in contact with third supraocular; parietals shorter than frontal, in contact behind interparietal, which is small, only, little larger than third supraocular; a long and narrow shield along the outer edge of each parietal; two loreals, the anterior rather small, triangular, and in contact with internasal; a long subocular in contact with four supralabials, not reaching the edge of the lip; nine supralabials, fifth longest, sixth directly under the subocular, smaller than seventh; over the seventh labial a large lower postocular; lower temporals large, smooth, upper ones granular, about ten granules and scales in a row between parietals and supralabials; six pairs of enlarged submandibulars, or chin-shields, third pair largest, sixth smallest, first three pairs in contact; upper surface covered with small, uniform granules, about 58 in a row across the middle of the back between the ventrals; gulars large flat granules followed by a few rows of smaller ones gradually merging into the flat scales of the lower neck; collar consisting of about nine large, smooth scales, of which the median one is the largest; fold behind collar covered with small granules; ventral plates subequal, twelve in a row across the abdomen, and not forming longitudinal series, smooth, about 30 shields in a row on the median line between collar fold and groin; anterior aspect of arm with large smooth scales, which on the forearm assume the shape of transverse plates; anterior aspect of femur and lower side of tibia with a series of broad transverse plates; scales on underside of digits sharply keeled; a large median preanal plate with a deep cleft behind; a series of 11 femoral pores on each side; tail covered with elongate, squarish, keeled scales arranged in verticels, about 24 in a verticel, a head length from the vent. Color (in alcohol) dull clay-colored above with about eight longitudinal rows of yellowish spots surrounded by a black ring on the back, these ocelli being continued on the base of the tail; underside whitish. Variation. The two other specimens (same locality and collector) before me are rather young. Both differ in having the paired prefrontals touch behind the azygous shield and in having a longer suture between the parietals behind the interparietal. No. 21183 lacks the posterior pair of submentals and in No. 21184 the lower nasal distinctly reaches the rostral; the former has about 65 granules and plates around the middle of the body and 10 femoral pores, the latter 70 granules and plates around the-body and 11 femoral pores on each leg. Habitat. Owing to the doubt whether certain references to E. argus may not in reality belong to E. brenchleyi, it is at present impossible to define the habitats of these two forms exactly. The difficulty is increased by the fact that both seem to occur together, in some localities, at least. As far as can be made out at present E. argus occurs in northeastern China; thus at Chefu, whence came the types; at Kiautshou and Tsingtau, recorded by Werner; and at Peking, from the neighborhood of which city Moellendorff, Steindachner, and Boettger, have recorded several specimens. Fischer, who also distinguishes between the two forms, mentions specimens of true E. argus from "eastern Mongolia." During Count Zichy's third Asiatic voyage it was collected in the same general region, viz, at Shara-murun, in eastern Mongolia, and farther east on the road to Peking between Daba and Khalgan. It was first recorded from Korea by F. Mueller, who presented a specimen from Chemulpo to the Basel Museum, and four other specimens are in the St. Petersburg Museum from the same locality, collected by Bunge in 1889 and 1891. The late P. L. Jouy, during June and August, 1883, obtained three specimens at Seoul, which are now in the United States National Museum. 1758. Lacerta LINNEUS, Syst. Nat., 10 ed., I, p. 200 (type, L. agilis); 12 ed., I, 1766, p. 359. 1830. Zootoca WAGLER, Nat. Syst. Amph., p. 155 (type, L. vivipara). 1851. Atropis GLUECKSELIG, Lotos, 1851 (p. 138) (same type). LACERTA VIVIPARA Jacquin. 1787. Lacerta vivipara JACQUIN, Nova Acta Helvet., I (p. 33, pl. 1) (type-locality, Schneeberg, near Vienna, Austria).-DOBROTVORSKI, Izvest. Sibirsk. Otd. Geogr. Obstch., I, 1870 (p. 23) (southern Sakhalin).-Bedriaga, Abh. Senckenberg. Naturf. Ges., XIV, Pt. 2, 1886, p. 338 (Padun, Baikal Lake; Sakhalin).—BOULENGER, Cat. Liz. Brit. Mus., III, 1887, p. 23 a Signifying lizard. b Signifying bearing living young. (Stanovoi Mts.; Niklayevsk, Amur; Sakhalin); Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6), The numerous synonyms based upon European specimens are here omitted. Description. Adult female; U.S.N.M. No. 14385; Sakhalin Island; St. Petersburg Academy (figs. 220-222). Rostral pentagonal, not entering nostril, not in contact with internasal; nostril round, between two nasals; supranasals in contact behind rostral, also in contact with first supralabial, and anterior loreal; postnasal not in contact with second supralabial; anterior loreal high and narrow, in contact with supranasal, internasal, and prefrontal; posterior loreal twice as large as anterior; internasal much wider than long, not in contact with poste 220 221 222 FIGS. 220-222.-LACERTA VIVIPARA. 