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Show APPENDIX 0.- REPTILES. 849 lower rtpface of the. head alone seem not subjected to any serial order. v * . • . v Possessing only specimens that have been immersed in alcohol, and therefore have lost their general hue, we can only, in allusion to the oolour,. remark that the upper part of body and tail have transverse and; irregular,' sometimes undulating, and sometime? angularly broken bands of deep brown or black* Ten of these bands. belong'to the body fron> the occiput to the origin of the tail. On the tail itself they extend more or less toward the tip, accord isigto the siae of the specimen. This species inhabits Oregon, about the Dalles of the Columbia RWer, where it ha$ been collected, by Rev, George Geary. A specimen , in our possession, from California, was Collected by Colonel Fremont. That which is represented on our plate we owe to the kindness of Dr. Avery J. Skiltin. ' • PLESTIODON SKILTONIANUM, Baird and Girard. PL. IV. Piq. 4- 6*. SPWJ. OHAK.- IJead femall, continuous with the body; tail, stout, Tery long, and Bnbquadrangular; oliyacedus brown, with four broad bands of black. This is a species of skink which must strike any one familiar with the general, appearance of the other species of the same genus inhabiting North America*. The tail, although considerably developed in all the skinks of the genus Plettiodon, acquires in this species much greater proportions. In the specimen figured, the tip. 6f thati organ is wanting, but when restored, ( he wholb. organ would be nearly twicto the length of the rest of the body and head. Its form is rather subquadrangular than conical, and preserves a general stoutness which is not seen in th? other species, in which it . tapers rnore suddenly from its origin to its tip. The . body is subcylindrical, and nearly- of the same thickness from thp occiput to the tail, into which it passes almost imperceptibly. The head itself is rather small, subcorneal, rounded on the snout; tt is continuous with the body, the neck being but slightly contracted. The plates of its upper surface are represented in figure 6, which will serve as a good term for comparison with the other species. The locomotive members are very short; the fore ones rather slender, the hind ones stouter. The toes are terminated by deli* cate and Blender nails, curved at their tip. The scales v have a very smooth appearance; when examined attentively, those of the |
