Art. XXI.—The Lizards (Lacertilia) indigenous to New Zealand.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 29, 1896, Page 264

Art. XXI.—The Lizards (Lacertilia) indigenous to New Zealand. By A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., B.Sc., and C. Frost, F.L.S. Communicated by Captain F. W. Hutton. [Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 1st July, 1896.] Our primary object in studying the lizards of New Zealand was to compare them with the lizards of Australia. We had made previously extensive collections of Victorian, and to some extent of Tasmanian and Straits, species, and had carefully examined other available collections. We wished to satisfy ourselves as to the identity or distinctness of these species and the New Zealand species, and to trace, where possible, their affinities. Our conclusion is that the New Zealand forms are all endemic, and are all specifically quite distinct from the geckos and skinks of the Australian Continent. We have not had the opportunity of studying the lizards of New Caledonia at first hand, but from the descriptions it seems clear that they show much closer affinities with the New Zealand species than do the eastern Australian, but apparently no New Zealand form occurs in New Caledonia. The publication of Dr. Boulenger's British Museum “Catalogue of lizards” has established a more uniform and more satisfactory form of description of the species. Particulars of structure and of relative dimensions are of much greater importance than colour, and are accordingly allowed more weight in the descriptions. We consider that all the specimens we have examined fall under the species enumerated in the British Museum catalogue, though there is doubtless more variation than Boulenger records amongst the skinks. We trust that the publication of this list, with Boulenger's descriptions and such

notes as we have been able to add from other sources of the habits and distribution of the New Zealand lizards, will be of use to future workers on the group. We have to particularly thank Captain Hutton, of Christy church, Professor Parker, of Dunedin, and Thomas Cheese-man, Esq., of Auckland, for forwarding collections of New Zealand lizards for examination. List of Species. Geckonidæ. Gymnodactylus arnouxii, A. Dam. Naultinus elegans, Gray. Naultinus rudis, Fischer. Hoplodactylus maculatus, Gray. Hoplodactylus pacificus, Gray. Hoplodactylus granulatus, Gray. Scincidæ. Liolepisma grande, Gray. Liolepisma moco, D. and B. Liolepisma lineo-ocellatum, A. Dum. Liolepisma smithii, Gray. Liolepisma æneum, Girard. Homolepida ornatum, Gray. Geckonidæ. Characters of The Family. External Form. Head and body more or less depressed, sometimes bordered by cutaneous expansions. Tongue fleshy, moderately elongate, very feebly incised anteriorly, capable of protrusion out of the mouth. Tail presenting almost every possible shape, sometimes prehensile, almost always extremely fragile and rapidly reproduced. If reproduced it generally assumes an abnormal form and scaling. Limbs, both pairs well developed, pentadactyle. The digits vary considerably, and furnish the characters upon which the systematic classification is based. Eye and Ear.—The eye generally large, with vertical pupil, covered, as in snakes, by a transparent lid, under which it moves freely, the valvular lids being in most cases rudimentary. The tympanum usually more or less exposed. Teguments. Skin nearly always soft, with numerous tubercles or granules on the dorsal surface, and small, imbricated, cycloid or hexagonal scales on the ventral surface. Plate-like scales of the head only around the margin of the gape. The skin of the head usually free from the skull-bones.

