis carinatis imbricata, occipite muricato." The ventral scales are described as " linea elevata carinata?" Eichwald's description of Agama sanguinolenta is clearly applicable to the same form. Agama aralensis is very imperfectly described by Lichtenstein, but is stated to have fringed edges to the toes2; so I should have thought it a distinct species. Dr. Peters, however, has probably examined the types, which should be in the Berlin Museum. The toes are not fringed in any of the Lizards examined by me. C. Dumeril (I. c.) states that A. sanguinolenta is distinguished from A. agilis by the ventral and lateral scales being keeled, and by the diameter of the ventral being much larger compared with the dorsal scales in A. sanguinolenta than in A. agilis. This latter distinction does not appear, judging from the specimens before me, to be any more constant that the former. The ventral scales are rather smaller in A. agilis; but the amount appears somewhat variable. I find that some of the largest males collected by myself in the Indian desert between Sind and Jaisalmir have the strongly keeled and mucronate scales of A. sanguinolenta. I see no reason for considering these distinct from the other Sind and Persian specimens. The conclusion to which I have come is :-that, so far as I can see, the form from Persia, Baluchistan, and Sind is the true Agama agilis of Olivier ; that the identity of Trapelus fiavimaculatus of Riippell is probable, but not satisfactorily proved ; and that the Agama sanguinolenta of the countries north of Persia and east of the Caspian, with which Agama aralensis is identified by Peters and apparently by Strauch3, is a variety of A. agilis with more keeled and spinose scales. * AGAMA PERSICA, sp. nov. (Plate LIX.) A. sine crista distinguenda nuchali vel dorsali, capite alto, trunco depresso, squamis dorsalibus ina?qualibus carinatis atque in maribus mucronatis, in medio dorso majoribus, ad latera mino-ribus, aliis maximis, sed nunquam illas in medio dorso diametro duplo excedentibus, singulatim intermixtis. Dehbid and Kazrun. Form moderately depressed, similar to that of A. agilis, except 1 Pallas did not examine the species himself, but published Guldenstadt's notes on it. 2 Eichwald describes those of Agama sanguinolenta as " subfimbriati." 3 The list of reptiles in Severtzoff's ' Turkestanskie Jevotnie' was drawn up by Strauch, and includes Stellio aralensis. Specimens collected by Severtzoff, and labelled by this name, are, as already stated, in the British Museum, and are identical with Agama sanguinolenta. In the " Eeptilia" of the Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission, p. 6, note, I suggested the possibility of Lichtenstein's species not being a Stellio. |