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Show 30 ZOOLOGY OF TilE VOYAGE OF TilE BEAGLE. FAMILIA -SCINCIDJE. GENus-CvcLoous. Wagler. CvcLODUS CASUARIN.IE. Bibr. PLATE XV.-Fw. a. Auriurn rnargine anleriore sim:plici; squarnis corpm·is l03vibus, in seriebus xxiv dispositis. "Kencu:» de la casuarina, Cocteau, Tab. Synopt." ('IJ. Bibr. !list. Nat. des Rept. V. j>. 749.) OyclodU8 ccuuarinw, Bibr. I. c. As I have not the work of the lamented Dr. Cocteau by me, I quote the above reference from M. Bibron's work, in which this species is fully described. It differs from the other species of this curious genus in many minute characters of the scaling of the head, but the most tangible and obvious distinctive character consists in the number of series of scales, which does not exceed twenty-four, alJ around the body, whilst in the others, they amount to thirty-four or thirty-eight. It would appear that it is liable to some considerable diversity in colour and markings. That which M. Bibron describes, has "the head of a yellowish grey, the whole of the upper part of the body olive grey, and the inferior part whitish grey." The specimen in the collection of the Zoological Society bas the whole upper part of a brownish gTey, with twelve black lines extending from the neck along the back and tail, corresponding with the sutures of the longitudinal series of scales. The under surface of the tail is marked by about thirty transverse, interrupted, black bands. The following is the description given by Mr. Darwin from his specimen when taken,-" Scales on the centre of the back light greenish brown, edged on their sides with black; scales on the sides of the body above greyer and with less black, below reddish: belly yellow, with numerous narrow, irregular, waving, transverse lines of black, which are formed by the lower margin of some of the scales being black; head above grey, beneath whitish." Mr. Darwin adds, that the motion of the body, when crawling, resembles that of a snake. It is not very active. Coleoptera and larvre were found in its stomach. "It is common in the open woods near Hobart Town in Van Diemen's Land." |