REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



inclusion in the Devonshire fauna, and in one 

 case quite incorrect. The circumstances are dis- 

 cussed below under the names of the species : 



[Sand Lizard. Lacerta a^lis, Linn. 



' Scarce. I have seen it near Weston Mills, 

 Plymouth ; and Mr. Reading on Roborough Down ' 

 (Brooking Rowe). ' I have seen it on Haldon, and 

 Woodbury Common ' (Parfitt). 



No specimens caught within the county are 

 extant to the writer's knowledge, and since the 

 species has such a peculiar and limited distribution 

 in England there would seem to be strong prob- 

 ability that the above records are cases of mistaken 

 identity. Parfitt did not distinguish between the 

 Common and the Sand Lizard even on close ex- 

 amination, for the specimen described in his list 

 in the Tram. Devon Assoc, 1877, as a variety of 

 the present species, and preserved in the Albert 

 Memorial Museum, Exeter, proved on examination 

 by the writer {through the kindness of Mr. F. R. 

 Rowley) to be merely the Common Lizard {Lacerta 

 vivipara). 



The ' Lacerta a^Rs ' referred to by Bellamy as 

 ' a common animal on heaths and commons, and 

 occasionally even in gardens ' is undoubtedly the 

 common Lacerta vivipara, the specific name aplis 

 being often applied to this species by the older 

 writers. 



The Sand Lizard has been authentically recorded 

 from Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Berkshire, Surrey, 

 Sussex, parts of the Lancashire coast, and (with a 

 slight doubt) parts of the Cheshire coast.' There 

 is, however, no reason known to the writer why it 

 should not occur in Devonshire, and a look-out 

 should be kept for it. It may be distinguished 

 from the Common Lizard by its larger size (length 

 about eight inches), bulkier form, more massive 

 head, and the larger size of the flat scales on the 

 temples — in particular of those bordering the 

 parietal shields.] 



[Green Lizard. Lacerta viridis, Dum. and Bibr. 



This species is recorded by Parfitt, and though it 

 certainly has been taken in the district there is no 

 doubt that all the specimens were ' escapes,' the 

 Green Lizard having no claim to be considered a 

 native of Britain. By the courtesy of Mr. A. 

 Somervail the writer has been able to examine 

 three caught in Torquay and preserved in the 

 museum of the Torquay Natural History Society. 

 They are undoubtedly referable to this species, 

 but are as undoubtedly escaped specimens. One 

 of them formed the subject of a note in the Zoohffst 

 for June, 1869, p. '724O 



Slow-worm or 

 Linn. 



Blind-worm. jinguis fragilis, 



Fairly common in the Plymouth district, where it 

 is usually found under stones on dry and warm 

 hedge-banks. The largest local specimen the 

 writer has seen is 1 5 J in. long, and is preserved 

 in the Plymouth Municipal Museum (No. 1 00*05). 

 It was brought in alive from Radford Woods, near 

 Plymouth, in April, 1903. 



OPHIDIA 



3 



Common, Ringed or Grass Snake. Tropidonotus 

 natrix, Linn. 



Locally, Long-cripple (Bellamy) 

 All the local lists cited in the introduction speak 

 of this species as generally common. There does 

 not appear to be any doubt however that on Dart- 

 moor it is by no means so frequent as the Viper, 

 though in the lowlands it is probably more plentiful 

 and the commoner species. The only living speci- 

 men the writer has seen in the district is one brought 

 to the Plymouth Museum from Newley Coombe, 

 Dartmoor, in May, 1903, by Mr. H. P. Hearder. 



4. Viper or Adder. Vipera bents, Linn. 



Seen by the writer on Dartmoor, where it is 

 evidently still abundant, many specimens having 

 been brought from there to the museum during the 

 last four years by Mr. H. P. Hearder of Plymouth, 

 who has always generously supplied information, 

 specimens, and practical assistance. Both blackish 

 and red forms occur as well as the type, and 

 Mr. Hearder says of the first that those he has 

 caught (about half a dozen) have always been dis- 

 tinctly aggressive. Whether the variations of colour 

 are sexual or not the writer is unable to say, but 

 Mr. Boulenger states that red vipers are females.' 

 The Rev. G. C. Bateman, in Leighton's British 

 Serpents (1901), p. 255, connects this reddish colour 

 with the red land of certain parts of Devonshire, 

 and Leighton, in a footnote, speaks of it as the most 

 definite example of colour protection he has heard 

 of in British adders. Mr. Hearder however has 

 seen red specimens all over the moor, showing no 

 special connexion with reddish land. A specimen 

 measuring 3 ft. 2 in. in length was found by 

 Mr. Fred. Holme of Penzance in the road near 

 Holsworthy in August, 1 884.' As the largest viper 

 caught in recent years appears to be that recorded 

 in Leighton's British Serpents (1901), p. j6, 

 28 J in. in length, from the Monnow Valley in 

 South Herefordshire, the Holsworthy record is 

 distinctly noteworthy. 



BATRACHIANS 



ECAUDATA 



5. Common Frog. Rana temporaria, Linn. 



Common. Breeds very early in the season in 



' Also recorded from Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, and 

 Worcestershire in the Victoria History of those Counties, 

 [Editor KC.H.'] 



Devonshire ; in 1903, for example, well developed 

 spawn was present in pools near Cadover Bridge, 

 Dartmoor, 700 ft. above sea level, on 1 4 February, 

 the frogs themselves having left the water. The 

 spawn was probably deposited in the latter part of 

 January. 



» y. C. H. Hants, i, 206. » Zoologist, 1884, p. 768, 



289 



Z7 



