OCR Text |
Show 1906.] IN MEXICAN LIZARDS. 335 C. semifasciatus with, C. sericeus without frenocular. The distinctly feeble collar, only polygones on the forearm, and the high number of pores, combined with the peculiar dorsal pattern, justify us to treat these specimens as a distinct subspecies, especially since they differ so remarkably from the other kinds of Cnemidophorus of closely neighbouring districts, e. g., C. melano-sthetus of Parras, C. gularis gularis and var. meeki of Monterey, &c. CNEMIDOPHORUS SEPTEMVITTATUS Cope. Based upon one female specimen from Eldorado County, California. Length 110 mm., which, for a female, indicates a very large kind of Cnemidophorus. Supraoculars 4. Collar composed of large scales. Humerals in 6 rows. Posterior side of forearm, according to figure, with 5 mostly very large scutes in a row, surrounded by granules. Femorals in 7 rows. Pores 16/18. Coloration.-Under parts all yellowish, with a few black specks on the sides of the throat. Upper parts light olivaceous brown, with 7 longitudinal broad black stripes, three on each side and one in the middle, &c. From Cope's long description I gather the following, if translated into the language employed in the present paper:-There are 6 pale stripes, separated by black fields and a black mid-field. Towards the lower back and upon the rump the stripes 2 and 3 are broken into spots by the gradual encroaching of the black pigment from the neighbouring fields, which themselves have but few and small field-spots, restricted to the anterior half of the body. To judge from this solitary specimen, it seems to belong rather to the C. communis of the gularis-group. CNEMIDOPHORUS SCALARIS Cope. (Text-figs. 68 & 76.) 19 specimens from Chihuahua, near the City. Field Museum of Natural History. Length 50-95 mm.; 95 m m . only one male, while three or four other males come near 90 m m . This is consequently a small and slender species, inhabiting the arid plains with their sparse vegetation of Mesquite and Fouquieria shrubs, Yuccas and Opuntias. Hitherto recorded only from Chihuahua. Supraoculars 4, mostly with only one row of elongated granules behind. Collar sharply marked and composed of moderate scales. In only one specimen is the posterior margin of the fold formed by a complete row of granules, while in one other the granules are restricted to the lateral third of the collar. Humerus.-3 or 4 large rows of scales cover the front, then follow 2 or 3 shorter and somewhat smaller rows; about 6 in all, or only 5, in which case the first or first and second rows are extra large. But 8 rows cannot possibly be counted in these specimens, as stated by Cope for his scalaris from Chihuahua, |