CoLENSo. — Further Notes on Naultinus. 149 



the other (coutamiug the head) more produced ; measuring, the 

 one 8, and the other 9 hnes in length, and 5 Hnes in width, 

 compressed, with the surfaces smooth and flattened, but some- 

 what uneven owing to the prominences of the hmbs, etc., and 

 bearing a general resemblance to the smaller seed of the com- 

 mon garden bean (Faba vulgaris). Each fetus weighed 15 grains, 

 their colour darkish-green on the back, shaded off in spots to 

 lighter green and almost to white in some of the little knobs 

 and slight hollows ; the eyes bright and yellow, with dark pupils, 

 as in the adult. The chorion, or enveloping membrane, was 

 excessively thin and white, and filled with minute capillary 

 branching flexuous veins of a bright florid red colour, a few of the 

 main ones being tolerably large, presenting a pleasing appear- 

 ance. The fetus that had its enwrapment broken at its snout, 

 had its mouth slightly open, showing the little notch in the 

 tip of its tongue. From their very fresh, damp, and ghstening 

 appearance, they appeared to have been very recently expelled. 



From these circumstances here related, three facts m the 

 history of these little animals seem to be established : — 1. That 

 their young are brought forth alive, and not within an egg (as 

 is the case with many of the Saurians) ; this I had formerly 

 supposed (loc. cit., p. 264) ; 2. That their time of gestation 

 must be at least 5^ months ; 3. That they bring forth two at a 

 birth — this, also, I had before observed {I.e., pp. 251 and 264). 



A brief description of this adult lizard may also be here 

 given, seeing it varies a little from the species described. 

 Extreme length 6^ inches, of which the tail is 3|- inches ; 

 colour a uniform bright green above, (which is particularly vivid 

 ou casting its old skin or epidermis,) inclining to darkish-green 

 as it grows older, and much paler beneath ; head rather small, 

 slightly concave between the eyes, and scales flattish ; tongue 

 darkish plum-coloured ; two large blunt semi-transverse scales 

 on the side of the base of the tail near the vent, and three 

 similar ones on the opposite side ; a patch of pre-anal pores 

 singly on larger scales in 4-5 short rows ; toes slender, long ; 

 tail cylindrical, very slender, much elongated, its scales not 

 imbricated. 



In some of its characters this lizard resembles N. grayii, 

 Bell,* especially in the shape of its head with flattened scales, 

 the few large convex scales near the base of the tail, (which, 

 however, in that species are said to be " four on each side,") 

 elongated toes, and uniform green colour. It has, also, a few 

 characters in common with the species described by me — N. 

 pentagonalis {loc. cit.) — as in its pre-anal scales with pores, 

 elongated toes, and the colour of its tongue ; still it seems 

 different in other characters, and has certainly shown widely 



* " Trans. N.Z. Inst.," vol. iii., pp. 7 and 8, 



