REPTILES FROM So. CALIF. AND L. CALIF. MEEK 7 



leg; thigh anteriorly light olive, becoming golden distally; beneath 

 thigh at base of tail a small black spot margined with golden ; posterior 

 part of thigh spotted with golden olive; sides of tail golden yellow; 

 tip of chin rusty, forethroat dusky banded on whitish ground; throat 

 barred with black; fore part of chest behind collar spotted with olive 

 and blackish; belly and chest whitish; hind legs beneath the same, 

 with light olive wash; a blackish blotch posterior to beginning of 

 femoral pores on each side, tail below like the thighs, near the tip 

 crossed by a few black bar<=." 



"This species was taken only in the drifting sand areas of the bed 

 of the Mojave River, where it is a common form. It has the peculiar 

 habit of burying itself in the sand when pursued. The peculiar 

 fringe of scales along the toes evidently serves to give the lizard 

 sufficient speed over the loose sand to force its body beneath the sur- 

 face. The sharp depresssed snout is evidently another modification 

 to aid it in getting beneath the sand. Usually the entire body is 

 buried, but occasionally the tip of the tail protrudes. Their peculiar 

 mottled coloration does not render them protectively colored on the 

 white sand, but their peculiar mode of eluding pursuers renders this 

 unnecessary, and at the same time limits them to areas covered by 

 fine drifting sand. 



"The food of this species consists largely of the leaves of a for- 

 get-me-not (Cryptonthe), which is abundant among the sand dunes. 

 The young leaves of the desert willow (Chilopsis) are also eaten. 

 The insect food consists of caterpillars, ants, bees, etc. One speci- 

 men was seen several feet up on an oblique limb of a desert willow, 

 in search of the young leaves which were just budding." 



Specimens were secured at Daggett, California. 



Callisaurus ventralis (Hallowell). GRIDIRON-TAILED LIZARD. 



"This is one of the most abundant species in southeastern Cali- 

 fornia and the eastern half of the northern portion of Lower Cali- 

 fornia. At San Felipe, Lower California, it was the most abundant 

 lizard observed. This species inhabits dry, sandy regions. It was 

 very abundant on the floor of Death Valley, in sandy washes, and 

 on sandy mesas in the deserts, and in the mouths of canons at the 

 base of the Inyo and Panamint Mountains." 



Specimens were secured at the following localities: Keeler, Emi- 

 grant Canon, Mesquite Valley, Furnace Creek, Ballarat, Lone Willow 

 Springs, Pilot Knob, Lanes Mill, Owens Lake and Daggett, Cali- 

 fornia; Trinidad, San Matias, San Felipe, Canon Esperanza, San 

 Antonio, Matomi, and Aguas Escondita, Lower California. 



