42 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Lows 
Cope (1866) wrote that ‘‘They live chiefly in dry, open 
woods, among dry leaves, at the foot of bushes, ete. They 
are emphatically ground lizards, and not a tree or rock 
species.’’ The writer takes exception to the statement 
that this lizard is not a rock species, since he has found 
it under rocks in many localities. However, it is not 
always a rock species as will be shown by further discus- 
sion. Cope (1880) wrote that ‘‘It is entirely terrestrial 
in its habits and moves with greater rapidity than any 
other lizard.’’ Rhoads (1895) found that ‘‘This lizard 
was numerous in the suburbs of Chattanooga along rail- 
road embankments.’’ Ruthven (1907) specified that 
‘‘This is a characteristic form of the desert floor hab- 
itat.”” Ditmars (1915) stated that ‘‘They frequent dry, 
sandy places and borders of dusty roads. When 
disturbed they dart into their holes or burrows with 
lightning like rapidity.’’ Wright and Funkhouser (1915) 
wrote that ‘‘It is found in plowed ground and cornfields, 
and seems to prefer the bare furrows for sunning. . . 
They dart into holes in the raised earth between the fox 
rows when disturbed. The burrows extend in an irregu- 
lar direction to a depth of eight or ten inches.’’ Holt 
(1919) found that a young specimen was very restless, 
and the moment it was released, it darted away with the 
speed characteristic of the species.’’ Blanchard (1922) 
wrote of specimens of western Tennessee, ‘‘They are 
extremely common in sandy situations near Henry and 
are always found on the ground. They are swift and 
escape by running into grass or brush. Overnight, some 
at least, remain in holes dug in the sand, from which they 
may easily be taken early in the morning. The burrow is 
short and has two openings, and when the lizard is in- 
side one of these openings is partially filled with sand 
thrown out from within.’’ Hallinan (1923) observed 
