INTRODUCTION. 225 
walls and floors are more easily caught even if not more abundant than when 
they have to be picked out from among the small pebbles and grass-blades of 
It is at least as hard for the little 
sphaerodactyl to force its way through standing grass in quest of its prey as it is 
out-of-doors where they may hide so easily. 
for a man to push his way through a bamboo thicket after a larger quarry. So 
As 
for enemies they probably have but few, therefore one wonders why they do not 
ants coming into houses, the appearance of the lizards is a natural sequel. 
fairly swarm. It is entirely possible that the abundant and bold predacious 
arachnids which also favour houses as temporary dwelling places, may make 
away with them. The great hairy spiders, Aviculariidae, are held in certain 
awe by all small wanderers whether warm or cold blooded. 
KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
A! Dorsals granular. : 
a! Dorsal scales granular, not sharply keeled. 
b! Granules enlarged upon the flanks. 
c! Distinctly enlarged, 2 cross-banded, @ unicolor with yellow tail decoratus 
c? Granules of flanks slightly enlarged. 
d! Usually heavily spotted, head deep, short, snout obtuse . gibbus 
d? o@ usually faintly and 9 usually conspicuously cross-banded, 
head usually more pointed, snout generally acute torrei 
b? Granules homogeneous. 
c! Granules very small, about 25 equal distance of tip of snout from : 
centre of eye, tail coral-red in life, body sharply cross-banded . . -elegans 
ce Granules larger, about 18 in equal distance. 
d! Scales of vertex very small, of snout large and flat, colour me 
speckled, vermiculations on head and neck _ cinereus 
d Seales of head less differentiated, habit slender, nRWnle cross- 
banded on head and shoulders only 
a? Dorsal scales granular, and keeled. 
b! Granules very small, 23 or 24 in standard distance, size large, body stout . 
b? Granules larger. 
c! Snout rather acute, longitudinal white stripes on head and body, 
about 20 granules in standard distance 
ec? Snout rounded, usually fine longitudinal dark sires on me: ad and) 
neck, about 21 or 22 granules in standard distance . 
Dorsals imbricate. 
a! No differentiated middorsal zone. 
b! Dorsals small imbricate smooth 
b? Dorsals keeled. 
c! Keeled and small 9-15 in standard distance, 
d! Seales weakly keeled about odin standard distance, head pee 
markings usually longitudinal Ne eee yee 
_ d@ Seales strongly keeled, smaller. 
e! Dorsals about 14 or 15 in standard distance. 
ft Dorsals distinctly broad . 
f? Dorsals elongate. 
gi Ventrals keeled 
g? Ventrals smooth. 
h! Head long, depressed, pointed; a spectacle 
mark on sacrum; body spotted a 
A? 
(intermedius 
pacificus 
molet 
lineolatus 
\ glaucus 
difficilis 
festus 
goniorhynchus 
oxyrrhinus 
