782 General Notes. [December, ` 
become extinct, as it is killed wherever found. It would be inter- 
esting to know what this large, slow-moving lizard finds to live 
upon in the arid wastes of Arizona. 
Chirotes. The curious “ hand-eared lizard,” which, lizard though 
it is in structure, would look exactly like a snake were it not for 
two curious little limbs placed close to the head, has been found 
in Lower California, a district which, as regards its reptilian fauna, 
is more properly included in the Nearctic or North American | 
region than in the Neotropical or South American. 
No mention is made of this species in the check-list of Nearctic 
reptiles drawn up by Prof. Cope, and published by the Smith- 
sonian Institution, but two specimens were obtained at La Paz by 
Mr. Turner, U. S. Consul at that place, and presented to W. I. 
Fisher, of San Francisco; and Prof. Cope informs me that a 
European herpetclogist has also obtained some from Lower 
California, 
Chirotes belongs to the Amphisbznia, which are character- 
ized by a thick short tail, inconspicuous rudimentary eyes, and a 
body surrounded (as is also the tail) with numerous rings of small 
square plates. All the genera except Chirotes are destitute of 
limbs, and as they have the power of moving backwards, are 
popularly regarded as poisonous snakes, possessed of a head at 
each end of the body. The two little legs, each furnished with 
five toes ending in pointed claws, save Chirotes from this impu- 
tation. 
The hand-eared lizard is about eight inches long with about 
two hundred half-rings of small, square plates on the back and a 
smaller number of half rings of similar but larger scales on the 
belly. Along the side, where the rings of back and belly meet, 
are some small triangular scales filling in the interstices. 
The mouth is very small, the few plates on the top of the head 
not conspicuous, the eyes scarcely discernible, and the neck of 
the same thickness as the body, which is about the calibre of a 
lead pencil. ; 
Aniella pulchra Gray. This little snake-like creature is entirely 
destitute of limbs, and is, therefore, usually regarded as a snake, 
but the structure of the head is lacertian, and it is classed among 
the Lacertilia. It is the only species of its family, the Typhlopide, 
found in North America, and is probably confined to the southern 
part of the Pacific region. The Typhlopida are burrowers, with 
very small eyes and a blunt tail, in these respects resembling the 
Amphisbenide, but they differ from that family in the character 
of their covering, which is formed of small diamond-shaped 
scales instead of regular rings of square or oblong scales. aS 
Aniella pulchra appears to be dug up with tolerable frequeucy 
in the southern parts of California, but is not found around San ~ 
Francisco. It is about eight inches long, slender, of a bright 
y color above and light blue underneath, with a band of yel- _ 
