400 MR. G. A. BOULENGER ON THE VARIETIES OF 
the large dorsal spots in a locality so far removed from the home of the platycephale 
reticulate, and so completely isolated. It is also striking that the shape of the head 
should alter simultaneously with the size, the colour, and the markings, for it must be 
noted that the Maltese form shows less green but more brown and yellow in its livery. 
We have therefore apparently to deal here with correlative conditions between the 
form of the head and the other factors. As the race derived from the Maltese lizard, 
the large, robust, black lizard of the Filfola rock, is pyramidocephalous!, we feel 
inclined to conclude that a correlation exists between the shape of the head and the 
robust. build.” 
I have not examined a very large number of lizards from Malta, but I find that, if 
they agree in the shape of the head with the typical form, as is also the case in 
many Sicilian and South-Italian specimens of the var. serpa, they certainly agree with 
the latter in the lepidosis, as may be seen from the following tabulation :— 
il. 2) 3. 4. 5. 6. dic 
gs 71 61 27 Jul 35 25 34 
Sc 63 64 25 9 30 23-24. 30 
é 59 74 27 9 31 19 30 
Ze 57 68 29 9 31 20-22 35 
Be 57 G4. 30 1 29 24-22 32 
The depth of the head equals the distance between the centre of the eye and the 
anterior border of the tympanum. ‘The hind limb reaches the collar, or a little beyond, 
in males, the axil in females; the foot measures once and one-third the length of the 
head. 
The rostral shield does not enter the nostril, and in two specimens it is in contact 
with the frontonasal; the series of granules between the supraciliaries and the 
supraoculars is incomplete, the first supraciliary being in contact with the second 
supraocular; the parietal is in contact with the upper postocular; occipital as large as 
or smaller than the interparietal, in one specimen a little larger and twice as broad; 
supratemporal narrow or broken up; temporal scales small, but much larger than 
dorsals; tympanic and masseteric shields usually well developed; usually four upper 
labials anterior to the subocular ?, 
Collar even-edged; gular fold well developed. 
Dorsal scales granular-subhexagonal, faintly keeled; 4 or 4 and 5 correspond to one 
ventral shield, 40 to 58 to the length of the head; scales on upper surface of tibia 
smaller still. 
Upper caudal scales rather strongly keeled, truncate. 
1 This is true only of adult males.—G. A. B. 
> A young specimen, received from Prof. Giglioli, has five anterior upper labials on both sides and lacks the 
masseterice disk. 
