AGAMA SPINOSA. 115 
backwards and upwards, placed on the canthus rostralis. Ear larger than the eye- 
opening, exposed. Limbs well developed, wrist generally reaching to the snout or 
slightly in advance of it, or falling short of the nostril ; tip of the fourth toe reaching 
the ear, falling short of it, or extending to the eye ; tibia longer than the skull ; 
fourth toe only a little longer than the third. Tail more than twice as long as the 
distance between the gular fold and the vent, broad at the base, laterally compressed 
beyond it. Scales on the head smooth, fiat ; generally no enlarged elongate scale 
on the mesial line of the snout ; 10-11 upper labials ; occipital generally large; well- 
developed rosettes of rather long spines on the sides of the head and neck ; nuchal 
crest moderately developed in the male, consisting of rather long spines, feeble in 
the female. Scales on the body strongly keeled, shortly mucronate, 62-78 round the 
middle of the body and 40-54 along the mesial line of the back between the origin 
of the limbs. Ventrals smooth. Caudal scales much larger than the dorsal, arranged 
more or less verticillately and keeled above in the male. 
A moderately well-developed gular pouch in the male. A single row of from 7-1*2 
prseanal pores present in both sexes. 
In the male the head is generally brownish red spotted with greenish yellow, the 
enlarged line of scales running from behind the nostril under the eye being of the 
latter hue ; eyelids brick-red, with a purple spot on the middle of the lower eyelid ; 
gular pouch brilliant orange-red, and its sides much paler, spotted with yellow in 
longitudinal lines, and the rest of the under surface of the head and neck dusky, 
purplish red spotted with yellow ; upper surface of the body dark olive, spotted with 
yellow, with indications of a longitudinal series of large yellow markings along the 
sides ; under surface bluish, the chest more so, and spotted with yellow ; palmar and 
plantar surfaces white. When excited, the entire upper surface of the trunk and of 
the tail become bright peacock-blue, more especially the tail, the body and the limbs 
being suffused with greenish ; a longitudinal line of white and blue scales appears on 
the middle of the back, from the shoulders to the loins, and the bright orange-red of 
the pouch and the deep blue of the under surface of the neck and front of the shoulders 
become very vivid. 
The female, from the nape to the loins, is yellowish olive or greenish olive, with 
three large lozenge-shaped dark orange-red markings on the back, one over the 
shoulder, another in the middle of the back, and one on the loins, each with a 
yellowish-olive spot in its centre ; an orange-red narrow band before the first and 
behind the last dorsal marking ; a series of large orange-red elongated spots along 
the sides of the body ; the head is generally some shade of olive, or it may be even 
bluish, spotted with yellow and dark indigo-blue ; dark blue bands are more or less 
present below the eyes ; limbs and posterior part of the body and tail are yellowish 
olive ; underparts white, with a few obscure longitudinal blue lines on the throat. 
Q 2 
