296 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. ua 



factors operating in this situation are similar to those effecting north- 

 south intergradation in other Zuni reptiles. 



Polychromatism in E. multivirgatus presents an interesting possi- 

 bility for increased adaptation. It would be of distinct advantage 

 for this skink, a wide-ranging form, to possess a variety of phenotypes 

 each of which is superior in adaptive value to others in a given habitat 

 occurring regularly in the range. Prevalence of the ^'taylori" variant 

 in lower, more xeric situations in southern New Mexico is significant 

 in this regard as is the apparent difference in proportion of variants 

 in local populations (Gehlbach, in ms.; Mecham, 1957). The tend- 

 ency for darkening in southern portions of the range is carried out 

 by ontogenetic pattern reduction as well as by the occurrence of 

 "taylori." 



Many-lined skinks occurred in a wide variety of Roughlands situa- 

 tions, but most often they were taken in heavy cover such as the 

 oak-mahogany and riparian associations where broad-leaf litter was 

 abundant. A few were found under rocks and logs in the dryer, 

 pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine associations. The species was 

 decidedly less saxicolous than Eumeces obsoletus and apparently did 

 not occur in ecological sympatry with this larger skink. Absence of 

 E. multivirgatus from the Plains Life Belt demonstrates this local 

 relationship. Although collected throughout the day, many-lined 

 skinks were seen more often in the early morning hours. 



On June 28, 1954, a female brooding three eggs was found in a 

 shallow, cup-shaped depression under a loose rock in the dry bed of 

 Cottonwood Creek at 7200 feet. The soil was damp only around the 

 eggs, which measured 14.0 x 9.5, 14.5 x 8.5, and 15.0 x 7.8 mm. Five 

 eggs averaging 14.2 x 8.6 mm. were dug from a Pueblo Indian ruin at 

 a depth of approximately five inches on August 7, 1957. These were 

 accompanied by a many-lined skink that escaped capture in the maze 

 of rocks and loose, moist soU. Another female of the "epipleurotus" 

 type and four recent hatchlings, 22 to 27 mm. snout-vent, were taken 

 together on August 17. These hatchlings and one other, 29 mm., 

 collected July 29, have the sharply contrasting juvenile pattern of 

 E. m. epipleurotus. 



Locality records: 



MCKINLEY CO.: 6 mi. S. Thoreau (CU 5435, 5596, 5615, 5693; UMMZ 123529); 

 8 mi. S. Thoreau (CU 5145); Ft. Wingate (USNM 16015-17); 10 mi. N. Ramah 

 (UMMZ 122883); Valencia co.: 8 mi. SE. Thoreau (UMMZ 120408); 8 mi. NE. 

 Grants (CU 5436); 17 mi. SW. Grants (CU 5607); 1.5 mi. S. Lookout Mt. (CU 

 5691); 3 mi. SW. Page (CU 5692); 2 mi. W. EI Morro Nat. Mon. (CWGF). 



Emueces obsoletus Baird and Girard 



Burt (1929) and Taylor (1935, pp. 205-220) have reviewed geo- 

 graphic variation in this species. Adult specimens collected in the 



