473 



of the last spine. The pectorals are colourless, with blackish root ; 

 ventrals blackish. 



inches, lines. 



Total length 5 2 



Height of the body ] 7 



Length of the head 1 5 



Diameter of the eye 0 4 



Length of the last dorsal spine 0 8^ 



of the sixth dorsal ray 1 1 



of the caudal 1 1 



of the third anal 0 7 



of the fourth anal ray , 0 11 



— of the pectoral , 1 3 



of the ventral 0 11 



of a large scale 0 2f 



Height of a large scale 0 3 



The intestines are not in a good state of preservation ; they make 

 many convolutions ; if there is a pyloric appendage, it must be a 

 single one. The air-bladder is bifurcate anteriorly, each lobe being 

 continued to the skull. The development of the organs of repro- 

 duction shows the maturity of the specimens. 



The "belief" has been expressed that "the Algerian mammals 

 and reptiles are entirely distinct from those of the opposite coast*." 

 Now, in the first place, naturalists never ought to "believe," espe- 

 cially when it is easy to find the necessary information by per- 

 sonal examination or by consulting authorities on the subject. A 

 single glance at any of the herpetological accounts of Algeria would 

 have awakened considerable doubts in the mind of the reviewer of 

 Mr. Bree's 'Birds of Europe;' for, as far as I am aware, every 

 Herpetologist's opinion on the matter, gained from facts, has been, 

 and is, that the main body of the reptiles all round the shores of the 

 Mediterranean is entirely the same. So, for the information of those 

 who are not well acquainted with the geographical distribution of 

 reptiles, I add the following notes, which show that even of the spe- 

 cies collected by Mr. Tristram in more southern parts of the Sahara 

 than those which were visited by previous naturalists, not less than 

 seven are found on the European side, namely : — 



Chamceleo vulgaris, in Sicily and Spain, to 38° lat. N. 



Tarentola mauritanica, Lacerta oc.ellata, Seps fridactylus, in 

 the islands and peninsulas of the Mediterranean and in the South 

 of France, to 43° lat. N. 



Gongylus ocellatus, islands of the Mediterranean (Spain ?), to 42° 

 lat. N.' 



Rana escidenta, Europe ; Northern Asia to 60° lat. N. 

 Bufo viridis, Europe to Denmark and Sweden, to 60° lat. N. 



Thus, by means of Mr. Tristram's collection, our knowledge has 

 advanced one step further, as it is proved that the European Amphi- 

 bio-fauna extends beyond the Atlas towards the heart of the Desert. 



* In the ' Ibis,' a Magazine of General Ornithology, vol. i. pp. 93, 156, 157. 



