274 Mr. A. W. E. O'Shaughnessy on Norops auratus. 



. Now the contrary of all this is to be found in the Mexican 

 A. tropidonotm, which has the toes distinctly dilated, never a 

 v)hite stripe on the side, no larger occipital shield, and the 

 hinder limbs longer, reaching beyond the head or to the nasal 

 aperture [not ear-opening, as Mr. O'Shaughnessy thinks). 



Of course, by supposing, as Mr. O'Shaughnessy does sup- 

 pose, that Dumdril and Bibron's description of the length of 

 the limbs is incorrect, and their (with regard to the details) very 

 excellent figure erroneous (composed of two different sj)ecies), 

 and by siqjpressiyig , as Mr. O'Shaughnessy does suppress, 

 Daudin and Dumdril's notice about the characteristic Avhite 

 lateral marking, it will be easy to transmute also every other 

 sjjecies of Anolis into a Norops auratus. 



It is well known that the length of the tail in slender-tailed 

 lizards varies very much according to the individuals, which, 

 besides, do not always arrive in a perfectly natural state, and 

 that it therefore is not to be considered a very important 

 character for distinguishing species. I have to add that I 

 have lately examined specimens of A. auratus, Daudin, which 

 had an imperfect or perfect second series of large scales between 

 the supralabials and the eye ; but this second series is not con- 

 stant, and consists of narrower scales between the supralabials 

 and the constant scales of the upper row. The dilatation of 

 the toes in A. auratus is not absent, but hardly visible. 



Finally, I have to remark that I have examined the type 

 specimens of Norops auratus, Dum. & Bibr., at Paris, others 

 at Leyden, the Norojjs auratus, Wagler, at Munich, and the 

 Anolis 12-striatus, Berthold, at Gottingen, all of which 

 belong to the same species, found only in the northern parts 

 of South America. 



XXXV. — On Norops auratus. 

 By Arthue W. E. O'Shaughnessy. 



Prof. Peters has kindly communicated the above to me 

 before sending it for insertion. 



As he calls in question my carefulness, in endeavouring to 

 refute the view I put forward in the March Number of the 

 'Annals' of the present year, respecting the species of Norops, 

 I would ask permission to say a few words in reply to him. 

 Daudin's description must, as I said before, be regarded as of 

 generic rather tlian specific value ; it is his merit to have dis- 

 tinguislied a Norojys from an Anolis by means of that cliarac- 

 tcr of " doigts amincis " Avhich Prof. Peters quotes above. 

 As to the toes being " entibrcment amincis," it is clear that, 



