,1895.] 



BAIEACHIANS FftOM ADEN. 



653 



As this chameleon belongs to a section o£ the genus not known 

 to occur in Madagascar, it is possible that Lieut. Barnard may have 

 obtained it either at Mozambique or more probably at Zanzibar. 

 To the latter port it might have been carried in a native dhow, 

 either from Aden, or from MakuUa, in the Hadramut, in which 

 latter Sultanate the species is quite as common as at Aden, judging 

 from the number of fine specimens brought back by my collector. 



It does not seem, in view of Peters's description and figure of 

 C. calcarifer, that Herr Matschie has satisfactorily established the 

 specific distinctness of the Aden chameleon, and, until more 

 convincing evidence is adduced, I adhere to the view first expressed 

 by Mr. Boulenger. 



In Colonel Yerbury's specimens there is great variation in the 

 form of the casque, as it is anteriorly convex in some, while the 

 mesial ridge in others is perfectly flat and directed backwards. 

 There are various modifications of these two extremes; The scales 

 of the body are all more or less conical as described by Mr. Matschie, 

 but the degree to which this exists depends a good deal on the 

 strength of the spirit in which the specimens have been placed and 

 the time they have been in spirit, at least such is the case with 

 the Aden specimens I have examined ; for the recent specimens 

 have more definitely conical scales than those that have been long 

 in alcohol. In the former the tubercles are crowded together 

 hiding the fine granules, while in the latter the tubercles are apart, 

 more or less flattened and exposing the granules. In well-preserved 

 specimens the scales above the shoulder and for a depth of five 

 rows below the dorsal ridge are larger than the body-scales 

 generally, and perfectly flat. 



The occipital lobes, as in C. vulgaris, are the subject of con- 

 siderable variation in the form of their outline, being much more 

 roundly convex in some than in others. Their free margin is 

 covered with conical tubercles, but they vary considerably in size 

 and in their degree of convexity. 



" This chameleon is plentiful inland and may be found on any 

 lairly large bush. In 1S84, 1 found at Huswah, in a small bush of 



