CALOTES MYSTACEUS. 141 



lines round the orbit ; nearly the whole of the neck and anterior half of trunk are uniform 

 brown ; the posterior half and the sides are grey, reticulated with black, and with black ocelli 

 on the side of the belly ; tail with narrow black rings ; belly with the usual brown longi- 

 tudinal streaks, and mottled with grey. 



This is one of the most common lizards, extending from Afghanistan over the whole 

 continent of India to China ; it is very common in Ceylon, not extending into the temperate 

 zone of the Himalayas. Ceylonese specimens are generally somewhat larger ; one of them 

 measured 16 inches, the tail taking 11 inches. It is found in hedges and trees; it is known 

 in Ceylon vmder the name of " Bloodsucker," a designation the origin of which cannot be 

 satisfactorily traced ; in the opinion of Kelaart, the name was given to it from the occasional 

 reddish hue of the throat and neck. The female lays from five to sixteen soft oval eggs, 

 about |ths of an inch long, in hollows of trees, or in holes in the soil which they have 

 burrowed, afterwards covering them up. The young appear in about eight or nine weeks. 

 In a hot sunny day a solitary Bloodsucker may be seen on a Uvig or on a wall, basking in 

 the sun, with mouth wide open. After a shower of rain numbers of them are seen to come 

 down on the ground and pick up the larvse and small insects which fall from the trees 

 during the showers. 



Calotes nemoricola. 



Calotes nemoricola, Jerdon, Jown. As. Soc, Beng. xxii. p. 471. 



One detached spine in front of three or two small ones on each side of the nape ; a fold 

 of the skin before the shoulder. Scales of the sides very large, not keeled ; those of the 

 abdomen much smaller, keeled. Dorsal crest extending only about one-third along the 

 back ; where the dorsal crest terminates, the scales of the ridge are pointed. The scales at 

 the base of the tail above are of rather large size. Green. 



These characters have been noted by Jerdon from a single specimen obtained near the foot 

 of the Coonoor ghat of the Nilgherries. It was 18 inches long. 



Calotes mtstaceus. 



Calotes mystaceus, Dnm. ^- Bibr. iv. p. 408. Blyth, in Kelaart, Prodr. Faun. Zeyl. i. App. p. 47. 



Two gi-oups of small spines above each tympanum ; a series of scales, which are rather 

 larger than those in the neighbourhood, runs from the eye to above the tympanum. A fold 

 of the skin in front of the shoulder. Dorsal crest well developed : in adult males it is com- 

 posed of long lanceolate lobes, which gradually become shorter behind, its continuation on 

 the tail being a series of prominent spinous scales, which are rather larger than those in the 

 lateral series. The crest is much lower in immature specimens. Scales on the sides of the 

 body nearly twice as large as those on the belly ; the middle of the body is siUTOimded by 