Endo-skeleton. Skull generally much depressed, with thin bones. Distinct nasals. Jugal rudimentary, the orbit not being bounded posteriorly by a long arch. No postfronto-squamosal arch. Pterygoids widely separated, without teeth. A columella cranii. Mandible of five bones, the angular and articular having coalesced. Teeth pleurodont, small, numerous, closely set, with long slender cylindrical shaft and obtuse point. The new teeth hollow out the base of the old ones. Vertebræ amphicoelous. Ribs long, and so prolonged as to form more or less ossified hoops across the whole abdominal region. Limb-arches.—Clavicle dilated, perforated proximally. Interclavicle subrhomboidal to cruciform. Bones of the limbs, including those of the digits, well developed. Mode of Reproduction. Most geckos are oviparous, producing round eggs with a hard shell. The endemic New Zealand genera seem to be quite exceptionally viviparous. Gymnodactylus, Spix. “Digits not dilated, clawed, cylindrical or slightly depressed at the base; the two or three distal phalanges compressed, forming an angle with the basal portion of the digits; the claw between two enlarged scales (a superior and an inferior), of which the inferior is more or less deeply notched under the claw; digits interiorly with a row of more of less distinct transverse plates. Body variously scaled. Pupil vertical. Males with or without præanal or femoral pores.” The genus as defined ranges over Australia, the islands of the Pacific, tropical America, the borders of the Mediterranean, and southern Asia. Gymnodactylus arnouxii, A. Dum. Gymnodactylus arnouxii, A. Dum., Cat. Méth. Rept., p. 44, and Arch. Mus., vii., p. 479, pl. xviii., fig. 5; Boulenger, Cat., i., p. 39. “In habit similar to G. pelagicus. Sixteen longitudinal very regular series of round, convex, smooth tubercles. Abdominal scales small, smooth. Tail with uniform small smooth scales, forming rings. Nostril pierced between the rostral, the first labial, and several nasals, the antero-superior of which is enlarged; eight upper and seven lower labials; mental very large, subtriangular, extending beyond the labials; a small chin-shield on each side of the mental.

Brown, lighter beneath; eight transverse dark bands between the occiput and the base of the tail. “Head and body, 44mm.; tail, 41mm.” Boulenger. This species differs from G. pelagicus of Girard only in the rows of convex tubercles being smooth and the scales of the abdomen and tail not being keeled. This species was recorded as from New Zealand by A. Duméril; we have no other record of this lizard being found there. There are no specimens in the British Museum or in the museums of New Zealand. Perhaps best regarded as a variety of G. pelagicus, which has a wide distribution over the western Pacific, and as doubtfully occurring in New Zealand. All the other New Zealand geckos belong to the small group consisting of the closely-allied genera Naultinus and Hoplodactylus. All the species are endemic. Naultinus, Gray. “Digits free, feebly dilated, gradually narrowing distally, clawed, with a series of transverse lamellæ under their entire length. Dorsal scales uniformly granular or intermixed with enlarged tubercles. Pupil vertical. Males with præanal and femoral pores” The genus is confined to New Zealand. Dr. Boulenger, in his “Catalogue of Lizards,” has given us the results of his careful investigation of the New Zealand forms. He recognises two species of the genus Naultinus—N. elegans, Gray, and N. rudis, Fischer. A number of others have been described from time to time, but Dr. Boulenger includes all these as varieties of N. elegans. The varieties as enumerated by Boulenger are distinguished entirely by differences in colour. We have found slight structural variations, but these have been in no way correlated with the variations in colour. Naultinus elegans, Gray. Naultinus elegans, Gray, Cat., p. 169. Naultinus grayii, Gray, Cat., p. 170. Naultinus punctatus, Gray, Cat., p. 170. Naultinus elegans, Gray, Zool. Misc., p. 72, and in Dieffenb. New Zealand, ii., p. 203; Steindachner, “Novara” Rept., p. 19; Buller, T.N.Z.I., iii., 1871, pl. ii., fig. 1; Hutton, T.N.Z.I., iv., 1872, p. 170; Boulenger, Cat., i., p. 168. Naultinus punctatus, Gray, in Dieffenb. New Zealand, ii., p. 204; Girard, U.S. Exploring Exped., Herp., p. 309, pl. xvi., figs. 17–26; Steindachner, “Novara” Rept., p. 20; Buller, l.c., p. 8; Hutton, l.c., p. 171. Naultinus grayi, Bell, Zool., “Beagle” Rept., p. 27, pl.-xiv., fig. 2; Buller, l.c., p. 7. Gymnodactylus elegans, A. Dum., Cat. Méth. Rept., p. 43, and Arch.

