— 228 — 



German East Africa (Kakoma? Ugundu) loc. cit., and about wliich he 

 says that further comparison possibly may prove it to be identical with 

 II. tropidolepis. 



The most important differences between my specimen and the type- 

 specimen of IL tropidolepis are the different number of prseanal pores, 

 16 instead of 7. and the median row of transversely dilated rectangular 

 plates on the under surface of the tail. In Mocquabd's specimen the 

 tail is «garnie sur tont son pourtour de grandes ecailles lisses, imbriquees, 

 non verticillees et d'egale grandeur». Weeneb has found quite the same 

 differences from Mocquabd's specimen in a specimen from Abyssinia, 

 established by bim as a new species, //. flomri, based on the same charac- 

 teristics (Ergebnisse der Zool. Forschungsreise Dr. Feanz 

 Weenee's nach Sudan und N o r d - U g a n d a im Sitz.-Ber. Ak. Wiss. , 

 Wien, Math. Nat. Kl., Bd. 116. 1907). My specimen from Tanga should 

 then be identical with the Abyssinian specimen, and both different from 

 the Somali specimen wliich already for zoo-geographical reasons would 

 be very stränge. Besides, at least one of the two differences mentioned, 

 viz. the different numbers of prseanal pores, varies considerably in many 

 species of Hemidactylus, and cannot be used as specific distinction, the 

 difference not being greater than in these specimens. The other difference, 

 viz. the transversal plates below the tail, seems to be of greater value, 

 but also this characteristic can vary, at least to some extent; e. g. in 

 H. turcicus I have seen that at least some of the plates below the 

 tail may be broken up into scales, and probably this can be the case 

 with all the plates, and then we have the state of things exhibited in 

 he present specimens. 



Further, if these two characteristics should be eonsidered as sufficient 

 specific differences, there would be not less than four distinct species 

 nearly within the same zoo-geographical district, all of them correspon- 

 ding in most important characteristics. especially with regard to the 

 peculiar lepidosis, viz. one from Abyssinia and Tonga (14 — 16 pores 

 and distinct subcaudal plates), one from Somaliland (7 pores, no sub- 

 caudal plates), one from the interior of German East Africa (Toeniee's 

 specimen which has 16 pores and no subcaudal plates), and tinally one 

 from Njoro, northern British East Africa, (Lönnbeeg's specimens with 

 about 7 pores and a median row of very large scales but no distinct 

 plates below the tail; see Fig 4). It seems to nie that such a subdivisimi 

 in a number of slightly different species from nearly the same district 



