DESCRIPTION OF A NEW LIZARD (VERTICARIA BELDINGI), 

 FROM CALIFORNIA. 



By Leonhard Stejneger, 



Curator of the Department of Bej) files and Bafrachians. 



A RECENT examination of certain specimens of Verticaria sent to 

 the Museum for ideutification made it clear that the speciniens from 

 localities north of the Cape St. Lucas region, Lower California, difler in 

 several points, which makes it necessary to regard them as a separate 

 form. 



VERTICARIA BELDINGI, uew species. 



Diagnosis. — Scales bordering gular fold smaller than those on chest 

 between fore legs ; frontal usually entirely separated from second supra^ 

 ocular by a row of granules. 



Habitat. — Southern California and Lower California, except Cape 

 region. 



Ti/pe.—\J. S. Nat. Museum, No. 11080; Cerros Island, Lower Cali- 

 fornia; L. Belding, collector. 



After a careful comparison of three si)ecimens of the present form, viz ; 

 the type and two specimens from San Jacinto, San Diego County, Cal., 

 belonging to the museum of the Leland Stanford Jr. University, with 

 40 specimens from the Cape St. Lucas region, including the types of 

 Verticaria liyperythra^ I have concluded that the specimens from (Cer- 

 ros Island and Southern California differ in having the scales forming 

 the border of the gular fold considerably smaller than the correspond- 

 ing scales in V. hyperythra, being in the latter of the same size, at least, 

 as the scales covering the chest between the fore legs, while in the new 

 form here described they are perceptibly smaller. I find, moreover, 

 that in 37 out of the 40 specimens of V. hyperythra from Cape St.Lucas 

 the frontal shield is in contact with the second supraocular and often 

 with the third as well, while in V. heldingi the frontal is separated from 

 all the supraoculars by a complete series of granules. This character 

 is not quite exclusive of Y. beldiiu/i, since in in a lot of specimens col- 

 lected by Mr. Belding at La Paz, Lower California (Nat. Mus. No. 

 12013), there are 3 specimens which in this respect agree with F. held- 



Pro(fC(liii"s Xational Museum, Vol. XVII— No. 977. 



17 

 Proc. N. M. 94 2 



