THE LUSITANIAN FAUNA. 



the Atlantic in early Tertiary times. Another 

 Lusitanian Lizard belonging not to an aberrant 

 group, but to the typical Lacertidae is Psammo- 

 dromus hispanicus. It is rather variable in colour 

 generally of a brown or green and grows to a length 

 of about four or five inches. It occurs throughout 

 the Spanish peninsula and also in Southern France. 

 One of the handsomest European Lizards, which 

 reaches almost a foot in length, of an olive colour 

 with greenish or mother-of-pearl reflection, and with 

 two yellow stripes along each side of the body, is 

 an allied species (P. algirus). From the Spanish 

 peninsula it passes into Southern France and North 

 Africa. Two other species of the genus are confined 

 to North-west Africa. 



It is quite possible that the genus Pelobates is of 

 south-western origin. Of the two known species of 

 this genus of Toads, one is found in the Central 

 European plain and the other on the Spanish penin- 

 sula and in France. The closely allied Pelodytes 

 punctatus, too, is confined to this south-western 

 district, and their nearest relations are found in 

 Mexico. Similarly, the genus to which the Midwife 

 Toad (Alytes obstetricans) belongs may have its 

 original home in that part of Europe. Of the two 

 species, one is confined to France, Switzerland, 

 Belgium, and Western Germany, and the other, viz., 

 Alytes cisternasii, to Spain. Discoglossus pictus a 

 well-known and conspicuous Toad in Southern 

 Europe inhabits Spain, Algiers, and Tunis, the 



