480 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, ^98. 



The tongue is thick and fleshy; arrow-shaped or oblong cordate; the 

 base deeply emarginate with rounded lobes, the tip thin, flattened, and 

 bifid for about one-fifth the whole length. Posteriorly it is covered by 

 coarse papillie or short filaments; on the terminal half these are much 

 shorter, lower, and more compact, while the ends of the bifid tip are 

 smooth. The tongue is attached firmly along its middle (though per- 

 haps narrowly) for the basal two-thirds, the terminal portion being 

 free, smooth beneath, and divided by a median furrow, the portion 

 covering the bifid tip rather distinct and ovate. 



The skin of the tail is very rough and continuous, so that it holds 

 together the vertebrae very firmly and does not allow the tail to break. 

 A specimen has the tail partly decomposed, and } et the tough skin 

 keeps all the vertebras together. 



The description of Meloderma suspeetum, as given above, differs in 

 some important points from that of Wiegmann's of the H. horriduni, 

 A conspicuous difference of the external features is seen in the small 

 tubercles encircling the large ones, said by Wiegmaun to be wanting 

 and forming the basis of subfamily distinction from the Varanidte. 

 These tubercles, though small and containing no bony center like the 

 large ones, are yet very appteciable. The large tubercles are more 

 widely separated in his figure than in nature, owing, doubtless, to the 

 skin being stretched, which would at the same time eradicate the small 

 basal intermediate tubercles. The tail is given as equal to the body 

 instead of half the head and body, and is also more attenuated. It is 

 said to have five yellow rings instead of four. The head is entirely 

 black. These characters are confirmed by three si)ecimens sent by 

 Mr. F. Sumichrast from Tehuantepec, Mexico, all stuffed skins, and 

 which served as the basis of comparison when I distinguished this 

 species from the H. horrid urn. 



I find the following characters to be constant: When specimens of 

 the two species with identical body length are compared the tail of the 

 H. suspeetum is seen to be about two-thirds the length of that of the 

 H. Jiorridum, and the muzzle of the H. suspeetum reaches only to the front 

 of the orbit of the H. hor-riduni. The forefoot reaches to the nostril in 

 the H. suspeetum and to the orbit in the H. horridum. The scales on 

 the head of the H. horridum are larger than those on the H. suspeetum, 

 especially posterior to the orbit; but, as the head is longer in the former, 

 the number counted between the orbit and the ear is equal in the two 

 species. In counting across the head from one angle of the mouth to 

 the other I find 21 scales in the H. suspeetum and 17 in the H. horriduni. 

 In the latter I count 44 crossrows of abdominal scales; in the former 

 52. The ground color in the H. horridum is black, and yellow marks 

 are sparse. In the JI. suspeetum the yellow is more conspicuous than 

 the black on the head and on the belly, and is equally so on the upper 

 surfaces of the body and tail. The dimensions of the two species are 

 about the same. 



