188 Lacertidae. 



to be entitled to specific rank, than that afforded by the black lizard 

 of the Melisello Eock near Lissa, first described by Max Braun 

 as L. melisellensis. 



The view entertained by Bedriaga that the Melisello lizard is a 

 black insular race of the typical L. muralis (his L. muralis fusca) 

 -would, iu the light of our present information, be highly surprising, 

 since it has been shown that the latter does not exist on Lissa nor on 

 any of the islands off the coast of Dalmatia. Later, however, Werner 

 and Lehrs pronounced it to be merely a melanic form of the var. 

 neapolitana (= albiventris), which on rocks near Capri produces the 

 L. cserulea or faraglionensis. 



My reasons for dissenting from both these views are derived from 

 the study of the scaling, to which previous authors had not paid 

 suf&cient attention when making their comparisons. 



In describing the lizard, Brauu had correctly mentioned and figured 

 the larger scales of this variety, as compared with the var. albiventris, 

 and it will be seen by a glance at the tabulation that follows, that it is 

 so, the number of scales across the body being 60 to 64 (usually less 

 than 60) in the Melisello lizard, and 62 to 75 in the var. neapolitana 

 from the East Coast and islands of the Adriatic. The number of 

 dorsal scales would be in favour of a derivation from the typical L. 

 muralis, but against this we have the greater number of subdigital 

 lamellse under the fourth toe (25 to 30, usually 28). In these numbers, 

 however, we have so complete an agreement with the lizard described 

 as var. lissana (Sc. 51-54, lam. 27-31, usually 28), that, when I 

 became acquainted with it, I at once felt convinced as to the relation- 

 ship of the two forms, as had already been pointed out by Scherer in 

 1904. All doubts as to the derivation of the var. melisellensis from 

 the var. fiumana are removed by an examination of the lizards from 

 Lissa and Lagosta, which furnish the missing link. 



In the following table particulars are given of the 19 specimens 

 from Melisello examined by me. The two first specimens form part 

 of the series out of which Braun's original types were obtained ; the 

 last 8 belong to Dr. Werner's Collection, the rest being in the British 

 Museum . 



1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 



S . 60 62 25 10 27 23-22 29 



? 58 54 29 8 27 25-23 25 



S 73 62 28 10 27 22-24 28 



68 59 25 9 29 28 28 



66 64 24 11 29 22-23 30 



65 63 26 11 32 23 28 



