76 BULLETIN 151, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



MABUYA STRIATA (Peters) 



Tropidolepisma striatum Peters, 1844, Monatsber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, p. 36. 

 Mabuia striata Boulenger, 1887, Cat. Lizards Brit. Mus., vol. 3, p. 204. 



27 (U.S.N. M. 40674-83, 41137-49, 42937-41) Mt. Kenya to Fort Hall, 



K. C. (Sm. Afr. Exped.) 1909. 

 21 (U.S.N.M. 40704-9, 40982, 41074-88) Mt. Kenya, K. C. (Sm. Afr. 



Exped.) 1909. 

 253 (U.S.N.M. 40779-80, 40782-6, 40792-816, 40819-28, 40830-7, 



40839-70, 40872-9, 40881, 40883, 40922-6, 41003, 41005, 41015-73, 



41232-306, 41611-70, 41675, 41963) Wambugu, K. C. (Sm. Afr. 



Exped.) 1909. 

 51 (U.S.N.M. 41370-420) Mt. Kenya Trip, K. C. (Sm. Afr. Exped.) 



1909. 



3 (U.S.N.M. 41514, 41688, 62874) Nairobi, K. C. (Sm. Afr. Exped.) 



1909. 

 75 (U.S.N.M. 41536-97, 41599-610, 42043) Kenya Colony. (Sm. Afr. 



Exped.) 1909. 

 14 (U.S.N.M. 49069-71, 49207-16, 49389, 49393) Kaimosi, K. C. 



(Heller). 1911. 



4 (U.S.N.M. 49156-9) ? Mt. Sagalla, K. C. (Heller) 1911. 

 2 (U.S.N.M. 63349-50) Kigoma, T. T. (Raven.) 1920 



10 (U.S.N.M. 63351-60) Victoria Nyanza. (Raven.) 1920. 

 2 (U.S.N.M. 63367-8) Elizabethville, B. C. (Raven). 1920. 

 20 (U. S. N. M. 63424-43) Nabea, U. (Raven.) 1920. 

 1 (U.S.N.M. 63486) Masindi, U. (Raven.) 1920. 



1 (U.S.N.M. 63488) Lake, Tanganyika. (Raven.) 1920. 



2 (U.S.N.M. 63523-4) Kafue River, Rhodesia. (Raven.) 1920. 



The anterior head shields of this series of 486 skinks were examined 

 to see if they showed any tendency toward varying in the direction 

 of the peciiHar arrangement foimd in M. irregularis, which was con- 

 sidered by its describer to be closely related to M. striata but differs 

 in possessing a pair of frontonasals, forming a median suture and 

 three praefrontals which separate the frontonasals from the frontal. 

 It was found that nothing approaching this arrangement occurred 

 except in four sldnks whose azj^gous scalation appears to be almost 

 certainly the result of injury received when immature. Thus 40779 

 has the praefrontals irregularly divided to form five shields; in 41059 

 there are apparently eight praefrontals and the frontonasal is in 

 five parts; in 41144 the praefrontals are split into six scales and the 

 frontonasal is semidivided along the median line; in 41613 the left 

 praefrontal is split into three scales; the right is normal. The whole 

 series, except Nos. 40677 and 40843, are normal in haAong the supra- 

 nasals in contact behind the rostral; in the two exceptions the rostral 

 is in contact with the frontonasals. In two or three specimens one 

 or other of the supranasals is divided. If one excepts a dozen speci- 

 mens wdth damaged heads onh^ 16,^^ or 3.27 per cent, will be found 

 to have the praefrontals in contact on the median line thus separat- 



" N03. 4070*-6, 40779, 40861, 41059, 41144, 41232, 41401, 41514, 41597, 41614, 63420, 63424, 63434, 63436, 63438. 



