152 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



soma is the Regal Horned Lizard, P. regale. With 

 this extraordinary lizard the rear part of the head is 

 decorated with a crown or crescent of large flat spines. 

 It is the only horned lizard that has four central head 

 spines; so perfect is the alignment of these with the 

 temporal spines that the crown-like effect is striking. 

 Besides being thus decorated the species reaches the 

 substantial length — for one of its kind — of seven inches. 

 Its markings are obscure, a condition usually to be 

 noted among the desert animals. In various portions 

 of the Colorado and the Gila Desert it is fairly abun- 

 dant. It is particularly common in the immediate vicin- 

 ity of Phoenix, Arizona. 



A well-known species in the southern Pacific region, 

 thence extending into the peninsula of Lower Cali- 

 fornia, is the Pacific Horned Lizard, P. coronatum. 

 At a glance it will be seen to have different outlines 

 from the other horned lizards. The body is narrower, 

 the tail thicker and more elongate. On the back, the 

 entire surface is profusely scattered with spiny scales 

 giving the animal a very bristling aspect. Most speci- 

 mens are grayish above, with a large reddish brown 

 patch on each shoulder and three transverse bands of 

 similar color on the back. Two in number, the central 

 head horns, as well as those on the temples, are markedly 

 flattened. 



While measuring a lizard of this kind the writer 

 noted a characteristic attributed to the horned lizards 

 alone and about which he had always been sceptical. 

 This is the alleged habit of squirting a stream of blood 

 from the corner of the eye in time of anger. After 

 examining the specimen in question the writer decided 

 to measure the horns. A pair of calipers figured in 

 the process. The shining metal seemed to greatly ex- 



