1871.] DR. J. ANDERSON ON INDIAN RE1TILES. 165 



to an entirely different conclusion. Mr. Gammie, however, to whom 

 I am indebted for these specimens, collected at my request the sup- 

 posed females of this species without determining the point by dis- 

 section ; and on examining them I find that the sex of all his supposed 

 females is correct. The question as it now stands may be stated 

 thus : all the large-scaled Darjeeling Japalurce which have hitherto 

 come under my observation are undoubtedly males of J. variegata, 

 while all the females of that genus from that locality only differ from 

 J. variegata in having a mere rudiment of a dorsal crest, smaller 

 scales, and a more sparing admixture of large ones. These characters 

 are persistent in all the specimens of the sex that I have examined 

 from that part of the Himalaya. The conclusion to be drawn from 

 these facts is self-apparent, viz. that the large-scaled individuals are 

 males of J. variegata, and that the small-scaled ones are the females ; 

 unless it so happens that there is another species, the males of which 

 1 have not as yet obtained — a supposition which seems improbable, 

 as all the specimens were collected within an area of a few miles. 



Dr. Jerdon's small-scaled form, which he has named J. microlepis, 

 has a reddish back, abruptly separated from the greenish colour of 

 the sides by a series of somewhat raised scales. 



I have received a specimen from Darjeeling agreeing with Dr. 

 Jerdon's description of the coloration ; but the lines of enlarged 

 scales are prolonged into the red, and I cannot avoid thinking that 

 in Dr. Jerdon's specimen they followed a similar arrangement, and 

 that the appearance he describes may have been due to either one of 

 two circumstances. I find in my specimen that on one side the 

 enlarged scales do not pass on to the red surface, but they do so on 

 the other side, where they are quite as well developed as in the 

 adjoining green surface. On passing rrfy finger roughly over these 

 enlarged scales they are easily rubbed off, and no trace is left of them ; 

 and it seems probable that in Dr. Jerdon's specimens they may have 

 disappeared from an analogous cause. Any way, however, the en- 

 larged scales on the red surface are not so distinctly visible as on the 

 green ; and this is to be explained by the fact that they are generally 

 pale-coloured on the green surface, and hence in strong contrast to 

 it ; while on the red they partake of a similar hue, and are thus much 

 more indistinct. I attach no weight whatever to the red hue of the 

 back ; for this specimen agrees in every other point of its coloration 

 with individuals which present no trace of it. It is highly probable, 

 then, that this Lizard is endowed with the power of changing its 

 colours quite as much as Calotcs ; and, indeed, the variations that 

 occur in it seem only explicable by some such cause. I have 

 carefully observed Calotcs versicolor in confinement, and found it 

 to undergo the most remarkable and almost sudden changes of 

 colour while under the influence of fear or irritation ; and on placing 

 the specimens in spirit the colours are retained. It is a well- 

 known fact, too, that the species of that genus are continually 

 adapting their colours to the surfaces over which they may be hunt- 

 ing ; and it is probable that they undergo chromatic changes depend- 

 ing on sexual causes. With these facts before us, and keeping in 