Mus., viii., p. 477, pl. xviii., fig. 14. (?) Naultinus lineatus, Gray, Ann. and Mag. N.H. (4), iii., 1869, p. 243. Naultinus sulphureus, Buller, l.c., p. 8; Hutton, l.c., p. 172. Naultinus sylvestris (Buller), Field, N.Z. Journal Science, i., 1882, p. 177. Naultinus pulcherrimus, Buller, T.N.Z.I., 1876, vol. ix., p. 326, pl. xvii. Naultinus pentagonalis, Colenso, T.N.Z.I., 1879, vol. xii., p. 251. “Head small, short; snout obtusely subtriangular, short, measuring slightly more than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, and twice the diameter of the orbit, with vertical loreal region and obtuse canthus rostralis; no trace of a concavity on the upper surface of the head; eye very small, with distinct circular lid; ear-opening very small, oval, horizontal. Body and limbs moderate, slightly depressed. Head covered with granular scales posteriorly, with polygonal, flat, or more or less convex, considerably larger scales on the snout; rostral about twice as broad as high, with distinct median cleft superiorly; nostril pierced between the first upper labial and three or four small nasals; eleven or twelve upper and ten or eleven lower labials; mental twice as broad as high anteriorly, narrowed posteriorly; the mental and labials followed by very small chin-shields gradually passing into the minute granules of the throat. Upper surfaces covered with small granules, lower surfaces with very small slightly-imbricated scales. Male with a large median patch of præanal pores and two series of femoral pores. Tail long, cylindrical, covered with very small sub-equal juxtaposed scales. “Total length, 188mm.; head, 20mm.; width of head, 17.5mm.; body, 61mm.; fore-limb, 32mm.; hind-limb, 68mm.; tail, 107mm.” Boulenger. In order to show the great amount of colour-variation, it is convenient to enumerate the more definite colorations which occur, but it does not seem that these correspond to different varieties or races. Thus Sir Walter Buller writes, *Trans. N.Z. Inst., iii., 1870. “A live specimen which I kept for several months, and which presented only a few obsolete yellow marks on the back, gave birth to three young ones, each differently marked, but all having the double series of bright dorsal spots.” a. Type of N. elegans, Gray.—“Dark-olive above, yellow beneath, a streak on each side of the crown, another on the lower lip, and generally also one from axilla to groin, and large paired spots on the back and tail yellow black-margined.” Boulenger. According to both Hutton and Buller, purplish tints are due to spirit-discoloration.

b. N. punctatus, Gray.—“Green, upper portions minutely dotted with black; hands and feet yellow inferiorly.” Boulenger. c. N. grayi, Bell.—“Uniform green, lighter beneath; hands and feet yellow inferiorly.” Boulenger. d. N. sulphureus, Buller.—“Uniform bright sulphur-yellow, darker on the upper parts; abdomen bounded on each side by obsolete spots of paler yellow dotted with black on the margins; there is a similar obsolete mark three lines in extent on each side of the crown; soles of the feet pale-brown.” Buller, l.c., p. 8. e. “Uniform lemon-coloured,” lighter beneath. f. “Uniform green above, yellow beneath.” g. “Green, lighter beneath, with a few distant paired yellow spots on the back, and a rather indistinct yellow streak from axilla to groin; hands and feet yellow.” Boulenger. h. N. pulcherrimus, Buller.—“Ground-colour vivid reddish-brown, -with bright-green diamond-shaped spots arranged symmetrically on both sides; below, silvery-brown.” (Found at Nelson.) i. N. sylvestris, Buller.—“Blackish-brown above, variegated with pale-brown and sulphur-yellow; under-surfaces yellowish-white. (Viviparous; found in North Island.) j. Dark sage-green above, with a lighter pattern; lower lip, chin-shields, and canthus yellow; a much-curved, broad, light band on each side of the occiput; two longitudinal series of unpaired lozenge-shaped spots on the back, continued on the tail; one or two series of large light spots between axilla and groin; all spots dotted and bordered with black; under-surfaces pale-green or yellowish, with or without darker dots. k. “A stripe of golden-yellow down the centre of the back and a double series of transverse elliptical spots on a ground of delicate pea-green.” Buller. It would be interesting to know if the coloration is, as in Chamæleon and Calotes, at all under the control of the animal. Habits.—Apparently almost as variable in habits as in colour. It is described as “defying detection amidst the evergreen foliage of Leptospermum and other shrubs” (Buller), as occurring frequently in the open fern land, and even as obtained under stones among the snow at a great elevation. (Hutton). From the observations of Buller and Colenso *See two interesting papers by Colenso on the habits of individuals kept in captivity, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xii., p. 251, and xix., p. 147. we learn that this species is viviparous, which is quite exceptional amongst geckos. Distribution.—Over both North and South Islands.

