SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT OF THE SPECIES. 121 



17. Sphaerodactylus elegans MacLeay. 



Plate 2, fig. 3. 



Salamanquita de la Virgen. 



Diagnosis: — A tiny species with sharply defined cross-bands which do 

 not meet across the belly, and a coral-red tail on which the cross-bands become 

 mere spots on its upper surface. The dorsal scales are tiny granules, the ven- 

 trals extremely small and smooth. 



Description: — Adult M. C. Z. 7,921. Cuba: San Diego de los Banos, 

 April, 1910. Thomas Barbour. 



' Snout rather pointed, the distance from the tip to the eye being about 

 equal to the distance of the latter from the ear opening; rostral rather large 

 with a long median cleft behind; nostril between the rostral, first supralabial, 

 a small postnasal and a distinctly larger supranasal which is separated from its 

 fellow on the opposite side by a single median scale not very much smaller 

 than one of the supranasals, these three scales border the rostral above; four 

 large supralabials, (on one side the third is divided, a common occurrence), 

 the fourth supralabial below the centre of the eye; a spine on the superciUary 

 margin above the centre of the eye; head above and on the sides covered with 

 minute granular scales, sUghtly larger and flatter on the snout; scales of back 

 very mirrute and granular; mental larger than rostral; two large and one small 

 infralabial to below the centre of the eye; two small pentagonal chin-shields 

 bordering mental between the large first infralabials followed by smaller flat 

 scales which decrease in size and become extremely small on middle of throat; 

 scales of chest and belly small, rounded, slightly imbricate; scales on upper 

 surface of tail granular, below flatter with a median series of enlarged flat trans- 

 verse plates. 



Colour (in Ufe) : — Slaty gray above, rather Ught in tone; the head with 

 two narrow bands between the eyes of much darker slate, the nape with two, 

 the neck with two, and the body between fore and hind hmbs with six cross- 

 bands. On the tail there are five bands but the three hinder ones are simply 

 spots. The distal three fifths of the tail is unmarked. The tail, distally where 

 unhanded and wholly below, is rosy pink. The belly is pinkish gray. The 

 bands on the head extend to the chin but do not quite meet. 



Dimensions: — Total length 34 mm. 



Tip of snout to vent 17 mm. 



Vent to tip of tail 17 mm. 



