BARBOUR AND NOBLE: THE GENUS CYCLURA. 143 



in range. C. T. Ramsden, the accomplished naturahst of Guanta- 

 namo has found a few specimens on the coast cHffs of the extreme 

 eastern end of the island. Wirt Robinson sent one to the M. C. Z. from 

 Santiago in December, 1903. The only very young Cyclura we have 

 seen was one loaned by Ramsden, and obtained by Oskar Tollin during 

 a trip to Belig, near Cabo Cruz, in the summer of 1914. The species 

 is still abundant on the Cayos near Manzanillo and those off the south 

 coast near Santa Cruz del Sur. It is fairly abundant on the Isle of 

 Pines. In 1915 while Prof, de la Torre and his assistant Sr. V. J. 

 Rodriguez were collecting with W. S. Brooks and T. Barbour in the 

 region of Guane, we learned that Iguanas were still not uncommon 

 in the limestone mountains which encircle the glorious valley of Luis 

 Lazo. Here we got two fine adult specimens, one for the Museo 

 Poey in Havana and one for the M. C. Z. Prof, de la Torre says that 

 Iguanas are also fairly common on the Pan de Guajaibon and he 

 writes us that he has recently seen one near Baracoa. They persist 

 as well on many of the small and remote cayos of the north coast. 

 Curiously enough in spite of what Gundlach says — no one appears 

 to eat Iguanas in Cuba at the present time. Ramsden has also 

 observed this and writes me that he has been told that Cubans believe 

 the Iguana to be very poisonous. When hung up by the tail, they say, 

 a baba or burujo, as they call it, black drivel or vomit, runs from its 

 mouth. This is supposed to be deadly. The black vomit due to 

 blood in the stomach, which marks the final stage of a fatal case of 

 yellow fever, is also called in Cuba burujo, a name also used for the 

 grounds of coffee, and it may be that some imagined similarity between 

 these burujos, coupled with forgetfulness which increased as Iguanas 

 grew rare, has now spread the idea that Iguanas are unfit for food, 

 when once, in Cuba as elsewhere, they were eagerly sought after. 



It will be noticed that some old, long standing specific names have 

 been dropped. The reason for this is as follows: — the name nuhila 

 was based upon a young specimen without locality. The descrip- 

 tion given by Gray is worthless. The type is mentioned in Boulenger's 

 Catalogue and hence doubtless is still in existence. When it is 

 examined it will probably be possible to determine whether the name 

 supercedes one used here or whether it represents another distinct 

 species. It is impossible to determine this. Cope attached the name 

 nuhila to a specimen which he said was from Cat Island and was U. S. 

 N. M. 14576; but Stejneger tells us that this number is borne by a 

 specimen of Leiocephalus and that there is now no Cat Island Iguana 

 in the U. S. N. M. and no evidence that there ever was one. Cuvier 



