heart, are on record. The eggs are white, the shell hard, of a cylindrical form, upwards of 3 inches in length, and about 1 inch in diameter. CROCODILUS POROSUS, Schneider. SYN.-Crocodili Ceylonici ex ovo prodiens, Seba. Tideman, Oppel, Liboschitz. Bory de St. Vincent. Cr. biporcatus, Cuvier, apud Fitzinger. Lesson. Guerin. Wagler. Gray. Crocodilus biporcatus raninus, Müller, Tab. 3, Fig. 8. Crocodilus porosus, Schn., apud Gray: Catal. "Buáya" of the Malays. Upper jaw surmounted by two rugged ridges, each commencing from the anterior angle of the eye; nuchal plates either none, or two very small. Above yellowish green with large black oval spots; keels of the dorsal scales green; beneath greenish white. HABIT.-Malayan Peninsula, Pinang, Singapore. India, Tenasserim, Sumatra, Java, Timor, Seychelle Islands. This, in the Malayan countries exceedingly numerous species, is of the same habits, and attains to the same size as the preceding. FAM. GECKONIDE, Bonaparte (ASCALABOTES, Dum. and Bibr.) GEN. PLATYDACTYLUS, Cuvier. Toes more or less dilated throughout their length, beneath with transverse imbricate plates, either entire or divided by a central longitudinal groove. PLATYDACTYLUS LUGUBRIS, Dum. and Bibr. SYN.- Amydosaurus lugubris, Gray. Thumbs nailless; transverse plates beneath all the toes; back finely granular. Above whitish, with black spots. HABIT.-Pinang. Otaheite. A single male was captured in my house in the valley of Pinang. The integuments correspond to the description given by M. M. Duméril and Bibron, to which may be added the following characters: The skin is somewhat loose, forming a slight longitudinal fold on each side of the body, and on the anterior margin of the thigh. The anus is covered by a transversal fold, reaching across from the one thigh to the other. There are no femoral pores. The tail is tapering, much depressed, convex on the upper surface, flat beneath, sharp at the sides. Near the root, about of an inch distant from the anus, the skin forms an annular fold, completely encircling that part of the tail. The colour slightly differs from that of the Otaheite individuals. The upper parts and the lower surface of the tail from the annular fold are of a buff or pale dust colour, so closely and minutely dotted with reddish brown, that the parts have a pale greyish brown appearance. On the loins and between the shoulders are a few distant blackish spots, besides in the latter place appear two short lateral lines, and an indistinct band proceeds from the nostril across the eye to the shoulder. The throat, inner side of the limbs, abdomen and the lower surface of the root of the tail to the annular fold are buff-coloured. The pupil is black, vertical, dentilated, the iris silvery, dotted with reddish brown. Gecko annulatus, Kuhl Gecko à gouttelettes, Cuvier Catal. Platydactylus guttatus, Cuv. apud Guerin, Dum. and Bibr. 66 "Toké" of the Malays.* The Malays denominate the family of Geckotidæ : Gékko, Kéko, Gágo, Goké, evidently Onomatopoeias, in imitation of the cry of these lizards. Above ash-coloured with numerous pale orange spots; beneath yellowish white. Between the scales of the back 12 longitudinal rows of large distant tubercles, and six similar on the tail; the latter with minute scales beneath. HABIT.-Malayan Peninsula. Philippine Islands, Java, Tenasserim, Burmah, Bengal, Coromandel Coast. On the Malayan peninsula this species appears to be less numerous than in the Tenasserim Provinces, where its shrill cry, "To-ke" is nightly heard in houses. The male has two tubercular scales on each side of the root of the tail. The largest individual observed was of the following dimensions : Above light bluish grey with numerous irregular blackish spots, forming on the vertex an angle like an inverted V., and on the neck short oblique lateral bands. Beneath pearl-coloured. On the back and sides 10 longitudinal rows of large distant lenticular scales, and 6 similar on the tail; the latter with scutella beneath. HABIT.