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Show 1895.] BATRACHIANS F R O M A D E N . 639 about, the rocks were so hot as to be unpleasant to the touch. I also found it in considerable numbers on the trunks of large babool trees about 4 miles on the Aden side of Lahej." 3. HEMIDACTYLUS SINAITUS, Boulenger. Hemidactylus sinaitus, Boulenger, Cat. Liz. B. M . 2nd ed. i. 1885, p. 126. 1 cf, 2 2 , and 2 juv. Shaikh Othman. 1 2 . Lahej. This species was founded by Mr. Boulenger on a female from Mount Sinai. In it the nostril is formed by the rostral and by three nasals, the first labial being excluded from the nostril by the junction of the lowest nasal and the rostral \ In five of the specimens collected by Colonel Yerbury, the first labial enters tbe nostril by a fine point, whereas in one it enters the nostril on one side and is excluded on the other by the junction of the lowest nasal and the rostral, so that the formation of the nostril is subject to variation. In only 3 out of 24 specimens obtained by m e on the African coast of the Red Sea (Suakin) does the first labial enter the nostril. In the type of the species there are no transversely enlarged subcaudal plates. The specimen from Shaikh Othman, a 2 , agrees with it in this detail, whereas in one from Aden the subcaudals are slightly transversely enlarged, whilst, on the other hand, a male from the latter locality has a mesial line of transversely enlarged sub-caudals, a feature also present in two young specimens. It would thus appear that the definition of the species, so far as its subcaudals also are concerned, requires modification. There are also in the type 9 upper and 8 lower labials, but in two adults from Aden and in the Shaikh Othman specimen the labials are as follows :-f, f-, -]-^. The dorsal tubercles of the type are considerably smaller than those of H. turcicus ; but in three Aden specimens they are even smaller than in the former, but not more so than might be expected to occur in specimens from localities so widely apart as Aden and Mount Sinai. In the type there is a large chin-shield on each side of the mental, in contact with its fellow behind the latter, and in relation externally with the first and second labials. Behind it is a much smaller shield with some enlarged scales posterior to it. The chin-shields of the Aden specimens follow a similar arrangement, but with slight modifications. The number of the lamellae under the digits and the extent of their lateral development are important characters in the species of this genus. In these details the Aden Geckoes agree broadly with H. sinaitus, but, as in every other character, these features are subject to variation. The following are the numbers of lamellas 1 In the original description the rostral, instead of the first labial, is said not to enter the nostril, but the relation of these shields to the nostril in the type specimen is as stated above. |