136 
Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 
3140, 3143, in the Great Karas Mountains up to 6200 feet : 3119, in the 
Little Karas Mountains, between Groendoorn and Wasserfall : 3117, 
Quibis. 
Juvenile specimens in our series usually exhibit heterogeneous 
dorsal scaling and very young specimens are not easily distinguished 
from A. aculeata . 
A. aculeata , Merrem. 
A. aculeata , Merrem. Tent. SysL Amph. p. 53 : Bouleng. B. M. Cat. J, p. 351 : Hewitt & 
Power, Trans. R. S. S. A. Ill, 1913, p. 151. 
24 examples : localities, 3108, 3124, Quibis : 3105-3107, 3125, 3127, 
3129, 3133, 3135, 3137, 3141, 3145, from the sandy plains near Wasserfall : 
3109, 3112, 3132, 3136, 3138, 3142, in the Great Karas Mountains : 3110, 
3131, 3139, Groendoorn : 3126, 3130, Narudas Slid. 
Most of these specimens may be described as fairly typical ; they 
exhibit much variation with regard to the relative proportion of the toes, 
as may be seen from the list below. Four specimens are noteworthy 
owing to the fact that the dorsal crest is practically obsolete on the back : 
moreover the enlarged dorsal tubercles are not numerous and are arranged 
in an irregular fashion such as is often met with in A. atra : these might 
be confused with the latter species from which they are distinct, however, 
in the length of the toes. We may mention that Rhodesian examples of 
A. aculeata also lack the dorsal crest and they differ further from the 
typical form in possessing shorter toes, the third being longer than the 
fourth. 
It was noticed that this species was to a great extent arboreal in its 
habits : it prefers sandy soil for its habitat, whereas A. atra was found in 
rocky country. 
We note the following characters in our series : 
Toes and fingers slender. Ventral scales smooth, without spines. 
3rd and 4th fingers subequal. 
3127(2- Fifth toe not quite as far ash 
3131c?. „ 
3125$. . n a trifle beyond 
3130$. „ as far as 
3124$ juv. Fifth nearly as far as 
3126$. Fifth toe not quite as far as 
3133$ juv. „ 
3106(2. Fifth toe a trifle beyond 
•sF 
3105^. 
3107$. 
3110$. 
3109(2. 
3138$. 
3136. 
toe as far as 
toe not quite as far as 
as far as 
not quite as far 
as 
as far as 
not quite as far as 
3145(2. 
3129$. 
3137(2. 
3139$ juv. Fifth not quite as far as 
3141$. Fifth as far as 
Four 
th a little longer than third, 
equal to „ 
longer than „ 
shorter than „ 
a little longer than „ 
longer than „ 
a trifle longer than 
longer than 
a trifle longer than 
longer than 
a trifle longer than 
* By this is meant that the claw of the fifth toe does not reach an imaginary line passing 
through ihe claw of the first toe and drawn transversely to the axis of the limb. 
