Vol. X] VON GELDERN—SKIN OF ANOLIS CAROLINENSIS 101 



surround a central compacted mass of pigment (Fig. 15 A and B). 

 These peculiar melanophores are often bilaterally arranged and 

 present in a group of from two to three scales on each side of the 

 body. This bilateral arrangement appears too marked to be acci- 

 dental. Melanophores in this condition must explain the yellow- 

 colors and white scales often to be observed in the living Anolis. 



Besides the distal and proximal migration of the pigment, any 

 degree of migration may be present, namely, all but the terminal 

 branches may be filled with pigment, or the terminal branches may 

 contain scattered pigment, and so on. All of these conditions in- 

 fluence the color state of the skin and must be associated with 

 definite color states. 



The number of melanophores varies considerably in the various 

 scales, but the average for those of the lateral aspect of the body 

 is about fifty in number. This number is greatly reduced in the 

 scales along the mid-dorsal line which are white and in which ten 

 to fifteen pale brown melanophores appear to be the usual number. 

 The latter are slightly smaller and their branches are more delicate 

 and spread out more than the others. In the mid-dorsal line of 

 other specimens where no white stripe exists but where color 

 changes resemble those of the lateral aspect of the body, the me- 

 lanophores cannot be distinguished from the others and appear in 

 about the same number. 



The melanophores in the scales, on^the ventral aspect of the 

 body are from five to twelve in nimiber. Their bodies are larger 

 and more rounded and possess fewer primary branches. The 

 terminal branches are followed with greater difficulty to the 

 periphery. The pigment is usually thickly packed in the cell 

 bodies giving the cells a dark-brown color. The nucleus due to 

 this increased amount of pigment is rarely observed (Fig. 8). 



The pigment cells lying in the spaces between the scales vary 

 markedly in number and position and, aside from their possession 

 of branches and pigment content, show little resemblance to the 

 true melanophores (Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 16). They more nearly 

 resemble ordinary mesenchymal pigment corpuscles. The body 

 resembles a flattened disc as is readily seen by comparing the verti- 

 cal diameter as seen in vertical section (Fig. 13) with the horizontal 

 diameter as seen from above (Fig. 16). The primary branches are 

 thick and irregular and vary considerably in length. The terminal 

 branches are short and terminate broadly in club-like ends. The 

 cells are present just beneath the epidermis between the scales, 



