( 7o ) 



remarkable for the intcrrnption of the black network on fho iniil<llo lino of the 

 back, tlins proflncing the effect of a light vertebral stripe. 



■'i. Lacerta muralis Lanr. (Vi. 11. fig. 2). 



Numerous speciraeus from the Tamarnth Vallej'. 



This species, so far as Morocco is concerned, was onlj' known from Tangier, 

 whence nnmerous specimens of a very small-scaled form (with 61 to 73 keeled 

 granules across the middle of the body) were sent to me by M. H. Vancher.* The 

 specimens from the Atlas of Morocco belong to a somewhat different form, agreeing 

 with the Algerian specimens t in the smooth or faintly keeled scales, 53 to 0.5 in 

 number across the middle of the body, and the more numerous femoral pores (17 to 

 21 on each side instead of 13 to 19). The colour is grey or yellowish-green, with 

 two more or less distinct whitish streaks on each side, the upper extending to the 

 supraciliary edge, .the lower passing through the eye, separated by a dark-brown 

 band or by crowded black spots ; the space between the upper light streaks is at least 

 as great on the body as on tlie nape ; as in the Tangier form, the dark dorsal spots, if 

 present, are never confluent into a vertebral stripe, as is so frequently the case in the 

 typical form of the wall-lizard in Central Europe ; the black ventral spots, if present, 

 are small and restricted to the sides. Four is the normal number of upper labial 

 shields in advance of the subocular ; out of 47 specimens, 5 anterior upper labials 

 occur, on one side only, in 3, whilst the number is reduced to 3 on one side in one 

 specimen ; the so-called masseteric disk is usually present and often large, but it is 

 totally absent in one specimen:^ ; the edge of the collar shows no trace of denticula- 

 tion, forming a perfectly even border ; 23 to 30 scales and granules along the middle 

 line, between the symphysis of the chin-shields and the median collar-plate ; 

 23 to 28 lamellar scales under the fourth toe. The caudal scales are rather strongly 

 keeled ; there are 26 to 39 in the fourth or fifth whorl behind the granules of the 

 anal region. In about half of the specimeus the series of granules between the 

 supraocular and the supraciliaries may be described as complete, entirely separating 

 the second (first large) supraocular from the supraciliaries. In 9 specimens the 

 parietal does not touch the upper postocular. § 



I append particulars of 20 specimens from the Tamarnth Valley, and of the 

 6 specimeus from Tlemsen collected by Dr. .T. Anderson. 1, number of scales 

 across the middle of the body (ventrals not included) ; 2, transverse series of scales 



• Cf. Trans. Znd. Sm: xiii. 1891, p. 125. 



f In his excellent account of the Keptiles collected by himself in Algeria, the late Dr. J. Andei-sou 

 says {P. Z. ,S'., 1892, p. 13) th.at the specimens from Tlemsen, rrov. Oian, agree very closely with the 

 specimens from Tangier described by me, differing however in the femoral pores varying from 17 to 21. T 

 find the scales larger and smooth or very indistinctly keeled, and append particulars of these specimens 

 for comparison with those from Morocco. Tiiese Tlemsen specimens represent th? •' vari^t6 verte" of 

 Doumergue (ry^. cH. p. 124). 



X It is much smaller or altogether absent in most of the Algerhan specimens (Tlemsen, Sersoii, D.aya. 

 Setif, Aumale) examined by me. 



§ I'rof. L. V. Mehcly, Ann. Mint. Hung. ii. 1904, p. 3(17, attaches far too great a value to this character 

 for the distinction of the European species of Lacerta. He claims to have examined many hundreds of 

 specimens of L. mnralis and L. vivipara without having ever come across a single one in which tlie 

 postocular does not touch the p.irietal. I myself have seen over fifty specimens of L. mnralis, from 

 France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, which offer exceptions to the rule, and Mt so happens that tlie day 

 the I'r. if essor's important paper reached me, I also received three L. rivijiara from the C'arpatliians of 

 Jloldavia, one of them sliowing the same exception, wliicli I find likewise in a tew examples from Sweden, 

 Belgium, Black Forest, and Carniola. 