2X NAT. SIZE. 220, TOP OF HEAD; 221, SIDE OF HEAD; 222, FEMORAL PORES AND ANAL REGION. No. 14385, U.S.N.M. rior loreal, prefrontals smaller than fronto-parietals, in contact with first and second supraoculars; frontal hexagonal, with parallel sides, slightly longer than its distance from rostral, and equaling the length of the parietals; four supraoculars, anterior and posterior very small, all in contact throughout with superciliaries; first supraocular in contact with posterior loreal, second with prefrontal, third with frontal, and fourth with fronto-parietal; four superciliaries on one side, six on the other; fronto-parietals larger than prefrontals; interparietal pentagonal, twice as large as posterior supraocular, broadly in contact. behind with occipital, which is slightly larger than posterior supraocular, hexagonal, and slightly protruding behind parietals; parietals not in contact, their external edge bordered by three small scutes not specially differentiated from the temporals; seven supralabials on left side, six on right, fifth or fourth, respectively, longer and higher than the others directly under the eye; temporals large, flat irregularly polygonal scutes, about four in a row between orbit and ear-opening, the one at the upper anterior edge of the latter (the so-called tympanic) larger than the others; six lower labials on left side, five on right; six pairs of submandibulars, or chin-shields, the last pair very small; first two pairs of chin-shields in contact throughout, third pair separated posteriorly by a wedge of gular scales; back covered with bluntly keeled, slightly imbricated scales, the length of six from the middle of the back corresponding to the length of four ventral plates, these dorsals becoming gradually smaller and nearly smooth on upper neck and sides, about 30 in a row across the middle of the back between the ventrals; gular scales smooth, irregularly polygonal with rounded corners, increasing in size backward toward the collar, which consists of 10 large, smooth shields; fold behind collar covered with granules and small scales; ventral plates in six longitudinal rows, the two median rows narrower and the next row on each wider than the outer series, which is bordered externally by a series of large flat scales only slightly smaller than the median series of plates; plates between the arms not in regular longitudinal rows, the series next to the collar fold being oblique, lengthened, more or less pointed behind; 29 transverse rows of plates between collar and preanal plate; preanal plate very large, smooth; arm with a series of large smooth plates above the elbow and two below; anterior and lower surface of femur and tibia also covered with large smooth plates; eight pores on right thigh, ten on left; scales covering underside of digits smooth; tip of longest toe reaching wrist of fore leg; tail covered with squarish, elongated scales, as long as the ventral plates, those on the upper surface keeled, those on the basal half of the lower surface smooth. Color (in alcohol) olive clay-color above with two dorsal series of small whitish dots, each about covering one scale, edged on each side by a dark brown dot of similar size; a lateral series is also indicated as well as a few brown dots on the middle portion of the back; these marks, rather better defined, continued on the tail; underside paler olive gray, posterior ventrals obscurely marked with blackish, hind legs and tail underneath more heavily marked with dusky. The adult male has relatively longer legs, especially hind legs, and tail, the latter being nearly twice as long as the head and body in the male, and only about one and a half times as long in the female. Variation. The present species is not very variable as far as scutellation is concerned. Usually the fifth supralabial is the subocular; the number of scales on the collar varies between 6 and 10; there are sometimes 8 regular longitudinal series of ventrals; femoral pores vary between 7 and 13. The coloration is much more variable, at least in European specimens. The underside of the male is in Europe usually more or less orange colored, and in moist localities and higher altitudes melanistic specimens are not uncommon. The young, as a rule, are much darker than the adults, nearly black with yellowish dots. Habitat. This is one of the most widely distributed species of lizards, inasmuch as it occurs in Europe from the Pyrenees and the Alps to the Arctic Ocean in East Finmark, Norway, and from the Atlantic in the west to the Okhotsk Sea and the Sea of Japan in the east. It is recorded from Nikolayevsk on the Amur River, from the valley of the Ussuri, as well as from the island of Sakhalin. The U. S. National Museum possesses a specimen from the latter locality, thanks to the liberality of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Nikolski reports that he met it not infrequently in the middle part of Sakhalin, that Poljakof collected two specimens near the mouth of the river Tim, and that Dobrotvorski observed it in the southern part of the island. He also enumerates numerous specimens collected by Maack, von Schrenck, and others, among them a specimen from Decastries Bay collected by P. Semenow. 1758. Serpentes LINNEUS, Syst. Nat., 10 ed., I, p. 214. 1759. Serpentia LINNEUS, Syst. Nat., 11 ed.,p. 76. 1802. Ophidia MACARTNEY, in Ross' Transl. Cuvier's Lect. Comp. Anat., I, tab. III. 1803. Ophidii DAUDIN, Hist. Nat. Rept., V, tab. p. 8. 1826. Idiophides FICINUS and CARUS, Uebers. Ges. Thierr., tab. 1828. Strepsichrotes RITGEN, Nova Acta Acad. Leop. Carol., XIV, p. 257. 1828. Ophes WAGLER, Isis, 1828, p. 860. 1839. Ophides SWAINSON, Nat. Hist. Class. Fish. Amph. Rept., II (Lardner's Cab. Encycl.), p. 134. 1849. Pleuropoda MAYER, Rheinlaend. und Westphal. Verhandl., VI (p. 177). |