SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT OF THE SPECIES. 123 



labial, a single small postnasal and a much larger supranasal which is separated 

 from its fellow on the opposite side by a single much smaller median scale, these 

 three bordering the rostral above; fom" large supralabials to the centre of the 

 eye ; a spine on the superciUary margin over the centre of the eye ; head above 

 and on sides covered with fine granules, those of the snout much enlarged and 

 flattened; scales on back small and granular; mental large, larger than rostral; 

 two large and one small roughly pentagonal chin-shields which are followed 

 by flat, pavement-hke scales which pass gradually into tiny round scales of the 

 middle throat; belly with enlarged, smooth, rounded imbricate scales; tail 

 with smooth, round, imbricating scales above and below, also a series of wide 

 plates below on the median line. 



Colour (in Ufe) : — Uniform gray, Ughter below ; above finely punctate 

 with white, streaked with fine white Unes on side of head and neck. In some 

 specimens the white appears as distinct vermiculations on the head and anterior 

 body-regions; again the vermiculations may appear to be dark upon a Ught 

 ground-colour; there is considerable variation. Never, however, has any 

 tendency to cross banding been observed, the striping is invariably longitudinal. 



Dimensions: — Total length 76 mm. 



Tip of snout to vent 35 mm. 



Vent to tip of tail 41 mm. 



Greatest width of head 6 nun. 



Tip of snout to ear 9 mm. 



Fore limb 10 mm. 



Hind Umb 11 mm. 



This gray Sphaerodactylus is by no means rare. Its habits are those of 

 many others, found perhaps more often in houses than in the woods these httle 

 Uzards become one's famihar companions on many occasions. To show how 

 widespread is the form we add the localities of the series in the M. C. Z. : — 

 Herradm-a, Cabo San Antonio, Sierra de Cubitas, Los Negros in Jiguani, Havana, 

 Cienfuegos, San Diego de los Banos, Caibarien, San Antonio de los Banos, also 

 several localities in the Island of Pmes and Haiti. 



This species has usually been called S. punctatissimus, but Dimieril and 

 Bibron's description (Erp. gen., 1836, 3, p. 405) is based upon a specimen 

 without locahty, and is not sufficiently detailed to allow one to say surely that 

 the name is appUcable to this Cuban species without examining the type. 



For use of MacLeay instead of Cocteau for authority consult Stejneger 

 (Proc. U. S. N. M., 1917, 53, p. 266). 



