Alligator Lizards 7 
sheltered to protect them from the cold would likewise be in- 
sulated during the warmer part of the day and their develop- 
ment retarded by the constantly low temperature. Delay in 
hatching would be a serious handicap because of the late Breet 
ing season and short growing season. It is perhaps significant 
in this connection that Gerrhonotus coeruleus usually ranges to 
ee are and farther north than the oviparous Sceloporus 
grac and Eumeces skiltonianus which are apparently less 
Sone. és cold and become active at lower temperatures. 
G. coeruleus seems to require more water than does multi- 
pele The lizards kept in captivity were watered daily and 
en their cage was sprinkled, individuals of coeruleus became 
aniniated to the point of running about the cage and greedily 
lapping up the ee while the smut carinatus were more in- 
different and drank sparingly. 
The high percentage of these lizards having regenerated tails 
seems to indicate that the tail is frequently used hie success 
as a decoy to divert the attention of an enemy. In Gerrhonotus 
s in certain other lizards, notably the Gila ome the tail 
ormally it is round and plump, containing a large amount of 
fatty tissue. In captive individuals which have been fasting, 
or in females which have recently given birth to young, the 
tail becomes shrunken and wrinkled near the base and crooked 
terminally, showing a decrease in diameter although the lizard 
itself may not be noticeably Sonne ps In individuals that 
have had the original tail broken off near the base, the short 
regenerated portion is often oie proximally and is thicker 
than the old tail, to compensate for its shorter length. 
Oregon Alligator Lizard 
Gerrhonotus multi-carinatus scincicauda 
This subspecies is a characteristic inhabitant of the Garry 
oak belt. It is sometimes found in the Transition Life Zone, 
where yellow pine, black oak and madrone are the dominant 
plants, but I have never found it in thick coniferous forests. 
oak bushes among which it lives supply abundant food 
and aheltae in the layers of dry, windblown leaves, often sev- 
eral inches in depth, which collect under them. Concealed 
beneath the leaves around the roots of the bushes are cracks 
and holes into which the lizard may escape. In times of danger 
it burrows rapidly into the carpet of leaves with undulatory 
movements of the body and tail. The short limbs play a minor 
part in this action. Once hidden, it silently works Hole ie : 
around to some hole or crack into which it escapes. 
lizard is cut off from this mode of retreat, it usually aeteenits e 
