FAMILY SCINCID^. 39 



GENUS SCINCUS. Daudm. 



Head oblong, pointed, covered vjith plates . Jaws furnished with closely set teeth ; two rows 

 of teeth on the palate. Tongue fleshy, slightly extensible, emarginate. Tympanum appa- 

 rent. Neck as large as the head. Body elongated. Tail conical. Body and tail covered 

 with small imbricated, scales. Extremities luithfree and nailed, claws. 



THE BLUE-TAILED SKINK. 



ScINCnS FASCIATUS. 



PLATE VIII. FIG 17. — (CABINET OF THE LYCEUM.) 



Lacertafascialn. LiN. Sys. Nat. p. 209. 

 Blue-tailed Lizard. Penn. Arct. Zool. Vol. 2, p. 334. 



Scmcus qutnquelineatus ? Daud. Hist. Nat. Repl. Vol.4, p. 272, and Var. p. 275. 

 Lacerta qmnqitelineata. Green, Acad. Nat. Sciences, Vol. 1, p. 348. 

 Scincus id. Harlan, Med. and Phys. Researches, p. 138. 



S. bicohr^ Id. lb. p. 139. 



Scinatsfasciatus. Holbrook, N. Am. Ilerpelolosy, Vol. 3, p. 45, pi. 7; and \"ol. 2, p- 127, pi. 18, of Ed. 2da. .Storer, 

 Mass. Rep. p. 219. 



Characteristics. Bluish black above. Body with five yellow lines ; the vertebral line dividing 

 into two on the summit of the head. Tail often blue. Length 6-8 inches. 



Description. Body cylindrical and tapering gradually to the tail, and covered with longitu- 

 dinal series of imbricated rhomboidal scales. Vertical plate hexagonal ; five occipital plates, 

 with large scales behind ; eleven orbital plates proper, and two of the upper labial plates, 

 complete the circle : rostral plate large and pentagonal. Nostrils near the snout. Eyes very 

 small. External ear opening large, oval, vertical. Tail cylindrical, continuous with the body, 

 and longer, with a central row of large plates beneath. Vent transverse, with two very large 

 and two smaller scales in front. Fore feet short, scaly, with five small sharp nails ; hind feet 

 larger, with long slender toes, also furnished with nails ; the second toe longer than the others. 



Color. Body of a shining bluish black, and appears alternately striped with black and yellow 

 longitudinal lines ; this is produced by five bright yellow longitudinal lines over the upper 

 surface of the body. The central or dorsal line divides on the head, and a branch passes to 

 each nostril ; another line on each side begins above the eye, and a third beneath this on eacli 

 side, all gradually lost on the tail. Abdomen light bluish. Tail deep blue. Extremities 

 brownish above, light-colored beneath. 



Total length, 6-0 - 8-0. 



Tills harmless little animal, miscalled the Blue-tailed Lizard and Striped Lizard, is not 

 uncommon in the southern counties of the State. I did not hear of it in the western districts, 

 although I presume it is to be found there. It is frequently found under the bark of trees. 

 Mr. Say, in a note to Prof. Green's paper cited above, very properly denies its identity with 



