314 Alexander G. Ruthvkn, 



dark bands the coloration is otherwise much as in the males except 

 that it is much more uniform. Thus while there ma}' be a pale 

 band above the mouth this is not continued upon the neck as a 

 well-defined stripe, the dark lateral head stripe is absent or but 

 poorly defined, and dorsal spots, light blotches and a lio'ht vertebral 

 line are little in evidence, altho often indicated. In the specimens 

 that have dark lateral bands these are, as already stated, the conti- 

 nuation of the dark lateral head bands. The dorsal stripe may be 

 lig-ht or dark ash. In those in which it is darker the color is 

 light or dark ash (162, 172), in those in which it is very light it 

 is bright orange (137j. Another mark that is usually present is a 

 Y- or U-shaped one on the occipital region. In one specimen there 

 is a brown transverse band between the eyes, and a short one 

 extending from the supraorbital region upon the head. As in the 

 female of the other group the light band above the mouth is only well 

 detined to the ear. Several specimens of this group have the sides 

 of the belly streaked with brown, and in one the chin and throat 

 are streaked with the same color. In females of both groups the 

 belly is pale as in the males, and the skin between the scales of 

 the low fold that represents the gular sac of the male is orange. 

 The lizard is apparently quite generally distributed in the 

 region studied. We took it in the groves on the savannah and in 

 the low woods and grassy areas on the flood plains of the streams. 

 Altho it climbs well and is found commonly in the trees, running 

 up and down the latter with great facility, it occurs as commonly 

 near the ground. A favorite habitat is in tall grass. It readily 

 climbs the stems of the latter, and was frequently observed to jump 

 from one stem to another, often making leaps of from SO to 40 cm. 



Basiliseus vittatus Wiegmann. 



Found in numbers along all the streams and deep lagoons 

 between the Arroyo Negra and the San Juan Eiver, and at Lake 

 Catemaco. 



The specimens of this species obtained agree closely with 

 Boulengee's ') description. The principal variations are in the 

 development of the crests and in the color. The former, as is now 

 well known, vary with the sex and age of the individual. In none 

 of the females is the head crest more than a dermal Aap that lies 

 upon the uape, but in the males it consists of a large elevated 



1) Gatalogue of Lizards in the British Museum, Yol. 2, p. 109. 



