CHALCIDES OCELLATUS. 213 
This species is found all over Egypt, except in the utterly sterile desert, and my 
specimens came from the alluvium, the margin of the desert, and from the oases. It 
is one of the most prevalent lizards, being found not only in the open conntry, but in 
the towns and villages. 
It has a wide range over Northern Africa, that may be defined as lying to the north 
of a line drawn from the mouth of the Juba river in Somaliland, to Cape Jubi, on the 
Atlantic coast, in El Gada, opposite to the Canary Islands. It is also found over a 
limited portion of Southern Europe, comprising Southern Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, Greece, 
Cyprus, and the islands of Malta, Lampedusa, Cyprus, Chios, Rhodes, Limosa, &c. In 
Asia, it occurs in Arabia, Syria, Persia, and Sind. 
It is known as ^s"' =sihliya l . 
In the extreme eastern limit of the distribution of this species, lizards are met with 
at Assab, in Eritrea, in which the black and white spots of the back are either 
present or entirely disappear ; they are always, however, more or less preserved on the 
sacral region, hind limbs, and tail. There is, besides, an indication of the pale dorso- 
lateral band, which is also present in the large variety tiligugu, and also not unfre- 
quently in forma typica itself. These lizards have only 24 rows of scales round the 
body, whereas in tiligugu the scales vary from 28 to 34, and in forma typica from 28 
to 32. This Eritrean variety, with a low lepidosis, is of small size, and has been 
indicated by Mr. Boulenger as ragazzii. Professor Boettger and Mr. Boulenger have 
pointed out, however, the occurrence in the same region of lizards conforming in their 
essential characters to the typical form. Other lizards are also found in Eritrea Avith 
26 to 28 rows of scales in which the ocellated spots, although present all over the 
back, are small and feebly marked, and in which a light stripe extends along each side. 
Mr. Boulenger regards them as intermediate between the typical form and var. ragazzii, 
and has proposed for them the name humilis. He says, " they agree with the var. 
ragazzii in the small size, the largest measuring only 96 millim. from snout to vent." 
At Tokar and Suakin, lizards similar to those described as var. humilis occur, and in 
the latter locality associated with others as pronouncedly spotted as forma typica, and 
with their scales varying from 28 to 30. At Durrur, about 50 miles to the north of 
Suakin, lizards conforming to the coloration and general characters of forma typica 
have 28 rows of scales, but one specimen differs from them in having the spots less 
numerous and more scattered, and in it the number of scales is 26. These Durrur 
specimens show indications of a pale lateral line, as in the Eritrean lizards, and one of 
them, with 26 scales round the body, is 115 millim. from snout to vent — the largest 
lizard of this species from the delta, with 30 scales, being 106 millim. ; others at 
Suakin, with 28 scales, measure 119 millim.; so that the dimensions of var. humilis 
equal those of forma typica. 
1 Vide supra, page 207. 
