THE HERPETOLOGY OF HISPANIOLA 117 



The species is somewhat more variable than Dr. Barbour's original 

 specimens led him to believe. The dorsal scales present an enormous 

 variation in size, there being 7 to 14 enlarged dorsals in the standard 

 distance from center of eye to tip of snout. The keels on these scales 

 are often quite well developed. Sometimes there are distinct keels 

 present on the chest, as in four rather small individuals from Boca del 

 Infierno and a young one from Rio San Juan. In most adults a faint 

 trace of these keels may be foimd on the chest scales toward the sides 

 even when those in the middle are quite smooth. The six lizards 

 from Muertos Island have perfectly smooth chests, however. 



The body color may range from pinkish buff through sepia. Small 

 darker spots are thickly scattered over it, and in some specimens 

 these spots tend toward a linear arrangement on the head and neck, 

 and often also on the sacral region. 



The length of head and body in the largest individuals of difficilis 

 is 33 mm., in No. 74942 from Rio San Juan and No. 65781 from 

 Samana. The tail of the latter when intact measured at least 37 

 mm. The largest notatus at hand is No. 42898 from Baracoa, Cuba, 

 measuring 28 mm. from snout to vent, with a tail length of 30 mm. 

 Dr. Barbour's statement as to the greater adult size and longer tail in 

 difficilis is therefore corroborated in this respect by the additional 

 material at hand. 



The light lateral stripes on the nuchal region, when present, are as a 

 rule considerably wider in specimens of notatus and narrower and less 

 regular in difficilis. A heavier pigmentation of the labials is found in 

 difficilis, while Cuban notatus have very pale labials with the merest 

 traces of clouded markings or a very fine powdering of minute gray 

 dots. A specimen of notatus from Paradise Key, Fla., has as much 

 pigment on the labials, however, as do most of the Hispaniolan 

 difficilis. 



The oniy three examples of difficilis from the western part of 

 Hispaniola show a single large black spot between the shoulders. 

 In No. 76722, a half-grown individual from Muertos Island off north- 

 ern Haiti, a small black spot is found in the same position. In this 

 individual, as well as in another from the same place, there are five 

 dark longitudinal stripes on the body. In the other four specimens 

 from the same place, the spots on the body assume a corresponding 

 linear arrangement. In none of the present series of difficilis from 

 Hispaniola is found the pair of white shoulder spots encircled by dark, 

 which Dr. Barbour mentioned as sometimes occurring. The pattern 

 in both notatus and difficilis is so variable that without a great many 

 more specimens of each species it would be impossible to delimit it 

 accurately. 



