BRONCHOCELA CEISTATELLA. 411 



Genus BRONCHOCELA, Kaup. 



Gen. Char. — Head subpyramidal, more or less elongated, not swollen 

 laterally, and protected hy small angular plates. Occipital plate 

 small. Subcorneal incisive teeth upon the extremity of the jaws : 

 compressed, subtriangular, and tricuspid ones posteriorly. Nostrils 

 lateral, perforating an odd plate, situated near the apex of the 

 muzzle. No transverse fold under the neck. Skin, more or less 

 hanging down upon the throat. A dorsal crest extending from the 

 nape to the tail. Scales of the trunk homogeneous, imbricated, dis- 

 posed upon oblique series, inclined backwards, their free edge being 

 directed towards the belly. Femoral pores wanting. 



SYN.—Bronchocela, Kaup, Isis, XX, 1827, 619.— Gray, Synops. Kept, in Grif. 

 Anim. Kingd. IX, 1831, 55 ; &, Catal. Liz. Brit. Mus. 1845, 240.— DuM. & Bibr. 

 Brp^t. gen. IV, 1837, 394.— Dum. & A. Dum. Catal. meth. Eept. Mus. d'hist. nat. i, 

 1851, 86. 



Observ.— Intimately related to Calotes, from which it chiefly differs 

 by the direction of the oblique series of scales which cover the upper 

 surface of the body. The cephalic plates, in Calotes, are imbricated 

 in such manner as to present their free edge anteriorly, contrarily to 

 the general rule, which consists in that free edge being directed back- 

 wards. The sides of the head, in Calotes, are likewise swollen : a 

 feature not met with in JSronchocela, 



Bronchocela cristatella, Kaup. 



Spec. Char. — Dorsal crest tolerably elevated over the neck, but dimi- 

 nishing suddenly over the shoulders, to proceed thus towards the 

 tail. Two or three small, subconical, and expanded scales behind 

 the supraorbital ridge. No conical tubercles on the nape ; no tu- 

 bercular scales over the auricular aperture. Scales of the sides of 

 the body narrow, lanceolated, keeled, scarcely half the size of those 

 on the belly. Color uniformly blue or green. 



Syn.— iacer^a mexicana strumosa, &c. Seba, I, Thes. Nat. 1734, 140. Tab. LXXXIX, 



fig. 1. 



Agama cristatella, Kuhl, Beitr. zur Zool. und Vergl. Anat. 1820, 108. 



