406 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



a distinct tarsal fold. Tibiotarsal articulation reaches to the tympanum. 

 Skin glandular but not tubercular; a few flat warts on the back and sides; 

 these tend to form a weak dorsolateral fold; a large ovoid gland situated at 

 each corner of the mouth, its posterior end directed downward; a large inguinal 

 gland on each side of the body; a small but distinct glandular wart on the 

 posterior face of each femur. 



Ground-tone of dorsal surface olive-grey; a number of dark brown spots 

 forming a pattern ; an hour-glass-shaped figure between the eyes and pectoral 

 region; the anterior end of the figure much wider than the posterior, and out- 

 lined with pale grey; the posterior end of the figure continuous with two 

 rows of dark spots which extend the length of the back; a series of dark spots 

 along the side of the head and body; these tend to form a line along the 

 indistinct dorsolateral fold; two or three spots on the lips; the legs irregularly 

 cross-barred; the posterior surfaces of the thighs reticulated with black and 

 white; ventral surface whitish, immaculate. 



Dimensio7is. 



Distance from snout to vent 49 mm. 



Greatest width of the head 19 " 



Distance from axilla to tip of longest digit 26 " 



Distance from groin to tip of longest toe 66 " 



Notes on Paratypcs. The series of twenty-tw'o specimens shows a 

 great uniformity in the proportions of the body. The color-pattern is 

 subject to some variation. This consists chiefly in a multiplication of 

 the dark spots, and in a fading or intensifying of the ground-tone. 

 Very dark specimens have the periphery of the ventral surface stippled 

 with dark brown. 



Remarks. A study of a series oi Lepiodactylus albilabris from St. 

 Croix has led to the conclusion that the chisel-shaped head form of 

 L. curtus may be only a somatic variation. All of the specimens in 

 our series of the latter species (these measuring in length, snout to 

 vent, from forty to fifty-eight millimeters) have exactly the same 

 head-form regardless of sex. It has been suggested (Barbour, Proc. 

 Biol. soc. Wash., 1917, 30, p. 103) that this head-form might be a nup- 

 tial modification; it does not seem that it is a secondary sexual char- 

 acter, at least not in the case of L. mrius. In our specimens even the 

 youngest are hardly sexually mature. Since these were all taken 

 around sandy sloughs, it is possible that the head-form may be a modi- 

 fication for burrowing in the sand. Direct field observation is lacking 

 on this point. 



