34 



PEOCEEDIlSrGS OF THE ISTATIOlSrAL MUSEUM 



VOL. 73 



such rows of small scales; from this point the spinous scales continue 

 without interruption to the distal end of tail. At base of tail ventral 

 scales are much smaller than dorsals, three rows corresponding to each 

 pair above, slightly keeled and pointed posteriorly. After the first 

 four or five rows, ventrals and dorsals approach each other in size, two 

 rows of ventrals corresponding to a like number of dorsals. Toes very 

 long, especially those of hind feet; claws long and sharp; femoral pores 

 5-5 to 9-9; tibia without spiny scales. 

 Measurements. — 



Length of head .- 



Length of body 



Length of tail 



Total length 



Width of head over orbits. 



47565, U.S. 

 N.M., F. 



Mm. 



60 



190 



1410 



1660 



28 



1 Tail broken oil. 



Paris No. 2252 is a cotype of Ctenosaura completa Bocourt {Ct. 

 similis) . 



Coloration. — General body color chrome tint, trunk being striped by 

 four or five black bands joining over stomach and united above by 

 numerous spots of the same color. In old specimens the back bands 

 become somewhat narrower and more or less broken up, appearing on 

 the middorsal region of back as two distinct bands. Dorsal crest 

 spines that lie in path of these bands are also colored black. Limbs 

 blackish. Transverse gular fold spotted with black; throat and chin 

 tinted with dark gray. Tail ringed with alternate wide bands of 

 brown and yellow. In the younger specimens the general body color 

 is light olive green, the inferior regions being yellowish, spotted with 

 small brown or blackish dots. 



RemarTcs. — These lizards are very common in Central America, the 

 Peninsula of Yucatan, and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. They 

 are most abundant in the lowlands on the sandy flats and beaches. 

 Their chief food consists of tender buds. They also feed on insects, 

 as revealed by the examination of 25 stomachs. Most of the insects 

 were beetles and grasshoppers. In Panama the habits of this species 

 differ slightly from those of the same species farther north. They occur 

 on both sides of the Isthmus wherever there are sandy beaches, pref- 

 erably with outcroppings of rock. They never appear about muddy 

 shores or mangroves. These habitat associations occur more widely 

 on the dry Pacific than on the moist Altantic side. Even in the dry 

 Panama areas of the Pacific side one rarely sees this species more than 

 200 yards from the beach. They like the sand banks and rock piles 



