72 University of California Publications in Zoology [Vou 17 
that the color characters of stejnegert, like some factors of its environ- 
ment, are intermediate between those of tigris and of mundus. 
The difficulty of separating tigris and stejnegeri comes from the 
fact that stejnegert on the desert borders of its range gradually takes 
on the dusky suffusion of tigris, and that many examples of tigris, 
even from the interior desert regions, have fully as large central gular 
scales as the majority of sfejnegert. 
Intergrades between stejnegert and mundus have not been recog- 
nized in our material. Specimens from Fairmont, on the Mohave 
Desert, Los Angeles County, and from Matilija, Ventura County, are 
stejnegeri; and others from San Emigdio Plain, Kern County, and 
Santa Margarita, San Luis Obispo County, have the central gular 
scales smaller and are placed with mundus. We have no specimens 
from the interlying area. 
VARIATIONS OF EHUMECES SKILTONIANUS 
Van Denburgh (1896, p. 350) has described a large, red-headed 
skink from the Yosemite Valley as Eumeces gilberti. In referring to 
this species later (1897, p. 149) the same writer makes the statement 
that ‘‘Were it not for the different position of the light stripes of 
the young and the fact that this form seemingly does not oceur in 
most parts of the range of EF. skiltonianus, Ewmeces gilberti might be 
regarded as a color phase of the Western Skink.’’ Cope (1900, pp. 
640-644), deseribing two new ‘‘varieties’’ (amblygrammus and 
brevipes) of EF. skiltonianus from California, apparently ignores the 
name gilberti, but mentions a ‘“‘largest’’ specimen of FE. s. skiltonianus 
“ 
from El Dorado, California, in which the ‘‘upper parts are entirely 
” 
uniform olive. The question still remains, therefore, whether 
“*gilberti’’ may not be a variation of FE. skiltonianus due to age, rather 
than a distinct species. 
The Museum of Vertebrate Zoology has a series of eighty-one 
Eumeces from the various parts of California, including thirty speci- 
mens of the form ‘‘gilbertz’’ from near the type locality of the latter, 
in Stanislaus, Merced, Mariposa, and Madera counties. There are also 
in this series ten large specimens of Ewmeces, not to be distinguished 
from ‘‘gilberti,’’ from Amador, San Joaquin, Kern, San Bernardino 
and San Diego counties. All of our skinks from the coast districts 
north of San Diego County are under seventy-five millimeters in body 
length and have distinet stripes. Females of ‘‘gilberti’’ are smaller 
