1907.] 



THE lOXIAN LIZARD. 



565 



above (head, neck, body, fore limbs, base of tail), shading to 

 greenish yellow on the lips and down the sides of the neck. The 

 black spots are usually small. A pale brown or golden colour 

 forms spots or a band on each side of the posterior part of the 

 body and on the base of the tail. Hind limbs and tail brownish 

 grey, with light spots. The ocellar marking above the shoulder, 

 alluded to by Lehrs, is absent, or imperfect, the centre green, not- 

 blue. A male is uniform green, with the sides of the sacral 

 region and of the base of the tail, the hind limbs, and the tail 

 i-eddish brown ; in a female, the brown extends further forward 

 on the sides of the body. The belly is greenish or yellowish white,, 

 or pale yellow, with pale blue spots on the outer s'entral plates. 

 The iris varies from pale golden to copper-red *. 



Text-fig. 165. 



Xiacerta taurica. 



Head and anterior part of body : 

 a. $ . Roumania; b. ^ . Hungary; c. $ . Rciimania. 



The female specimen here figured represents the " forma 

 olivacea" of Lehrs (p. 236). I have always objected to the 

 bestowal of latin names on such individual variations. In this 

 case, the " forma olivacea" is not even constant in the individual, 

 as since the lizard has been placed in spirit it has produced a 

 dark lateral band edged with whitish, thus resembling very 

 closely some of the typical specimens from Cephalonia mentioned 

 by Lehi's as devoid of dark spots. 



In conclusion, I very much doubt whether L. taurica and 

 L. ionica can be sufiiciently well defined to be separated as distinct 



* I have noticed the same variation in the typical form of Lacerta muralis. 



