30 



ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE. 



Familia-SCINCIDtE. 

 Genus — Cyclodus. Wagler. 



Cyclodus CasuariNjE. Bibr. 



Plate XV.— Fig, 3. 



Aurium margine anteriore simplici ; squamis corporis Icevibus, in seriebus xxiv 



dispositis. 



" Keneux de la casuarina, Cocteau, Tab. Syuopt." (v. Bibr. Hist. Nat. des Rept. V. p. 749.) 

 Cyclodus casuari?iw, Bibr. 1. c. 



As I have not the work of the lamented Dr. Cocteau by me, I quote the above 

 reference from M. Bibron's work, in which this species is fully described. It 

 differs from the other species of this curious genus in many minute characters of 

 the scaling of the head, but the most tangible and obvious distinctive character 

 consists in the number of series of scales, which does not exceed twenty-four, all 

 around the body, whilst in the others, they amount to thirty-four or thirty-eight. 

 It would appear that it is liable to some considerable diversity in colour and 

 markings. That which M. Bibron describes, has " the head of a yellowish grey, 

 the whole of the upper part of the body olive grey, and the inferior part whitish 

 grey." The specimen in the collection of the Zoological Society has the whole 

 upper part of a brownish grey, with twelve black lines extending from the neck 

 along the back and tail, corresponding with the sutures of the longitudinal series 

 of scales. The under surface of the tail is marked by about thirty transverse, in- 

 terrupted, black bands. The following is the description given by Mr. Darwin 

 from his specimen when taken,—" Scales on the centre of the back light greenish 

 brown, edged on their sides with black ; scales on the sides of the body above 

 greyer and with less black, below reddish : belly yellow, with numerous narrow, 

 irregular, waving, transverse lines of black, which are formed by the lower margin 

 of some of the scales being black; head above grey, beneath whitish." Mr. 

 Darwin adds, that the motion of the body, when crawling, resembles that of a 

 snake. It is not very active. Coleoptera and larvae were found in its stomach. 

 " It is common in the open woods near Hobart Town in Van Diemen's Land." 



