THE HERPETOLOGY OF HISPANIOLA 281 



Postbrachials are almost always present, although they may vary 

 in size from small to medium and very large. 



The dark lateral band almost invariably possesses a row of large or 

 small light spots down its center. This is seldom the case in the 

 closely allied affinis, which gives the impression of being a striped but 

 not a spotted animal. In chrysolaema the spots predominate in the 

 pattern as a rule, although there are plenty of adults, especially on 

 the mainland of Hispaniola, which retain the juvenile pattern of 

 partly stripes and partly spots. Occasionally a melanistic individual 

 is found, for instance U.S.N.M. No. 49935, in which no traces of spots 

 or stripes appear. 



The pattern of our smallest specimen, No. 75888, from Damien, 

 measuring 47 mm. in head and body length, consists of six equidistant, 

 narrow, light dorsal stripes beginning on the nuchal region and con- 

 tinuing to the end of the body. Below the outermost of these stripes 

 is a fairly wide, dark, lateral stripe with a row of round light dots 

 down its center. Below this the sides have two fairly regular rows 

 of light dots on a dark ground. Another young lizard from Damien, 

 No. 75889, measuring 55 mm., is similar in pattern, except that the 

 dorsal stripes are wavy and already show a tendency to break up, 

 while the sides are more heavily spotted. In both specimens the 

 lower surfaces are all more or less suffused with dark. The adult from 

 Damien, No. 75887, measuring 94 mm., is like No. 75889, with the 

 dorsal stripes as distinct as in the much smaller animal. 



Sometimes in striped adults one may count five dorsal light stripes; 

 oftener there are traces of six. Almost always the posterior parts of 

 these stripes are extremely irregular, or are broken up into spots, and 

 often there are additional rows of spots between them posteriorly. 

 It is true that most of the adults from Gonave Island are more heavily 

 spotted than those of similar size from the mainland of Hispaniola, 

 but on the mainland every sort of intergradation of pattern may still 

 be found. 



The largest individual in the National Museum, No. 80367, comes 

 from Anse a Galets, Gonave Island. Its head and body length is 

 147 mm. 



Relationships. — It cannot be doubted that chrysolaema and affinis 

 are very closely related. As I have already pointed out, they differ 

 usually in coloration, since chrysolaema tends to a more spotted 

 appearance, while affinis shows less invasion of the lateral dark stripe 

 by spots. Furthermore the interoccipital plate in chrysolaema is 

 usually smaller than, though occasionally equal to, the scales bordering 

 it laterally, while in affinis the interoccipital is larger than the juxta- 

 posed lateral scales although sometimes the three occipitals are of 

 equal size. 



22G849 — il 19 



