184 BULLETIN 58, UNFIED STATES jSTATIONAL MUSEUM. 



inasmuch as in J. swinJionis the rami of the jaw are more convex 

 than in J. polygonata in which they are more straight. In the latter 

 the ventral scales are possibly a trifle larger, but I have ]:)een unable to 

 establish a ratio. It also seems as if the spines of the nuchal crest 

 were more conical and pointed, while in J. swinhonis they are wider 

 and more rounded toward the apex. 



When establisliing J. mitsukurii, I had only one Formosan specimen 

 for comparison. The latter was then unhesitatingly taken for a 

 typical /. swinhonis, but the 17 specimens from Formosa since 

 received put a somewhat different aspect on the whole question. The 

 single specimen referred to shows such aberrant characters that I have 

 become dubious as to its Formosan origin, or if it really comes from 

 that island whether it may not represent a difl"erent species, questions 

 which will be discussed farther on under the head of J. swinhonis. An 

 examination of the large series of typical specimens of the latter now 

 shows that the principal character upon which I relied for the diag- 

 nosing of the Botel Tobago form, viz, the absence of a specially 

 differentiated series of larger scales between the eye and the upper 

 labials, does not hold. But there are other differences separating 

 it from both the other forms. In coloration /. mitsuJcurii agrees 

 most with J. swinhonis, but the throat is much ])aler and the white 

 markings on it, instead of being isolated roundish spots, form more 

 or less distinct bands across the throat. In some of its proportions 

 it also comes close to J. swinhonis. Thus, for instance, the distance 

 from center of eye to tip of snout is very much less than the length 

 of the fourth toe from the base of the third. Both feet and tail are 

 longer. On the other hand, the head is much narrower and its lateral 

 outline much straighter, in this respect resembling -/. polygonata, only 

 exceeding it. This narrowness of the head compared with the elon- 

 gation of the toes furnishes a good character for distinguishing J. 

 mitsuJcurii. 



JAPALURA SWINHONIS" Guenther. 



1864. Japahira swinhonis Guenther, Kept. Brit. India, p. 133, pi. xiv, fig. B 



(type-locality, Tamsui, Formosa; type in Brit. Mus. ; Swinhoe collector; 



see Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3), XII, 1863, p. 225).— Boulenger, Cat. Liz. 



Brit. Mus., I, 1885, p. 309 (Formosa); Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1887, p. 



146.— Mueller, Verb. Naturf. Ges. Basel, VIII, Pt. 2, 1887, p. 294 



(southern Formosa). — ? Stejneger, Journ. Sci. Coll. Tokyo, XII, Pt. 3, 



1898, p. 218 (Taipa, Formosa). 

 1885. Japalura sirinhoci Boettger, Offenbach. Ver. Naturk. 24-25 Ber., 1885, 



p. 140 (emendation). 



« Named for Robert Swinhoe, then British consul in Formosa, known from his investi- 

 gation of the Chinese and Formosan faunas. He was born in Calcutta, September 1, 

 1836, and died in London, October 28, 1877. He was in the British consular service 

 in China from 1854 to 1873. 



