1905. ] AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES. 217 
of the hot, well-wooded parts of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Vera Cruz, 
whence it extends far into Central America. It is far less quick 
than Cnemidophorus, and I have found it invariably in the 
vicinity of water. 
AnGuIDa,— Anguis, with its sole species fragilis, and two species 
of Ophisaurus s. Pseudopus (Morocco to Burma) are the only 
members of this family which are not American, and even the 
third species of Ophisaurus, O. ventralis, lives in the United 
States. The countries now richest in Anguide are Mexico, 
Central America, and the Antilles; a few extend into South, and 
a few, Gerrhonotus with the Ophisaurus, into North America, 
where the latter is widely distributed (also recorded from Jalapa). 
Diploglossus is peculiar to the mountainous regions of Mexico ; 
D. steindachnert from Orizaba, Jalapa, and Guatemala. The 
related genus Celestws in Antilles and Central America. 
Gerrhonotus is the main genus, eight species of which occur in 
Mexico, entirely in mountainous districts or on the plateau; they 
are consequently absent in the hot lowland forests, and references 
to Vera Cruz and Tehuantepec do not apply to such towns but 
to unknown places in the state or district. 
G. ceruleus has the widest range, from British Columbia and 
Colorado along the Pacific side of Mexico to Costa Rica. Most of 
the species live on the ground, in the oak- and pine-forests, 
preferring clearly a moist and by no means warm climate. 
G. antauges ascends Citlaltepetl to an altitude of more than 
12,000 feet, in the pine-forests, or in the grass near little streams, 
and higher up amongst the tussocks of grass, basking on the top 
of such a tussock and making its home among the roots or in 
the mass of last year’s rotting blades. In such a place they 
disappear easily, although they are not quick. The same applies 
to G. inbricatus. G. gramineus, delicately light green above and 
yellow below, is arboreal, ascending the highest trees in search of 
insects and making its lair in hollow trees of oak, pines, and 
arbutus. They all are viviparous, live on insects and worms, 
and lose their shyness a few hours after having been caught and 
handled. 
XENOSAURIDH.— Nenosaurus grandis alone is recorded only 
from the mountains near Orizaba, Cordoba, and Oaxaca. 
HELODERMATID#.—The sole genus Heloderma, unless we include 
Lanthanotus of Borneo. H. suspectum of Arizona and New 
Mexico, and H, horridwm of Mexico. The notion that Heloderma 
is a dweller on arid mountains is quite erroneous. It is restricted 
to hot lowlands with sandy ground. Most of Arizona is high 
and dry tableland, and there is quite a trade in “Gila monsters,” 
but, so far as I could find out, they all came from such terribly hot 
and low sandy places as Yuma, on the lower reaches of the Gila 
river, and from similar localities in Sonora. H. horridum is 