Naultinus rudis, Fischer. Heteropholis rudis, Fischer, Abh. Naturw. Ver. Brem., vii., 1882, p. 236, pl. xvi. Naultinus rudis, Fischer, Boulenger Cat., i., p. 170. “Head elongate, oviform, very distinct from neck; eye moderate, the eyelid not distinct inferiorly; ear-opening small, linear, oblique. Body and limbs moderate. Two lateral folds of the skin, enclosing a groove. Head covered with granular scales intermixed with larger flat scales, largest and most numerous on the snout. Rostral four times as broad as high; nostril pierced between the first upper labial and three nasals; ten upper and as many lower labials; mental three times as broad as high anteriorly, narrowing posteriorly; no chin-shields. Back covered with small granular scales intermixed, especially on the sides, with large, roundish, flat or keeled tubercles; lower-surfaces covered with imbricated scales; the throat granular. A large patch of præanal pores and a single series of femoral pores. Tail cylindrical, covered with irregular scales. Greenish-grey above, with irregular longitudinal and transverse purplish bands on the back; uniform light-grey beneath. “Total length, 145mm.; from tip of snout to ear-opening, 17mm.; fore-limb, 20mm.; hind-limb, 26mm.; tail, 82mm.” Boulenger. We have not had an opportunity of seeing or examining this species; it would seem to be exceedingly rare. There is no specimen in the Britism Museum. Professor Hutton writes: “I have a single specimen, caught in the northern part of the South Island. It has no longitudinal bands. I have seen no other.” Hoplodactylus, Fitzing. Digits free or shortly webbed at the base, more or less dilated; the distal phalanges slender, elongate, clawed, forming an angle with the basal portion; a series of transverse lamellæ under the latter. Scales small, granular, equal. Pupil vertical. Males with præanal or præanal and femoral pores. Of the species grouped in this genus two belong to Bengal and to southern India respectively, and the rest are confined to New Zealand. Synopsis of Species. I. Dilated portion of digit broad, its breadth equal to the length of the compressed distal phalanges, its length three times as great. Lamellæ all curved or chevron-shaped H. maculatus. II. Dilated portion of digit narrow, its breadth much less than the length of the compressed distal phalanges, its length two-thirds that of the digit. Posterior lamellæ straight.

