12. SCELOPORUS 339 



Description. Head and body little depressed. Nasal 

 opening a little nearer to end of snout than to orbit. Upper 

 head plates smooth, often a little convex, sometimes slightly 

 imbricate ; interparietal largest. Frontal divided trans- 

 versely. Parietal and frontoparietal plates not separated 

 from large, broad supraoculars. Superciliaries strongly im- 

 bricate. Middle subocular very long, narrow, and strongly 

 keeled. Rostral plate wider than high. Labials long but 

 very low, inferior a little larger than superior. Symphy- 

 seal large, followed by several plates larger than the gulars 

 and separated from lower labials by from one to three rows 

 of narrow sublabials. Gular region with scales smooth, 

 flat, bicuspid, and strongly imbricate, as are also scales on 

 belly. Ear-opening large, nearly vertical, and protected by 

 a series of very long, acuminate scales. Dorsal scales large, 

 equal in size or larger centrally, rather weakly keeled, but 

 strongly mucronate, arranged in nearly parallel longitudinal 

 rows. Scales on sides pointed obliquely upward and back- 

 ward, and changing gradually from carinate dorsals to 

 smaller smooth ventrals. No longitudinal dermal folds. 

 Upper surfaces of limbs provided with strongly keeled and 

 pointed scales. Scales on posterior surface of thigh large, 

 acuminate, strongly keeled and pointed. Upper caudal 

 scales similar to dorsals, but with longer points. Femoral 

 pores varying in number from 15 to 18 on each thigh ; 

 average in 48 thighs, 16.56. Five or six dorsal scales in 

 adults equaling shielded part of head. Number of scales 

 in a row from interparietal plate to a line connecting pos- 

 terior surfaces of thighs varying from 27 to 31 j average in 

 24 specimens, 29.04. Males with enlarged postanal plates. 



The color above, in adult males is yellowish brown or 

 olive the mid-dorsal region being paler and showing a 

 longitudinal band of light yellowish or reddish brown, one 

 or two scales wide, with rather indefinite outlines. This 



