42 Iiacertidie. 



AcanthoilartyJ/is f)il(jiirln, vars. heJli, nflaiiticu, ninurltanirn. hianci, 

 Bouleiig. Bull. Soc. Zool. rraute, 1918, p. 149. 



In the broad seuse, A. vnlgarix embraces all the iudividual.s loinbiuing- 

 the following eharacter.s : Small dorsal scales, ventral plates much 

 broader than long and in 8 or 10 longitudinal series, strongly Iceeled 

 upper caudal scales, feebly denticulated digits, and the first and fourth 

 supraoculars more or less broken up into small shields and granules.'*' 

 Like all Acanthodactyls with an extensive range, it varies considerably, 

 and may l)e divided into several rather ill-defined geographical forms. 

 In order to avoid confusion, the following description is drawn up 

 exclusively from Spanish and Portugese specimens, which represent 

 the typical A. vulgaris of Dumi'ril and Bibron. The distinctive features 

 of the varieties, together with the numerical variation shown by the 

 material at my disposal, will l;>e dealt with afterwards. 



Habit rather robust, l)ody moderately elongate, decidedlv depressed.! 

 Head 1 ^ to 1 .', times as long as broad, its length 3 J to 4 times in 

 length to vent in males, 4 to 4^, times in females, its depth equal to 

 the distance between the anterior corner or the centre of the eye and 

 tympanum ; a lanceolate concavity from the frontonasal to the middle 

 of the frontal ; snout obtusely pointed, as long as the postocular part 

 of the head, with rather sharp canthiis and feebly concave loreal 

 region ; nasals feebly swollen. Pileus twice as long as broad. Neck 

 as broad as the head. The hind limb reaches the shoulder or the ear, 

 usually between these two points,' in males, the axil or lietween the 

 shoulder and the ear in females ; foot 1 1- to 1 1 times as long as the 

 head; fourth toe, from the base of the fifth, as long as the head, or a 

 little longer (up to 1} times), or a trifle shorter. Tail 1? to 2 times 

 as long as head and body. 



Uppt^r head-shields convex, sometimes rugose in the adult. Suture 

 between the nasals I to }, the length of the frontonasal, which is 

 broader than long, and a little broader than the internarial space ; 

 prefrontals longer than broad and forming a median suturej ; frontal 



• Scales across middk' of bmly 50 tn 72 ; transverse series of ventral plates 

 28 to ^3 ; gnlar scales 21 to 32 ; feinural p. ires 18 to 30 ; lamella,' under fourth 

 toe 18 to 25. 



t Bedriaga (1889) says " tronc . . . arrondl ou legerenient deprime." 

 In specimens preserved in spirit the depth of the body is usually 11 to l-j times 

 in the width, and in life, according to the same authority (1879), these lizards 

 " platten sich, sobald der >feriny;ste [Sonnen] Strahl in ihren Kafig fallt, 

 ganz ab." 



X A small azygos piefrontid in a male from Ciudad Keul and in a young 

 from Taberuas de Valldigna. 