-Pinang. In form and size this species closely resembles the preceding, from which it however differs in the following particulars. The oval nostrils are bordered in front by three scales, viz. the first upper-labial, a smaller rectangular, and a larger pentagonal scale, both of which latter are situated between the nostril and the rostral. Above the nostrils are surrounded by two smaller irregular triangular, and behind by a narrow crescent-shaped scale. Of labial scales there are 14 above, 12 below. There are about 72 teeth in each jaw. The eye is very large; pupil black dentilated; iris silvery bluish grey. The car is very large, ob liquely oval without dentilations. The cheeks are much swollen. The scales of the back are small, rounded, hexagonal, becoming more rectangular on the sides. The rows of lenticular scales along the vertebræ are smaller than the rest, but not so close as in P. guttatus. Behind the mental scale is a pair of large elongated scales, and 5 pentagonal larger appear on each side behind the lower labials. The gular scales are small, polygonal; the abdominal are rounded, hexagonal, not imbricate, and below the root of the tail become somewhat larger. The rest of the lower surface of the tail is covered with scutella. Above the covering of the tail is like that of P. guttatus. On each side of the posterior margin of the cloaca are two very large tubercular scales, and towards the centre two rather large postanal pores, covered by a loose fold of the skin. Fourteen femoral pores are placed on a slightly angular line. This species is also closely allied to Platydactylus monarchus, Schlegel, from which it however readily may be distinguished by the regular rows of lenticular dorsal scales, by its far greater size, and by its loud note. It is not numerous at Pinang. The only individual obtained, from the villa on the Pentland Hills, was a male of the following dimensions : PLATYDACTYLUS MONARCHUS, Schlegel, MS. SYN.-Platydactylus monarchus, Schl. apud Dum. and Bibr. Gecko monarchus, Gray: Catal. On the back, sides and limbs numerous conical tubercles irregularly scattered among the smaller flat polygonal scales; on the upper surface of the tail 6 to 13 transversal series of small spines; beneath scutella, sometimes mixed with scuta. Chin with 2 larger oblong scales. New-born.-Above brown, with the dorsal and caudal tubercles (no spines) white; the posterior part of the tail indistinctly white ringed; beneath uniformly paler brown. Adult.-Above buff or ash-coloured or reddish brown, with 8 to 12 pairs of irregularly rounded, distant, dark brown spots along the spine; the head, limbs and sides with numerous more or less distinct, irregular dark brown spots; in some younger individuals the tail with whitish rings. Beneath yellowish white. HABIT.-Malayan Peninsula, Pinang, Singapore. Philippine Islands, Amboyna, Borneo. The Malayan Geckonido have the power of somewhat changing the ground colour, none however in a greater degree than the present species. In the valley and on the hills of Pinang it is very numerous, swarming at night in rooms, on the walls, and under the ceiling, occasionally giving out a sound, resembling the monosyllable "Tok," repeated 6 or 8 times with increased celerity. The aim of these lizards is by no means unerring; they frequently miss an insect, and fall from the ceiling. Among themselves they are pugnacious: when two or more covet an insect, the successful one has to defend its prize, or give it up to the stronger. The new-born (with umbilical aperture) and adult are of the following dimensions : Toes webbed to the last compressed joint; thumbs nailless; sides of the head, body, limbs and tail with broad scaly membranes, those of the tail anteriorly scalloped. Male with femoral pores. On the sides scattered tubercles. PTYCHOZOON HOMALOCEPHALUM, (Creveld.) SYN.-Lacerta homalocephala, Creveld. Fitzinger. Ptychozoon homalocephalum, apud Wagler. Wiegmann. Pteropleura horsfieldii, Gray. Platydactylus homalocephalus, Cuv. apud Dum. and Bibr. Head. The ground colour yellowish green olive. Between the eyes and muzzle a double figure, in whitish outline, representing in front a |