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The basic anatomy of the lacertid hemipenis (intromittent organ) and methods for its investigation are described. In many members of the Lacertidae, the hemipenis has a structure quite unlike that of other squamate reptiles: the distal lobes of the retracted organ are complexly folded and there is a well-defined supporting structure of dense connective tissue, the armature. This incorporates blood sinuses and has an intramuscular portion embedded in the m. retractor penis magnus and two club-shaped bodies, the clavulae, that support the lobes in the erect organ. Unarmatured hemipenes occur in some lacertids and, like those of other squamates, possess sac-like lobes in the retracted state, but they are singular in having the lobes invested by the m. retractor penis magnus. It is argued that many of these apparently primitive hemipenes are in fact secondary derivatives of the armatured type. There is considerable inter-specific variation in hemipenial structure which is described systematically. In some cases this involves differences in size, asymmetry and simplification, which may arise as physical isolating mechanisms and is useful in distinguishing otherwise very similar species, particularly in the genus Mesalina (p. 1253). Other shared derived hemipenial features provide useful information about relationships between species and higher taxa and a summary of the hypotheses that they support is given (p. 1254).

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A complete catalogue is provided for the type specimens of lacertid lizards in the herpetological collection of the Zoological Museum, Berlin, as of December, 1993. The collection contains a total of 514 type specimens, representing 63 taxa, of which 42 are currently regarded as valid at the specific or subspecific level. Types representing an additional four taxa appear to have been lost from the collection. The collections are especially rich in African lacertid types and in historically significant specimens collected early in the Nineteenth Century by Pallas, Eversmann, and Hemprich & Ehrenberg. Also present are the type series of many subspecies of Podarcis lilfordi and P. pityusensis described by Eisentraut.

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Cuc Phuong National Park is located about 100 km southwest of Hanoi within the tropical rain forest zone and occupies 22500 hectares. 24 species of lizards of 6 families known to occur in the Cuc Phuong are listed together with notes on their ecology. The presented material is based on our observations made in Cuc Phuong during some visits from 1988 to 1991. Two species in the list (Scincella reevesii and Tropidophorus hainanus) are recorded the first time in this site.

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Data on lizards of three families (Dibamidae, Lacertidae, and Anguidae) of the Vietnamese fauna, deposited in the herpetological collection of the Zoological Museum of Moscow University, are given. The following data are presented for every sample: accession number, the location of capture, habitat, and collector. The places of capture are shown on a map of the country.

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A new lacertid lizard, Takydromus madaensis sp. nov., from the Ma Da forest, the Dong Nai Province (Southern Vietnam) is described. This species has 4 pairs of chin shields; 3 loreals on each side; 3 pairs of supraoculars on each side; parietals separated by interparietal and occipital ones; an additional shield between the prefrontals; ventrals in six longitudinal rows; there are 17 lamellae beneath the fourth toe. A dichotomous key to four species of the genus Takydromus in Vietnam is provided.

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Objective: To study the karyotype and G banding pattern of Takydromus sexlineatus meridionalis Gunther. Methods: making specimen slides by general drying in the air, staining the specimen slides with 10% Giemsa solution, and making the G banding pattern by digesting with trypsin. Results: Its karyotpye is 38,ZZ(ZW), and the karyotypeic formula is 2n=16T+22ST; its chromosomes can be divided into 3 groups Every pair of chromosomes have their characteristic G banding pattern. Conclusion: It is a typical species of Scincolacertoidae and a primitive species in Saurta,but it is more evolutional than Takydromus septentrinalis Guenther and Takydromus woiteri.

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Several recent papers have reviewed the life and work of French herpetologist Louis Amédée Lantz. They have detailed the composition of his collections deposited in several museums. However, since then, several other important specimens from his collections deposited at the Natural History Museum (NHM, UK) have come to light and we here present all of them in detail. We discovered paralectotypes of Lacerta saxicola obscura Lantz & Cyrén (BMNH 1918.11.21.5–7), syntypes of Lacerta boemica Sukhov (BMNH 1960.1.4.26–30, BMNH 1965.337–342) and Lacerta viridis media Lantz & Cyrén (BMNH 1960.1.4.25, 1966.512). We also identified numerous specimens from the French Mediterranean islands in Lantz’s collection deposited at the NHM, some of which represent the first reported specimens of their species from certain islands. We here provide data on all these specimens. We also place the Mediterranean island specimens from the Lantz collection in their historical context and emphasize the historical and taxonomic value of these collections.