American Amphibia. 323 



dotted with livid ; the head so thickly dotted as to obscure the 

 ground color ; sides deep livid, spotted with straw color ; beneath 

 straw colored, spotted with livid — sometimes the back as well as 

 sides, uniformly deep livid with minute pale yellow dots ; (a dif- 

 ference not depending upon age, sex or season.) Skin smooth. 



Sal. lurida, Nob. Palatine teeth a single transverse row, form- 

 ing a very obtuse angle, pointing forward ; body somewhat gran- 

 ulated, sub-quadrangular ; tail compressed, three fourths the 

 length of the body lanceolate, sub-acute ; skin beneath the throat 

 folded ; color above dark olive brown ; beneath sub-fuscus ; sides, 

 tail and beneath spotted with pale yellow. 



Dimensio7is, — Total length 4^ in. ; head and neck f in. ; 

 head f in. wide ; body If in. ; tail If in. ; fore legs f in. ; 

 hind legs '^ in. 



Description. — Head rather large, gibbous, short, oval ; snout 

 quite round before ; commissure of the jaws extends to the cen- 

 tre of the eyes ; eyes large, prominent ; nostrils minute, sub- 

 ovate ; neck thicker than the body ; skin beneath plaited ; body 

 thick ; the spine forms a prominent ridge ; tail compressed, linear 

 lanceolate, somewhat obtuse at tip, the edges obtuse ; legs short, 

 but broad ; toes much depressed ; head above smooth, shining 

 with minute pores ; body and tail somewhat granulated ; color 

 above very dark brown, tinged faintly with olive ; beneath yel- 

 lowish brown ; an irregular row of yellow spots along the sides 

 and inferior part of the tail ; beneath irregularly spotted with 

 the same. The whole abdomen and inferior part of. the sides 

 appear to have a pure pale yellow ground. When viewed with 

 a glass, numerous minute depressions are visible which except in 

 a few spots are bounded with dark brown ; Iris dusky golden. 

 Perhaps a variety of Salspicta, Harl. 



Scincus lateralis, Say. var ? Perhaps a distinct species. 



Description. — Total length 6^ in. ; length of head IJ m. ] 

 width f in. ; head and trunk 2-| in. ; tail 3J in. ; form of head 

 ophioid ; trunk sub-quadrangular ; tail round, terete ; a single 

 row of obtuse teeth in each jaw ; no palatine teeth ; tongue non- 

 extensile, emarginate at tip, soft, free ; nostrils near the tip of the 

 snout, lateral, oval, bordered by a membrane ; eyes dark, a rudi- 

 mentary third eye-lid ; the true lid covered with tetragonal scales ; 

 tympanum a little below the surface, meatus auditorius externus 

 yV in. long, oblong oval, transverse, its outer margin serrated an- 



