268 



REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 

 Sauromaliis ater Dumeril. 



Catalogue 

 No. 



4772 



8563 



12264 



12633 

 11810 

 16337 



16503 



22286 



Number 

 of speci- 

 mens. 



1 

 1 

 1 



1 



2 



1 

 1 

 1 



Locality. 



Fort Yuma, California.. 



Angel Island, Gulf of 

 California. 



Tanipai Valley, Cali- 

 fornia. 



La Paz, Lower California 



Colorado Kiver 



Coyote Wells, Colorado 

 Desert, California. 



Colorado Desert, Cali- 

 fornia. 



Soutliwe.stern United 

 States. 



Feb. —,1882 



From whom received. Nature of spcci- 



Maj. G. H. Thomas, 



U.S.A. 

 Dr. T. H. Street.s, 



U. S. N. 

 H. B. Mollbausen 



L. Bclding 



Lieut.J.C.Ives,U. S.A. 

 C.R.Orcutt 



-do. 



National Zoological 

 Park. 



Alcoholic. 



do. 



do. 



do. 

 do. 

 do. 



do. 



do. 



Locality 



Santa Clara Canyon, Utah 



St. George, Utah 



.do 



Pahrump Valley, Nevada 



Amargosa Valley, California 



Lookout, Inyo County, California 



Death Valley, Furnace Creek, California 



Pauamint Mountains, Widow Creek, California 



do 



Argus Itange, Shepherd Canyon, California 



do 



.do. 

 -do. 

 -do. 

 -do. 

 -do. 

 -do. 

 .do. 



Alti- 

 tude. 



3, 000 



4,500 



Date. 



May 11 

 May 13 

 May 14 

 Apr. 28 

 Apr. 27 

 Mar. 27 

 Mar. 22 

 May 19 

 Apr. 21 

 Apr. 29 

 ....do ... 

 ....do ... 

 Apr. 26 

 Apr. 23 



Apr. — 

 Apr. — 

 Apr. — 



Collector. 



Bailey. 

 Merriam. 



do. 



do. 



do. 

 Bailey. 

 Fisher. 

 Nelson. 

 Coville. 

 Fisher. 



do. 



do. 



do. 



do. 



do. 



do, 



do. 



do. 



do. 



' Adult. 



2 Skin. 



Dr. Stejneger remarks as to the distribution of this species: 



Beyond rather vague statements as to the general distribution of tbe present 

 species very little exact information in regard to its range lias been published. It 

 is evident that tbe localities from which the expedition brought home its speci- 

 mens — almost four times as many as in any museum before — form the center of the 

 geographical range of the "chuck-walla." From here it extends soutlnvard along 

 the Colorado River for an unknown distance, ranging westward into the Colorado 

 Desert, and eastward ahmg the Gila into Arizona. Dr. Merriam has now, for the 

 first time, definitely demonstrated its occurrence in southern Nevada and south- 

 western Utah. 



The habits of Sauromalus ater are described as follows by Dr. Mer- 

 riam in his report on the results of the Death A^ alley expedition : 



The "chuck-walla," by which name this remarkable lizard is universally known 

 to both Indians and whites (except the Mormons), inhabits many of the Lower 

 Sonorau Desert ranges in the southern part of the Great Basin from the Mohave and 

 Colorado deserts easterly across southern Nevada to Arizona, and north to the south- 

 western corner of Utah. It is the largest lizard of the desert region except the Gila 

 Monster (/jfe/oderma), which only slightly exceeds it in size. The broad body is black 

 or blackish, and the large blunt tail is usually marbled with white or entirely 

 white. It was generally found on lava or other dark rocks with which its coloration 

 harmonizes. It is a vegetarian, feeding entirely, so far as our observations go, on 



