Vol. XXIII, pp. 99-100 May 27, 1910 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



GENERAL NOTES. 



A NOTE REGARDING THE GREEN ANOLIS FROM THE NORTH- 

 ERN BAHAMAS. 



In December, 1904, I reported on a collection of reptile.s from the 

 Bahama islands (Bulletin Mus. Comp. ZooL, Vol. 46, 1904, p. 55-61). I 

 then surmised that the specimens called Anolis porcatiis Gray were really 

 (lifterent from that Cuban species. Last year while in Cuba I collected 

 series from Santiago, Puerto Principe, and near Havana, which, added to 

 the small material previously available, makes it possible to present a con- 

 firmation of the suspicion of distinctness between Bahaman and Cuban 

 specimens. 



In 1894 Cope (Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1894, p. 4?.2) described A. 

 principalis brunnevs as a new subspecies from Crooke<l Island. Now, 

 even though no topotypes of this form are available for comparison, but 

 judging from what we know regarding the distribution of Bahaman 

 lizards, there seems no reason to believe that the specimen which Cope 

 had was different from the examples before me from New Providence and 

 Andros islands. The Bahaman specimens then should stand £ls a distinct 

 species, which may be known as A. brunneus Cope. They may be distin- 

 gui-ihed from Cuban examples by a much smaller size; the ab.sence of the 

 prominent sky-blue markings on the head and neck of the male; and the 

 more weakly developed longitudinal rugae of the rostrum. The snout of 

 small specimens oiA. porratus is somewhat shorter than in the specimens 

 of A. hrnnneiis of a similar size; but otherwise they are almost identical. 

 The adult Cuban male sjjecimens can, of course, l)e distingui.-ihed at once 

 in life by the brilliant V)lueness of their heads, a color which I have not 

 observed them to change. 



^tejneger in his paper onBatrachians and Land Reptiles of the Baha- 

 man Islands (in "The Bahaman Islands," New York, 1905, the :\Iacmil- 

 lan Company, p. 382) says: "The Bahaman specimens are very close to 

 the Cuban ones, though I have a strong suspicion that eventually they 

 may be found to be separable. So much is certain, however, that the 

 Bahaman form is in no way directly connected with A. carolinensis, but 

 that its relationship is with Gray's A. porcatas." 



It is interesting to note that the suspicion which was expressed by both 

 Dr. Stejneger and my.self regarding the distinctness of these two forms 

 is confirmed; but while there seems no reason to doubt the derivation 



•23— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash.. Vol. XXIII. 1910. (y.t) 



