138 



this lizard in Southern Indiana, since I have taken it in Western Illinois, 

 at a point as far north as Logansport, Ind. Since the above was written 

 Mr. A. W. Butler has informed me that he found this species in a small 

 collection of reptiles sent him from Bloomington, Ind. I have not seen 

 the specimen. 



Habits — Probably the most remarkable quality possessed by this ani- 

 mal is its ability to run with great swiftness. Dr. Coues in speaking of 

 it says that the eye can scarcely follow it when it is running at its best on 

 level ground. Dr. Yarrow also states that it is very difficult to capture, 

 since it runs with the greatest celerity over the sand and rocks. In order 

 to capture it Dr. Coues used fine shot in a horse-pistol. It may be taken 

 in a butterfly net. It lives in high and dry situations, among bushes, 

 brush heaps, logs, and the like. The naturalists named above do not 

 regard it as at all arboreal in its habits ; still it may occasionally resort 

 to trees. Its food is principally insects. Dr. Coues states that it would 

 come into the tents and catch flies in a quiet, furtive way, but on the 

 least alarm it would dart out of sight. At Ft. Macon, N. C. , {1, '76, 

 47,) it was seen early in April, and could be found until the cold 

 weather in October. Notwithstanding its agility, it is one of the ani- 

 mals oftenest found in the stomachs of the larger snakes. Holbrook 

 says that he has often seen the male and the female toward evening 

 hunting in company for insects. I know nothing about its breeding 

 habits. 



Family VI. SCINCIDiE. 



Lizards from short and stout to long and worm-like. Limbs present 

 or absent. Dentition pleurodont ; form of teeth various. Tongue thin, 

 flat, moderately long, free, and slightly notched in front ; covered with 

 overlapping scale-like papillae. Head with symmetrical plates. Epi- 

 dermal scales supported by bony plates. Ovoviviparous. 



Cosmopolitan. Contains 25 genera and about 400 species. We have 

 2 genera, each with a single species. 



Palate cleft by a single median slit. Lygosovia, p. 138. 



Palate with two slits, one from each nostril. Eumeces, p. 139. 



Genus LYGOSOMA, Gray. 



Lyrjosoma, Gray, 1828, 110, iii, 228 ; Boulenger, 1887, 39, iii, 209 ; 

 Oligosoma, Girard, 1852, 5, 196. 



Body short and stout or elongated. Limbs well developed, rudiment- 

 ary or absent. Outer nostril in the nasal plate. Eyelids well devel- 

 oped. Tympanum distinct or hidden. Maxillary teeth conical or 

 obtuse. Pterygoid teeth minute or absent. Palatine bones in contact, 

 so as to leave a single median slit from the internal' nostrils to opposite 

 the middle of the eyes. 



A widely distributed genus containing more than 150 species. 



