26 lacertaDjE. 



nean agilis, is the Prince of Musignano, who, in his beau- 

 tiful " Fauna Italica," has thus restored its true name, 

 with the additional Italian appellation of Lacerto di Linneo. 

 I have lately examined many specimens of both species in 

 company with that distinguished naturalist, and have thus 

 had the views now stated amply confirmed. 



As a British species, there appear to be on record several 

 more or less obscure allusions to it amongst former writers. 

 Merrett, in his " Pinax,'' 1 mentions the common or vivipa- 

 rous species as " L. terrestris vulg. ventre nigro maculato ;" 

 and the present one is probably intended by the phrase 

 " L. terrestris anguiformis^ in ericetis." These words, with 

 the enumeration of the different species of Newts, are 

 copied verbatim by Ray without acknowledgment. This, 

 however, is but an obscure and uncertain allusion. The 

 first description of the species by any British Zoologist is 

 that by the Rev. Revett Sheppard, in the sixteenth volume 

 of the Linnean Transactions, in the year 1802. This gen- 

 tleman adopts the specific name anguiformis from Ray, 

 with whom he appears to believe it to have been original, 

 as he was probably unacquainted with the " Pinax " of 

 Merrett. The Lizard to which his description refers could 

 not have been a variety of the common species, as the 

 latter never acquires half the length of one specimen seen 

 by Mr. Sheppard, which, he says, was upwards of a foot 

 long ; and this, although certainly an extraordinary, is not 

 an incredible length for an individual of this species, as I 

 have myself occasionally seen them approaching that length, 

 measured from the nose to the extremity of the tail. Even 

 the general length of Mr. Sheppard's specimens was 

 "seven inches and upwards.™ It is true that the cha- 

 racters and descriptions given by this author are vague and 

 unsatisfactory, as they refer merely to colour ; but the 



