8 Papers from the Department of Marine Biology. 



Anolis mayeri sp. nov. Figure 4. 



Description. Body long, rather robust, with slight dorso-nuchal fold. 

 Head rather level on top, with broad median depression on pref rental region. 

 Slight median depression on occipital region. Eyelids granular. Teeth mod- 

 erately large, and become enlarged posteriorly or below eye, those in front 

 of each jaw small. Dewlap moderate, covered with small imbricated scales. 

 Interorbital slightly convex. Ear-opening circular, deep. 



Scales all smooth, rather large. Median or vertebral row of scales down 

 back slightly enlarged, and progressing down sides scales become granular on 

 latter. Very minute granules seen scattered about between scales of back, 

 though not visible to the naked eye and not preventing their imbrication on 

 one or more sides in most cases. Scales on belly larger than most scales on 

 back, and small on under surface of head. Scales on head above rather large 

 and smooth. Supraoculars large, flat, and separated from supraorbital 

 semicircles by narrow, complete row of small scales. Supraorbital semicircles 

 with one or two median plates in contact, and separated from occipital plate 

 by one or two rows of scales. Occipital large, nearly equals ear-opening, and 

 scales around variably large and small. Counting vertically, six rows of 

 loreal scales present, and/ of more or less uniform size. Six or seven large 

 infraorbitals, last ending well before hind edge of eye. Temporals moderate, 

 and about 12 scales between hind eye-edge and ear. 



Limbs rather robust. Scales on upper sides of fore-limbs larger than those 

 on middle of back, slightly keeled, and closely imbricated. Scales along 

 lower front femoral region larger than those on belly, smooth and closely 

 imbricated. Scales on upper surface of femur very small and imbricated. 

 Post-anal plate moderate. 



Tail strongly compressed, largely with slight crest. Scales covering sides 

 of tail flat, keeled, those in crest longest and enlarged, a keel forming front 

 edge of each. 



Color largely uniform brownish in alcohol, paler below. Some very 

 obscure markings on back, upper surfaces of limbs and tail. Slight pale 

 streak from eye through ear and backward. Another from over shoulder and 

 backward. 



Total length 188 mm. (caudal tip damaged) and length from snout tip to 

 vent 67 mm. 



Type No. 3151, Princeton University, and 7 paratypes. Virgin Islands. 



These examples suggest in many ways that they may be the young of 

 Anolis cuvieri. They agree partly in having the scales of the back in places 

 slightly separated from one another by the interpolating of more or less scat- 

 tered, inconspicuous, and irregular small or minute granules, though these 

 in no way encircle the scales. In general the scales of the back present an 

 imbricated appearance. I have for these reasons allowed the species to stand 

 near Anolis cuvieri. Its differences are, however, slight, and as the young of 

 Anolis cuvieri is unknown, I first thought it to be such, especially as all my 

 examples are comparatively small. It would appear too great a latitude in 

 variation to admit such characters as these specimens present as simply 

 variations due to age. First is the contact of several pairs of the large scutes 

 of the supraorbital semicircles, rarely separated by a single row of very small 

 scales. Second, the occipital scale is distinct and usually large, though often 

 separated by only one scale from the supraorbital semicircles. The labials 

 are in contact with the infraorbital semicircle, a character constant in every 

 specimen. In agreement with Anolis cuvieri are the rows of large scales 

 between the rictus and the ear, which vary from 5 to 8. This character will 



