248 LIZARDS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



suture with frontonasal; latter longer than broad, narrowly 

 separated from frontal; prefrontals narrowly in contact, wider 

 than deep, touching both frenals, first superciliary, and first 

 supraocular ; frontal large, a little longer than broad, in contact 

 with two supraoculars, narrowly in contact with interparietal; 

 latter little longer than wide, much larger than frontoparietals 

 which are nearly square; parietals elongate, narrowly in con- 

 tact behind interparietal; no nuchals; nostril pierced in a 

 minute nasal, followed by a small postnasal; anterior f renal 

 nearly twice as large as second and very much higher; a small 

 preocular between first superciliary and third labial ; five supra- 

 oculars, second largest and widest; five or six superciliaries ; 

 six upper labials, first very large, fourth below eye entering 



a 



Fig. 47. Brachymeles gracilis (Fischer) ; a, head, dorsal view; b, head, lateral view; c, chin; 



X 3. 



orbit ; two small scales above fifth labial, bordering orbit ; mental 

 deeper than postmental but not as wide; three pairs of chin 

 shields, first pair in contact, second pair widest, separated by 

 a single scale ; third pair separated by three scales ; ear opening 

 minute, nearer end of snout than foreleg; twenty-four rows of 

 smooth scales around body ; preanals not or but slightly enlarged ; 

 limbs pentadactyl, the anterior very short, reaching slightly 

 more than halfway to ear; three scales above longest finger 

 and an equal number of subdigital lamellae, five under longest 

 toe ; third and fourth toes subequal in length ; hind leg contained 

 in axilla-to-groin distance five times. 



Color in life. — Above and below yellowish brown, each scale 

 with a large brown spot; a lighter stripe from behind eye to 

 hind leg, also with small, irregular spots and dots; head rather 

 uniform brown ; scales on tip of snout milky white ; chin shields 

 rather yellowish ; tail same as body. 



