HERPETOLOGY OF JAPAN. 207 



transverse plates on the underside. Color (in alcohol) above pale 

 olive gray with faint indications of a median and two dorso-lateral 

 pale stripes as well as of a darker brownish band on upper half of 

 flanks ; head yellowish buff (probably red in life) ; underside pale 

 buffy white, abdomen and flanks grayish. 



Dimensions. 



mm. 



Total length 138 



Snout to vent 65 



Vent to tip of tail 74 



Snout to ear-opening 14 



Greatest width of head 11 



Axilla to groin : 35 



Fore leg 19 



Hind leg 26 



The female and younger stages are exactly like the corresponding 

 ones in Eumeces latiscutatus and E. elegans. 



Variation. — In the series of nine specimens before me the variation 

 is very slight. All lack the postnasal; all have one postmental only, 

 supranasals in contact behind rostral; fronto-nasal in contact with 

 rostral, parietals separated by interparietal, and in all the second 

 loreal is in contact with three supralabials. All have 26 scale rows, 

 except No. 34185 which has 28. 



No. 23894 presents a very unusual abnormality in the scutellation 

 of the upper parts of the head, in as much as the fronto-parietals have 

 been fused in such a way with the surrounding scutes that the 

 frontal has come into contact with the fourth supraocular, parietals, 

 and interparietal, the latter shield separating the parietals in their 

 entire length. 



Ilahitat. — This skink as far as laiown is confined to the Riu Kiu 

 islands, and if our surmise as to Hallowell's second specimen is correct, 

 it occurs in all three groups of the archipelago." In Okinawa it 

 appears from all accounts to be common, and in the Yaeyama group 

 it has been collected both by Doctor Warburg and by Doctor Lcnz on 

 Iriomoto Island (Hamburg Mus. Nos. 1182 and 1900). IMoreovcr, the 

 United States National Museum has a specimen from Ishigaki shima 

 (No. 34185). 



oBoettger also refers to Euvieccs viarginal us from 0-shima. but as hv did not distin- 

 guish between E. iiKirginatus and E. Jatiscutatus no conclusion can be drawn fmni that 

 record without a reexamination of the specimen. 



