152 ME. G-. A. BOTJLE]S"GEE ON THE 



3. The complete series of granules betiveen the supraoculars and the supraciliaries. — 

 Again a worthless specific character, occurring more or less frequently in the typical 

 L. mitralis and most of its varieties. Besides, Mehely omits to state that, as he him- 

 self admits higher up (1909, p. 478), this is only " usually " the case in L. hedriagce. 

 1 cannot understand how such characters, which are known to break down in almost 

 every variety, can be adduced in favour of specific distinction. 



4. The vertical direction of the suture between the first and second supraciliaries. — 

 Oblique, even strongly so, on one side or on both sides in several specimens (Brit. Mus. 

 and Bedriaga Coll.) of L. hedriagce, vertical on one side in a male of L. insulanica. 

 The character is subject to frequent exceptions in the typical L. muralis, in which the 

 said suture is usually oblique (see above, p. 139). 



5. The short freno-ocular ( = second loreal). — May be shorter, in proportion to its 

 distance from the nostril, in L. insulanica than in L. hedriagce. In two specimens 

 ( c? $ ) of the latter, I find it as long as its distance from the rostral. Compare also 

 fig. 8« on my pi. xxviii. (Tr. 1905) with side views of heads of other varieties on 

 the same plate. 



6. The homogeneous temporal scutellation, by which expression is meant that a 

 masseteric disk is absent. — Higher up (1909, p. 479) Mehely admits that it is sometimes 

 present, although very small. A large male from Bastelica, in the Bedriaga Collection, 

 the head of which is here figured (text-fig. 4 A) alongside with that of a male of the 

 var. insulanica, from Pianosa, in the same collection (text-fig. 4 B), shows how far these 

 statements are to be depended upon when submitted to the test of even a but moderately 

 large series of specimens. 



Text-fig. 4. 



B 



A. Var. bedriaga; ; B. Var. insulanica. Prom photograplis. 



7. The very distinct supratemporal. — This is not constant (see Tr. 1905, p. 412), 

 and besides the shield is twice as large in a male L. insulanica as in a female 

 (one of the types) of L. hedriagce. I request a comparison of figs. 7 & 9 of 

 pi. xxviii. Tr. 1905*. 



8. The nearly smooth upper caudal scales and the smooth tibial and dorsal scales. — 

 The caudal scales are often very distinctly keeled in L. hedriagce and L. sardoa, 



* See also Mehely's own figure of the head of L. hedriagce in Ann. Mus. Hung, iii, 1905, p. 301, -which 

 does not agree with his later definition of the Archceolacertte, oji. cit. vii. 1909, p. 424. 



