90 NEW- YORK FAUNA. 



the quinquelineata, with which it is often confounded, and observes that the ultramarine color 

 of the tail is only apparent when the tail has been broken off and reproduced. I have, how- 

 ever, noticed this color in too many specimens, to induce me to suppose it to be occasioned 

 by such an accident. Dr. Storer has observed this species at Barre, Massachusetts, in latitude 

 42° 30', which is its highest northern geographic limits along the Atlantic. 



{EXTRALIMITAL.) 



Genus Plestiodon, Dumeril et Bibron. Nostrils open in the middle of the nasal plate. Palate \vith 



a broad mesial suture, enlarged at its anterior extremity. Sphenoidal teeth, numerous, short, 



straight, conical. All the scales smooth. 



P. erythrocephalus. (Holbrook, Vol. 2, pi. 17.) Head large, broad behind, contracted before the 



eyes, and covered with plates ; snout elongated and rounded. Body oUvaceous ; head bright red. 



Jaws and sphenoid bones armed with strong teeth. Length 12 inches. Pennsylvania to Florida. 



Genus Lygosoma, Gray. Nostrils open in a single plate ; anterior frontal plates wanting. Palate 

 without teeth, and with a superficial triangular notch near its posterior margin. Scales of the 

 body smooth. 

 L. laterale. (Holb. pi. 8.) Above chesnut, with a line of black on each side. Body beneath yel- 

 lowish ; tail blue. Tail twice the length of the head and body. Length 6-8 inches. Ohio, 

 Southern States. 

 L. quinquelintatus. (Id. VoL 3, pi. 6; and Vol. 2, pL 17, of Ed. 2.) Dusky above, tinged with 

 green, and marked with five pale lines. Head pale red, with six obscure white lines, the two inter- 

 nal confluent on the occiput. Tail brown. Length 6-7 inches. Ohio, Southern States. 



FAMILY LACERTID^. 



Body long, smooth, without spines. Toes free. Tongue long, extensile, deeply forked. Scales of the 

 tail and belly in smooth transverse parallel bands. 



Genus Ameiva, Cuvier. Body with minute scales. Head pyramidal, covered with plates. Jaws with 

 numerous notched teeth. Tongue slender, bifid. No bony plate on the orbits. Abdomen with 

 large scales. A row of pores beneath each thigh. Tail long, cylindrical, with verticillate scales. 



A. sexlineata. (Holbrook, Vol. 2, pi. 15.) Dark brown above, with six yellow longitudinal lines. 

 Abdomen bluish. Tail twice the length of the head and body. Length 12 inches. Carolina to 

 Florida. 



A. iessellata. (Harl. Med. &, Phys. p. 136.) Black, with 9-10 longitudinal and 18 - 20 trans- 

 verse brown and yellowish lines. Scales carinate. Length 12 inches. Arkansas. An Ameiva? 



i 



