558 LACERTAE 



greyish, with blackish spots or streaks, sometimes with a bronzy- 

 greenish sheen. The under parts are white, yellow, pink, or red, 

 either uniform or, especially in the males, with large black spots. 

 The lateral rows of ventral shields are frequently blue. The 

 colour- varieties are almost endless. One of the most noteworthy 

 is that described as var. coerulea by Eimer ; this, confined to 

 the Faraglione Rocks near Capri, is blackish above, like the rock, 

 and sapphire - blue below. Similarly coloured specimens, var. 

 lilfordi, occur on some of the rocky islets of the Balearic Isles. 



The Wall-Lizard deserves its name, since in the Mediterranean 

 countries there is scarcely a wall on which these active lizards 

 do not bask or run up and down, often head downwards, in 

 search of insects. They are oviparous. The hibernation is 

 short and not very deep, since these lizards can sometimes 

 be seen basking on sunny winter days before their regular 

 appearance in the early spring. 



Psammodromus, with a few species in South-Western Europe, 

 notably in the Iberian Peninsula and in North-Western Africa, 

 has no distinct semilunar collar, but has a short fold in front of 

 each arm. The back is covered with large, rhombic, strongly 

 keeled and imbricating scales. The lateral scales pass gradually 

 into the ventrals, which are smooth and arranged in six longi- 

 tudinal rows. 



P. hispanicus is bronzy brown above, with small black and 

 white specks, and with one or two longitudinal streaks on each 

 side. The under parts are white. Total length about 5 inches. 

 Although also found inland, this species prefers sandy dunes, 

 studded with prickly and scanty vegetation. It runs very fast 

 and digs itself rapidly into the sand when pursued. When 

 caught it either utters a faint cry like " tsi-tsi," or it feigns 

 death. The pairing takes place in June ; half-a-dozen eggs are 

 laid about eighteen days later, deeply imbedded in the warm 

 sand, and they are hatched in eight weeks. The eggs are said 

 to grow * after they have been laid from 1 3 by 7 mm. to 1 7- 

 20 by 10-11 mm. The newly hatched little creatures 

 measure about 2 inches in length, more than half of which 

 belongs to the tail. 



P. (Tropidosaura) algirus has the same range as P. hispani- 

 cus, but grows to 10 inches in length, and is much more 

 1 Fischer, Zool. Garten. 1884, p. 38. 



