168 THE HERPETOLOGY OF CUBA. 



A very young specimen, a female measuring only 115 millimeters from 

 snout to vent, collected at Belig, Cabo Cruz, Cuba, by O. Tollin and now in 

 the collection of the junior author, varies greatly in colour from the adult, but the 

 lepidosis of the specimen is very similar to that of the typical adult. In this 

 example the ground tone of the dorsal surface is grayish blue tinged with green- 

 ish; along the middle Une of the back there is a series of broad white cross-bars 

 edged broadly before and behind with black ; these black and white cross-bars 

 are continued on the sides as a series of wavy stripes, each stripe pointing 

 obhquely backward; the ventral surface is paler than the dorsal, and is covered 

 by broken continuations of the lateral stripes. 



This species was once a common inhabitant of all parts of the Island. By 

 1880, however, when Gundlach wrote it had begun to be rare, although he said 

 that it still lived in various cays and about some of the coasts of both Cuba and 

 the Island of Pines. At the present time we have specimens or know definitely 

 that it occurs in the following regions : — near Baracoa (de la Torre) , about 

 Guantanamo (the authors) and near Santiago (Wirt Robinson). There is a 

 beautiful young specimen from near Belig, Cabo Cruz, in the collection of the 

 junior author. It is known to occur commonly on the cays of the coast near 

 Manzanillo, Santa Cruz del Sur, as well as those in theGulf of Bataban6. It 

 is also found on some of the cays of the north coast near Cardenas and Remedies. 

 On the mainland of Cuba it also occurs on the Pan de Guajaibon, in the moun- 

 tains about the Valley of Luis Lazo and El Sumidero, in the coastal plain about 

 Santa Cruz del Norte, all in Pinar del Rio Province, and probably in some 

 other localities as well. In the Island of Pines, the Iguana is more common 

 than in Cuba. Its tracks and burrows may often be seen in the sand about 

 the coasts and they occur in the Sierras as well. In general it prefers the neigh- 

 borhood of rocky hills and precipices where there are crevices for hiding and 

 ledges on which it may bask in the sunshine. Iguanas are more often seen than 

 captured, for they are decidedly shy. They may only be secured by shooting 

 or by setting nooses at the entrances to their lairs or hiding places. Gundlach 

 spoke of how tliey were, in his day, hunted for food; he considered them excel- 

 lent. Throughout tropical America Cyclura and its allies are eagerly sought 

 and are esteemed highly. At present, however, in Cuba they are generally 

 held in great disgust and often even regarded as poisonous. The country folk 

 often declare that when an Iguana is hung up a drivel or slobber supposed to 

 be poisonous falls from its mouth called the baba or burujo. Possibly this 

 notion is derived from its similarity to the burujo or black vomit which comes 



