THE LIZARDS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



By Edward H. Taylor 

 INTRODUCTION 



This account of the lizards of the Philippine Islands is based 

 primarily on the collection of the Bureau of Science, taken in 

 various parts of the Archipelago since 1898. The collection, 

 while not extensive, contains a number of type specimens, most 

 of which have been described in the Philippine Journal of 

 Science.* 



Examination of the herpetological collections of the Ateneo de 

 Manila was made possible to me through the kindness of the Di- 

 rector, Rev. Father Sola. The snake collection is representative 

 of the Philippine snake fauna and contains many rare forms and 

 most of the commoner ones. The lizard collection is neither so 

 extensive nor so representative. Rev. Father Llanos kindly per- 

 mitted me to study the collections in the University of Santo 

 Tomas, Manila, and to describe two species new to science. These 

 are Brachymeles elerx Taylor and Sphenomorphits llanosi Taylor, 

 the types of which remain in the Santo Tomas collection. Some 

 of the specimens reported by Casto de Elera f as being in the 

 university collection are not to be found there now. In conse- 

 quence there is still some doubt as to the authenticity of certain 

 of 'his records. 



My own collection, consisting of about 2,500 specimens, made 

 during 1912 to 1916, contains for the most part specimens from 

 central Mindanao and Negros, collected during my residence in 

 those islands, with smaller collections from Mindoro, Luzon, Pa- 

 nay, and Balabac. I am indebted to Mr. Homer McNamara, for- 

 merly of the Bureau of Agriculture, for a collection made at 

 La Carlota, Occidental Negros; to Mr. Archie Howard, of the 

 Bureau of Education, for a small but interesting collection from 

 Panay ; and to Mr. Clark Burks, of Sumagui, Mindoro, for a col- 

 lection from that locality. 



It is a matter of great regret that I have been unable to ex- 

 amine Philippine material contained in European museums. For 

 the most part the collections in Europe, notably those of the 



* Taylor, Philip. Journ. Sci. § D 10 (1915) 89-110. 

 t Cat. Fauna Filipinas 1 (1895) 399-454. 



13 



