﻿292 3. IGUANIDJE 



Description. — Head and body somewhat flattened. 

 Nostrils opening much nearer to end of snout than to orbits. 

 Upper head-shields smooth, moderately large, often slightly 

 convex; interparietal largest. Frontal usually divided trans- 

 versely. Parietal, frontoparietal, and frontal plates sep- 

 arated from enlarged supraoculars by a series of small plates 

 or granules. Superciliaries long and strongly imbricate. 

 Middle subocular very long, narrow, and strongly keeled. 

 Rostral plate very wide and low. Labials very long and 

 low. Below lower labials, a series of large sublabial plates 

 separated from infralabials (except first) by one or two rows 

 of smaller sublabials. Symphyseal large and pentangular. 

 Gulars small, smooth, imbricate, usually emarginate pos- 

 teriorly, about size of ventrals or a little smaller. Ear- 

 opening large, slightly oblique, with an anterior denticula- 

 tion of from four to six shortly acuminate scales. Dorsal 

 scales equal-sized, strongly keeled, pointed, larger than ven- 

 trals, and arranged in nearly parallel longitudital rows. 

 Scales on sides similar to those of back, but smaller and di- 

 rected obliquely upward. No longitudinal dermal folds, 

 and no transverse fold across throat. Superior surfaces of 

 limbs provided with keeled scales. Posterior surface of 

 thigh covered with small, acuminate scales most of which 

 are keeled. Ventrals smaller than dorsals, smooth, but usu- 

 ally bicuspid. Caudal scales a little larger than dorsals, 

 keeled and strongly pointed. Femoral pores varying in 

 number from 12 to 19 on each thigh; average, 15.35. Eight 

 to 1 1 dorsal scales equaling length of shielded part of head. 

 Number of scales in a row from interparietal plate to a line 

 connecting posterior surfaces of thighs varying from 36 to 

 43; average in 50 specimens, 39. Males with enlarged 

 postanal plates. 



The general color above is brown, olive, or bluish, green- 

 ish or yellowish, with a more or less distinct light greenish 



