2. COLEONYX 59 



slightly larger on snout than elsewhere. Rostral plate some- 

 what broader than high, and presenting five edges. Behind 

 it the slender prenasals, meeting on the median line. A small 

 supranasal plate. Symphyseal large, longer than wide. Six 

 to eight upper and as many lower labials, decreasing in size 

 posteriorly. Eyelids bearing a fringe of pointed scales. Ear- 

 opening small, oval and oblique. Feet, belly and tail cov- 

 ered with small, smooth, imbricate scales. Digits short. Tail 

 conical, about as long as head and body. A small spur on 

 each side of tail near its base. Males with a short series of 

 six to eight preanal pores. 



The back is crossed by about five broad bands of dull 

 brown between which are narrower wavy bands of white. A 

 white horseshoe-shaped line on the neck passes just above 

 the ears and ends near the eyes. The head is brown, or 

 whitish with irregular brown spots. A dark brown band runs 

 from the eye to the nostril. The labials are spotted with 

 brown and white. The tail is cross-barred with the colors 

 of the back, but the white areas are often partly occupied by 

 brown spots. One specimen has the brown bands of the back 

 narrower than the white ones. In some specimens the brown 

 bands are represented by large or small, irregular brown spots 

 or blotches. The lower surfaces are white. 



A living specimen of Coleonyx variegatus was colored as 

 follows: — Across the back are five wide bands of dark wal- 

 nut brown, palest centrally, and separated from one another 

 by dull Naples yellow bands of about half their width. The 

 tail is similarly cross-banded. The upper surfaces of the 

 head and limbs are fawn color, the limbs being faintly and 

 the head strongly marked with small irregular spots of wal- 

 nut brown. The edges of the eyelids are white. A white 

 line runs back from the eye to the top of the neck where it 

 meets or almost meets its fellow of the opposite side. A 

 walnut line, bordered above and below with white, connects 



