390 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



VI. Note of the Colours displayed by a Species of Chameleon belong- 

 ing to the Genus Lophosaura of Dr J. E. Gray. By John Alex. 

 Smith, M.D. (Specimen exhibited.) 



The chameleon exhibited belongs to the genus Lopho- 

 saura of Dr Gray s Synopsis of the Chameleonidai, published 

 in the " Annals and Magazine of Natural History/' vol. xv. 

 1865. The genus is distinguished by having a series of 

 elongated skinny processes covered with scales, which run 

 backwards from below the chin and throat ; in this species, 

 the whole length of the base of lower jaw. 



It is apparently the L. ventralis (?) of Dr Gray, but the 

 characters of the species are necessarily not very minutely 

 detailed. 



It was much emaciated in appearance, and was allowed 

 to dry considerably before putting it into spirits, and the 

 brilliancy of the colours are still retained to a considerable 

 extent. They are certainly strikingly different from the 

 usual dingy bluish grey or dirty white which generally 

 characterises all the specimens of the chameleons preserved 

 in spirits. 



The whole upper surface of head is concave, and covered 

 with tubercles, and the projecting occiput has a central ridge, 

 and is narrow and rather pointed. Two patches of flattened 

 scales lie behind the orbit, on sides of occiput and temples, 

 and are divided by a ridge running back from the orbit. 



Its occipital crest is relatively more abruptly prominent 

 and higher than the Lophosaura ventralis figured in the 

 monograph already referred to. 



The back is denticulated along its ridge, and there is a 

 series or belt of rather pointed, closely-set scales, varying in 

 size, running along each side of the central line, and this is 

 continued in a similar way along the whole upper half of the 

 tail ; the toothed ridge disappearing towards its extremity. 

 Three or four series of larger rounded scales run somewhat 

 parallel to one another along the sides of the body, the largest 

 series running backwards from behind the shoulder to the 

 root of the tail. A belt of larger sized light-coloured scales 