1. Digits about one-third webbed. Ear-opening large, oblique, mote than half the diameter of the orbit. Dorsal granules minute. No femoral pores. H. pacificus. 2. Digits slightly webbed. Ear-opening round, less than half the diameter of the orbit. Femoral pores H. granulatus. Hoplodactylus maculatus, Gray. Naultinus pacificus, part (N. maculatus), Gray, Cat., p. 273. Hoplodactylus maculatus, Gray, Boulenger Cat., i., p. 171, pl. xiv., fig. 1. “Head short, oviform; snout as long as or slightly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, once and two-thirds the diameter of the orbit; ear-opening large, oval, oblique, two-thirds or three-fourths the diameter of the eye. Body and limbs moderate. Digits relatively much dilated; the length of the slender distal part equals the width of the dilated portion, which is contained about three times in the length of the same; the anterior inferior lamellæ chevron-shaped; ten to twelve lamellæ under the fourth toe; a very slight web at the base of the digits, absent between, the two outer toes. Head covered with granular scales, minute on the posterior half, considerably larger on the snout. Rostral broad, subquadrangular or subpentagonal, with trace of median cleft above; nostril pierced between the first upper labial and four or five small nasals; eleven or twelve upper and nine or ten lower labials; mental small, triangular or trapezoid; small irregular chin-shields passing gradually into the minute granules of the throat. Dorsal scales minutely granular; abdominal scales very small, juxtaposed or subimbricate. Three or four angular series of præanal pores, the two upper extending sometimes on the thighs; the number of pores very variable. Tail cylindrical, tapering, covered with small equal subhexagonal scales arranged in verticils; the base of the tail strongly swollen in the males, the swollen part covered with large scales. Brown above, with small blackish spots and more or less distinct irregular transverse dark-brown bands on the back and tail; a more or less distinct dark streak on each side of the head, passing through the eye; lower surfaces dirty-white, sometimes with a few brown specks. “Total length, 156mm.; head, 22mm.; width of head, 18mm.; body, 54mm.; fore-limb, 28mm.; hind-limb, 35mm.; tail, 80mm. “Var.—A broad light band on each side of the back.” Boulenger. In some cases the length of the compressed distal part exceeds the width of the dilated portion. The rostral frequently just reaches the nostril. The labials are very variable, often not agreeing on the two sides of the same individual.

Distribution. —Common in the South Island; also on Stephens Island. Huton. Hoplodactylus pacificus, Gray. Naultinus pacificus, Gray, Cat., p. 169. Naultinus pacificus, Gray, in Dieffenb. New Zealand, ii., p. 203; Buller, T.N.Z.I., iii., 1871, p. 7; Hutton, T.N.Z.I., iv., 1872, p. 172. Platydactylus pacificus, A. Dum., Cat. Méth. Rept., p. 35, and Archiv. Mus., viii., p. 455. Hoplodactylus pomarii, Girard, Proc. Ac. Philad., 1857, p. 197, and U.S. Exploring Exped., Herp., p. 294, pl. xviii., figs. 10–16. Dactylocnemis pacificus (Fitz.), Steindachner, “Novara” Rept., p. 11., pl. i., fig. 1. Hoplodactylus pacificus, Gray, Boulenger Cat., i., p. 173. “Head oviform; snout distinctly longer than the distance between the eye and the ear-opening, once and two-thirds the diameter of the orbit; forehead slightly concave; ear-opening rather large, oval, oblique, half or three-fifths the diameter of the eye. Body and limbs rather slender. Digits not much dilated, the width of the dilated part being one-third the length of the same; the length of the slender distal part equals one-third the length of the digit, and is consequently much greater than the width of the dilated part; the anterior inferior lamellæ slightly angular; ten to twelve lamellæ under the fourth toe; a distinct web at the base of the digits, absent between the two outer toes. Head covered with granular scales, minute on the posterior half, considerably larger on the snout. Rostral broad, subquadrangular or sub-pentagonal, with trace of median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral, the first upper labial, and four or five small nasals; eleven or twelve upper and nine or ten lower labials; mental small, trapezoid or triangular, generally followed by a small median chin-shield; small irregular chin-shields passing gradually into the minute granules of the throat. Dorsal scales minutely granular; abdominal scales very small, juxtaposed or subimbricate. Three or four short angular series of præanal pores, forming together a small sub-triangular patch; twenty to thirty-five pores altogether. Tail cylindrical, tapering, covered with small equal subquadrangular juxtaposed scales arranged in verticils; the base of the tail strongly swollen in the males, the swollen part covered with larger scales. Brown above, with irregular transverse bands on the back and tail, and frequently a dark band on each side, commencing from the tip of the snout and passing through the eye and above the ear; a short, dark, oblique streak directed posteriorly from the inferior border of the eye; lower surfaces whitish, immaculate. “Total length, 163mm.; head, 20mm.; width of head,

