48 BULLETIN" 15 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Diagnosis. — This species is readily detcnuiiied because it is the 

 only form of Cnemidophorus which has from 10 to 12 longitudinal 

 series of large A-entral plates. Otherwise mur'tnus is very close to 

 arubensis. 



Description. — Snout rather blunt to moderately pointed; nostril 

 usually in suture between anterior and posterior nasal plates; 

 anterior nasal not in contact with second upper ladial ; supraoculars 

 normally 4; supraocular granules usually not extending forward 

 ])ast the center of the third supraocular; frontoparietals nor- 

 mally 2; parietals normally 5; interparietal often divided longi- 

 tudinally, in certain regions; anterior and posterior gulars usually 

 poorl}^ differentiated, rather small, often uniform, but sometimes 

 with slight central and medio-lateral enlargements or baskets; 

 mesoptychials moderate, uniform or slightly enlarged centrally, 

 smaller toward the extreme lateral edges, in 2-G rows, posterior 

 not always largest; postmesoptychial granules minute, usually ex- 

 tending forward over the edge of tlie posterior gular fold for its 

 fntire length. 



Body elongate; ventral plates in 10-12 (outer sometimes reduced) 

 longitudinal and 35-42 transverse series; anal spurs often well 

 developed; dorsal granules minute; limbs Avell developed; brachials 

 small, without enlarged series; antebrachials also unusually small, 

 in 1-2 rows, surrounded by small lateral granules; brachials sepa- 

 rated from antebrachials by a series of connecting granules; 

 postantebrachium covered with granules; postbrachium often with 

 a decidedly enlarged patch of granules; femorals 8-13; tibials 3-5; 

 femoral pores 27-45; tail elongate, tapering, with many caudal 

 plates as in Ameiva ameiva ameiva; lateral caudals slightly oblique, 

 smooth or weakly keeled; if keeled, keels not arranged in perfect 

 longitudinal series; ventral caudals smooth near base of tail, but 

 usually slightly keeled toward the tip. 



The coloration is relatively constant. Lower surfaces white, yel- 

 lowish, slate or blackish; lower flanks usually grayish or blue and 

 deeper colored than median ventral plates; tail, wdiite to slaty below, 

 sometimes suffused with blue, above brownish, gray or olivaceous, 

 seldom blackish ; young sometimes with indications of 4-7 stripes on 

 the back as often found in aruhensis; adult unlined; sides of young 

 often reticulated or obscurely spotted on a ground color of brownish, 

 grayish, blackish, or slate, which is often suffused with blue; adults 

 always with series of large, round, light spots on the sides, these in 

 roughly transverse arrangement; spots white or blue, except in meJ- 

 anistic specimens; back of all specimens unspotted in the mid region. 



A series of 70 specimens of nmrinus has been examined. Data on 

 these are as follows : Bod}^, 42-147 mm. ; tail, 122-310 : total length. 



