124 SCINCUS aUINaUELIiNEATUS. 



Dimensions. Length of head of the animal here described, 72 Hnes; length of 

 body from head to vent, 2 inches 3 lines; length of tail beyond the vent, 4 inches 

 4 hnes; length of thigh, 4 lines; of leg, 4 lines; of tarsus and toes, 6 lines: total 

 length, 7 inches 2 hnes. They reach a much greater size, and are frequently seen 

 10, and even 11 inches long. / 



Habits. The Scincus quinquelineatus lives on insects, and is found in our 

 forests, choosing for its residence holes in the stumps of old and decaying trees, 

 or such as have fallen to the earth. Although it climbs readily enough, it is 

 almost always found on the ground, and I have never yet seen its abode at any 

 great elevation. 



Geographical Distribution. The Scincus quinquelineatus is found in the 

 Atlantic states, according to Dr. Pickering, from lat. 35° to the Gulf of Mexico; 

 its western range cannot now be determined. I have only received it from 

 Mississippi and Louisiana. 



General Remarks. Linnaaus gave the first account of this animal in the 

 twelfth edition of the Systema Naturae, from an individual sent him by Dr. 

 Garden, of Charleston. The description is on the whole good, but was evidently 

 taken from a specimen preserved in alcohol, which had changed the red colour of 

 the head, as no mention is made of it. 



Latreille and Daudin, though they describe this animal under the specific name 

 of "quinquelineatus," again reproduce it under that of "tristatus;" the former 

 arranging it among the Lizards, the latter more properly with the Skinks; both, 

 however, describe it from specimens sent them by Bosc. That these specimens 

 were preserved in alcohol is evident, as no notice is taken of the reddish-coloured 

 head; and that they were adult animals is equally certain, as no mention is made 

 of the lines about the head, or of the vertebral line, which frequently all become 

 nearly obsolete in old age. The Scincus tristatus of Daudin cannot be meant for 

 the Scincus fasciatus, for in that the six lines about the head always exist; nor 



