CROCODILIANS, LIZARDS, AND SNAKES. 



315 



UTA ORNATA Baird and Girard. 



Uta ortiata Baird and Girard, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., VI, 1852, p. 126 

 (Soiiora and Texas) ; U. S. Mex. Bound. Surv. Kept., 1859, p. 7. — Boulenger, 

 Cat. Liz. Brit. Mus., II, 1885, p. 213. 



Head short and broad, depressed. The large dorsal scales five or 

 six ill uuiiiber, all quite irregular in direction and shape, the exterual 

 smaller than the next, the median smallest. Tail about oue and one- 

 half times the head and body. Above dark gray, with broad trans- 

 verse bars of black on each side, bifurcating or expanding above; a 

 more conspicuous band on each side the neck; beneath grayish, the 

 male with two elongated patches of light blue on each side the belly. 

 Spotted with whitish. 



Variety linearis. — Four broken longitudinal black stripes. 



Fig. 41. 



Uta ounata Haikd and Girard 



X2. 



San Pedro. 



Cat. No. 2760, U.S.N.M. 



This species has much the same form and general characters of U. 

 stansburiana,the principal ditiereiice being in the character of the dorsal 

 scale. These in the type are all very minute, but carinated, diminish- 

 ing gently toward the sides. In U. ornata there is a dorsal series of 

 three or four very large carinated scales, beginning near the head and 

 running to the tail for an average width of half the head. These are 

 not very regular, varying much in size at different points, sometimes 

 with small ones inteicalated. On either side of this the scales are 

 abruptly very small and granular, becoming smaller to the lower part 

 of the sides, where they are much as in stanshuriana. The folds of 

 skin on the neck and back generally have a series of larger scales 



