On Agamiclte and I'iuaiiicla3. 523 



LXXI. — AgamidjE and Iguanid^e. 



Whilst arranging some portion of early correspondence I 

 came across a letter from my late friend, Professor Kanp, 

 d. Darmstadt, Novbr. 23, 18G9, in which he incidentally 

 refers to the fact that he had been the first to recognize by 

 the different insertion of the teeth the two zoogeographical 

 divisions of Lacertilia, which ever since have been distin- 

 guished as Agamidfe and Iguanidse, appealing to me to 

 vindicate his claim of priority. After this lapse of time it 

 would be useless for me to enquire why I omitted to comply 

 with his request at the time ; ' I can only say that the 

 omission was quite unintentional, but I consider it a duty to 

 rectify it now. 



This, indeed, should be unnecessary inasmuch as already 

 Wiegmann, in the Heipetol. Mex. 1834, p. 13, has fully 

 acknowledged and established Kaup's claim. He says : — 

 " Hanc diversitatem geographicam oculatissimus Kaupius 

 ])iimus detexit, et in Iside 1827. p. 610 docte exposuit. 111. 

 Waglerus Kaupii nullam faciens mentionem, rem jam a me 

 stabilitam (Isis 1829. p. 422) denuo protulit quasi novam, et 

 a semetipso inventam (S. A. p. 228). Haec, salva in cineres 

 aniicissimi viri pielate, ne Kaupii nostri merita laudesque 

 imminuerentur, reticere nolui, quum Cel. Oken, quod illi 

 debebat tribuere, mihi falso adscripsit (Isis 18ol. p. 1015). 

 Kihil enim equidem in hac re detexi, niliilque addidi, nisi 

 quod legem indicavi, qua Sauri per orbem terrarum dispersi 

 videantur." 



Tlie cause why Kaup'.s merits in the matter were not 

 equally recognized or entirely overlooked in subsequent or 

 modern herpetological works may be found in the unfortunate 

 circumstance tliat he omitted to give technical names to the 

 two groups, designating them as 



1. Hohere Saurier der Neuen Welt (with six genera), and 



2. Hohere Saurier der Alten Welt (with nine genera). 



This was done by Gray, who, singularly enough, in the 

 same month of the same year (July 1827) published in the 

 ' Philosophical jMagazine^ an arrangement of the families of 

 Lacertilia, with partial indication of their geographical range. 

 He divided them into seven families, of which the fifth is 

 named Iguanidte (without locality) and the seventh Agamidai 

 (comprising genera from the " Old and New World, New 

 Holland and India"), the Chamccleonida; occupying the 



