1G8 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. . [No. 7. 



batus Flat, and ascends the south slope of Gold Mountain a little 

 higher than the creosote,bush (Larrea), which stops at about L,640 

 meters (or 5,400 feet) on the most favorable southwest exposures. It 

 is common in Oasis Valley (coming in from both Sarcobatus Flat and 

 the Amargosa Desert), and doubtless ranges over most of the Ralston 

 Desert. It was found on the Desert, Timpahute and Pahranagat 

 Mountains, as well as the intervening deserts, and on Pahroc Plain, 

 and thence easterly across Meadow Creek Valley and the Juniper 

 Mountain plateau (along the boundary between Nevada and Utah) to 

 the Escalante Desert in Utah, and thence southerly through the sage 

 brush to Mountain Meadows and the Santa Clara Valley. It was com- 

 mon on the Argus and Panamint mountains, and on the latter was 

 taken as high as 1,610 meters (5,300 feet) near Wild Rose Spring, and 

 may range higher. 



Crotaphytus wislizenii, in company with two other Great Basin lizards 

 (Cnemidophorus tigris and TJta stansburiana), two desert birds (Har- 

 porhynchus lecontei and Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus), the antelope 

 or white-tailed squirrel (Spermophilus leucurus), and a number of desert 

 plants (among which may be mentioned the tree yucca, Yucca arbores- 

 cens, Tetradymia spinosa, T. comosa, Lycium andersoni, L. cooperi, 

 Hymenoclea salsola, Eriogonum fasciculatum, and Ephedra nevadensis) 

 passes over the' low summit of Walker Pass (altitude 1,550 meters, or 

 5,100 feet), and descends westerly to Kern Valley on the west slope of 

 the Sierra. From Kern Valley Crotaphytus wislizenii ranges southward 

 to Havilah, if not to Walker Basin. 



The leopard lizard is chiefly a vegetarian, feeding on the blossoms 

 and leaves of plants; but is also carnivorous, devouring the smaller 

 lizards, horned toads, and even its own kind, besides large numbers of 

 insects, as determined by the examination of many stomachs. In the 

 Argus Range Dr. Fisher surprised one in the act of swallowing a 

 scaly lizard (Sceloporus) two-thirds its own size. 



In many lizards, as well known, the male assumes a special coloration 

 during the breeding season. The present species is a notable excep- 

 tion, the male remaining the same, while the female undergoes a remark- 

 able change. The whole under surface and sides of the tail become 

 deep salmon or even salmon red, and the sides of the body assume the 

 same color, either uniformly or in blotches. The red markings on the 

 sides usually begin as spots, which soon unite to form transverse 

 stripes. The central part of the back is not affected by the change, 

 and the dark markings on the sides remain distinct. None were seen 

 in this condition until May 20, when the first red one was found on 

 Pahroc Plain, Nev., but dozens were seen afterward in Pahran agat Valley, 

 Indian Spring Valley, the Armagosa Desert, Tule Canon, and numer- 

 ous other localities. The change does, not take place till late in the 

 development of the egg. Many pairs were observed in copulation in 

 Diamond and the Upper Santa Clara Valleys, Utah, and thence north- 



