CALOTES NIGKILABRIS. 143 



which belong to the belly. Dark green, with four or six narrow, vertical white bands on 

 the body ; they are edged with brown in young specimens ; head lighter-coloui-ed or red ; 

 tail with some white bands anteriorly, brown posteriorly, with darker rings. Generally 

 some white streaks or spots on the limbs. 



The native country of this species is Ceylon and the neighbouring parts of Southern 

 India. According to Blyth it is also found in the Nicobar Islands. It attains to a length 

 of 26 inches, the tail being four times as long as the body. It is not rare in the jungle. 

 Kelaart says that when the animal is irritated or alarmed at the sight of an enemy, its head 

 and part of its neck and the crest become of a blood-red colour. When lying in a passive 

 state, the head is of a light-yellow colour-. Sometimes parts of the head and neck put on 

 a black colour. 



Mr. Blyth mentions another species, from Khasya, which he compares with C. ojohio- 

 machus : — 



Calotes platyceps (Blyth, in Kelaart, Prodr. Faun. Zeyl. i. Append, p. 46). — Head much flatter than in 

 C. ophiomachus ; the nuchal spines are less laterally compressed or widely flattened and more rigid, being 

 scarcely at all expanded on their terminal half; a well-marked second sincipital crest above the ear, 

 showing eight spines, the first three of which are short and the fifth longest. No black stripe through the 

 eye. — Cherra Punji. 



Calotes nigrilabris. (Plate XIV. figs. D, D'.) 



Calotes rouxii, Blyth, in Journ. As. Soc. Bang. xxii. p. 64:7 (not Dum. &,- Bib?:). 

 nigrilabris, Peters, in Monatsber. Berl. Acad. 1860, p. 183. 



A smgle uninterrupted series of from three to six spines above and behind the posterior 

 part of the tympanum ; scales between the eye and upper part of tympanum larger than the 

 surrounding scales. Dorsal crest moderately developed, composed of slender pointed spines, 

 gradually becoming lower posteriorly on the trunk, and continued on the tail as a series of 

 prominent keels of the median row of scales. The scales round the basal portion of the tail 

 are rather large, ua thirteen series. Scales on the side of the body smaller than those of the 

 belly, which, again, are much smaller than the gular scales. A fold in front of the shoulder. 

 The middle of the body is surrounded by forty-six longitudinal series of scales, twelve of 

 which belong to the belly. The hind leg extends on to the eye, if laid forwards. The 

 ground-colour is beautiful green, but the ornamental colours vary : — 



a. A male, 13^ inches long, is uniform green, with a broad black band along the lips to 

 behind the tympanum ; tail brownish green, with distant, yellowish, brown-edged ocelli. 

 Another male, rather younger, differs in having the lips and temples green, variegated with 

 black. 



/3. Females, from 10 to 12 inches long, are green, with a narrow brownish-red vertebral 

 band, passing into the brown tail, which is ornamented with ocelli as in a. Lips green, like 

 the rest of the head ; a short white, black-edged streak behind the eye, not extending on to 

 the tympanum. 



