110 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



far as is at present known, merely a narrow strip of 

 country extending along the coast from Monterey to 

 Mendocino County, California.* Parts, at least, of this 

 area it holds in common with its larger congener G. 

 scincicauda. I have examined specimens from Mendo- 

 cino (Irishes), Sonoma (Healdsburg), Marin (Mill Val- 

 ley), San Francisco (Lake Merced, Presidio), San Mateo 

 (Searsville, Pescadero), Santa Clara (Palo Alto), Santa 

 Cruz (Boulder Creek, Big Trees, Glenwood,Soquel), and 

 Monterey (Pacific Grove) Counties. 



Habits. — These slow-moving lizards may easily be 

 caught on the sand hills of San Francisco, where they 

 are very common. They are insect-eaters, feeding 

 chiefly upon beetles. Females usually show little resent- 

 ment when handled, but males often become very angry 

 and will hiss and bite fiercely, although unable to draw 

 blood. A captive male would hiss and jump at my 

 fingers whenever the door of his cage was opened. The 

 skin is renewed, sometimes at least, twice each year, 

 and, contrary to the method usual among lizards, is 

 shed in a single piece, the animal escaping, as it were, 

 through its own mouth, and neatly inverting its former 

 covering. The tail is strongly prehensile. 



The eggs are retained in the body until the young are 

 fully formed. If numerous, the lateral fold gradually 

 disappears as they increase in size. The young are 

 coiled up in a thin, transparent membrane when born. 

 They almost immediately push the snout through this 

 covering by straightening the body and in the course 

 of a few minutes set themselves entirely free. The 

 number of young varies from two to fifteen, but is usu- 

 ally about seven. Two females were caught June 5, 



*I have seen two typical specimens said to have been collected in the Cuyamaca Mts., 

 San Diego Co., but this locality needs confirmation. 



