38 Catalogue of Reptiles inhabiting the 



Scales of the back rhomboidal, imbricate, indistinctly keeled ; of the 

 throat granular, of cqnal size ; the adult male with a small cervical crest ; 

 tongue minutely notched in front ; gular pouch of the male very long, 

 narrow, nearly double the length of the head ; of the female shorter, 

 broad triangular. 



Adult male and female. Head metallic brown or green, with a black 

 spot between the eyes. Back and inner half of the wing-membrane 

 varied with metallic, iridescent dark brown and rose-colour, in some 

 disposed in alternate transversal bands, with numerous black spots and 

 short irregular waved or zigzag lines. Limbs and tail in some with rose 

 coloured transversal bands. Sides of the neck and lips also rose coloured 

 with black spots. Cheeks and eyelids silvery-white or sky-blue, the latter 

 with short radiating black lines. Throat and gular pouch bright yellow, 

 the former dotted with black ; lateral pouches yellow or silvery rose, 

 dotted with black. Outer half of the wing membrane black with in- 

 distinct transversal bands, composed of large, sometimes confluent, 

 spots of silvery rose or whitish colour ; the margins appearing as 

 minutely fringed with silver. Beneath either whitish yellow or pale 

 sky blue with metallic lustre ; the membrane largely, the abdomen in 

 some minutely spotted with black or brown. Iris hazel, with a golden 

 narrow ring. Young of the same more vivid colours, with a series of 

 double black spots along the spine of the back, and some scattered on 

 the sides. 

 Habit. — Malayan Peninsula, Pinang. 



Philippine Islands, Borneo, Java. 



The transcendent beauty of the individually varying colours, baffles 

 description. Such as are current of this and other species, appear to 

 have been taken from preserved specimens. As the lizard lies in shade 

 along the trunk of a tree, its colours at a distance appear like a mix- 

 ture of brown and grey, and render it scarcely distinguishable from the 

 bark. Thus it remains with no signs of life except the restless eyes, 

 watching passing insects, which, suddenly expanding the wings, it seizes 

 with a sometimes considerable, unerring leap. It is but on close in- 

 spection, exposed to the light or in the sun that the matchless brilli- 

 ancy of its colours appears. But the lizard itself appears to possess no 

 power of changing them. This species is numerous on trees, in valleys 

 and hills. The female, apparently less numerous than the male, car- 



