SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT OF THE SPECIES. 267 



came from a locality so seldom visited that topotypes are no where available and 

 have not even been seen by hcrpetologists in general. This has lead to an un- 

 fortunate uncertainty about the name sputator before it was known that the 

 species of the genus were not of haphazard distribution. While the accuracy of 

 data on all specimens collected over a hundred years ago is always open to some 

 doubt and while it is possible that these specimens were sent to Sweden from 

 Statia but not really caught there; still I cannot find any specimens elsewhere 

 which agree with the drawings Dr. Andersson so kindly sent me. There is, 

 therefore, no reason, at present, to suppose that sputator is anything more than 

 the local representative of the genus upon St. Eustatius and future exploration 

 may show this to be quite correct, although we know nothing of what is to be 

 found on St. Martin's, Saba, Redonda and other small islands near by, all of 

 which are probably inhabited by sphaerodactyls. 



32. Sphaerodactylus microlepis Reinhardt & Lutken. 

 Plate 9, fig. 1; Plate 26, fig. 1-4. 



Sphaerodactylus microlepis Reinhardt & Lutken, Viden. meddel. Nat. foren. Copenhagen, 1863, 1862, 



p. 278. 

 Sphaerodactylus microlepis Boulenger, Cat. Hzards Brit, mus., 1885, 1, p. 224. 



Type-locality: — Said to have been St. Croix but the original authors them- 

 selves doubted at once the probability of this being correct. They noticed its 

 similarity to fantasticus and stated that the record needed confirmation. 



Type: — Copenhagen Museum, Knudsen. 



Distribution: — Probably confined to the island of St. Lucia. 



Diagnosis: — Medium sized having keeled scales on chest and belly; small 

 keeled scales on sides of back about twelve equalling distance of tip of snout 

 from centre of eye ; scales of middorsal region reduced in size but not to form a 

 well-defined granular zone. 



Description:— M. C. Z. 10,787, St. Lucia. 



Snout rather broad, not conspicuously elongate ; eye about midway between 

 tip of snout and ear; rostral moderately large with median groove; nostril 

 between rostral, first supralabial, a small supranasal and another small scale; 

 the supranasals of each side separated by three scales, the five all about equal in 

 size ; third large supralabial reaching far under eye ; superciliary spine present ; 

 head above and on sides covered with tiny keeled granules, enlarged on snout; 

 scales of back except middorsal region small, keeled, about twelve equalling the 