15mm.; body, 57mm.; fore-limb, 28mm.; hind-limb, 37mm.; tail, 86mm.” Boulenger. The inner digits may be as much as one-third webbed; the labials very variable, often not agreeing on the two sides in the same individual. Habits.—“Found generally under the bark of trees, but Mr. W. T. L. Travers informs me that at Lake Guyon, in the Province of Nelson, it is found under stones. It is exceedingly sluggish in its movements” (Hutton). “The marbled-brown skin is peculiarly adapted for concealment as it clings motionless to the bark of a tree or hides in the crevices” (Butter). Distribution.—Professor Hutton writes, “This is found in the Auckland District. I have never seen it in the South Island. The Lake Guyon species is H. maculatus.” Hoplodactylus granulatus, Gray. Naultinus granulatus, Gray, Cat., p. 273. Hoplodactylus granulatus,*Naultinus versicolor, Colenso, Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xvii., p. 149, appears to be this species.— [F. W. H.] Gray, Boulenger Cat., i., p. 174, pl. xv., fig. 1. “General characters and proportions as in H. pacificus—distinguished in the following important characters: Ear-opening smaller, not more than half the diameter of the eye. Digital dilatation very narrow; all the lamellæ straight; no trace of web. Scales of back and belly larger. Four to seven angular series of præanal pores, the three or four upper extending as femoral series; thirty to forty pores in the upper series, from one end to the other. Greyish or brown above, with dark-brown or reddish-brown vermiculations and irregular cross-bands light-edged in front; two dark streaks from the eye as in H. pacificus, separated by a yellowish interspace; lower surfaces whitish, generally with dark dots or variegations, especially on the gular region. “Total length, 192mm.; head, 22mm.; width of head, 17mm.; body, 68mm.; fore-limb, 31mm.; hind-limb, 40mm.; tail, 102mm.” Boulenger. The two anterior lamellæ generally angular. Rudiment of a web between the inner toes, as figured by Boulenger (l.c.). A very large specimen from Teanga Island, measuring 126mm. from snout to vent, showed a considerable amount of webbing, and relatively small dorsal scales, thus combining-characters distinctive of H. pacificus and H. granulatus. The three species of Hoplodactylus present similar variations in colour and markings. Distribution.—Both Islands, also in Stephens Island. Hutton.

Scincidæ. Characters of The Family. External Form. Head slightly depressed; body more or less round. Tongue moderately long, free and feebly nicked in front; covered with imbricate scale-like papillæ. Tail usually long, cylindrical, covered with scales similar to those on the body, rather fragile, slowly reproduced. Limbs very various, from well-developed and pentadactyle to quite rudimentary. Eye and Ear.—Eye moderately large, pupil round, eyelids usually well developed, movable, except in Ablepharus (not a New Zealand form); scaly or with a transparent disk. Tympanum usually more or less exposed. Teguments. Skin covered with cycloid-hexagonal, rarely rhomboidal, imbricate scales, which may be either smooth or keeled, dorsals usually the largest, and laterals smallest. Head covered with symmetrical shields. No femoral pores. Endo-skeleton. Skull slightly depressed, præmaxillary bones two, sometimes incompletely separated; nasal double; frontal single or double; parietal single; postorbital and postfronto-temporal arches complete, osseous; interorbital septum and columella cranii well developed; infraorbital fossa present, bounded by the maxillary, the transverse bone, the palatine, and often also by the pterygoid. Skull with bony dermal-plates over-roofing the supratemporal fossa. Teeth.—Dentition pleurodont; the teeth conical, bicuspid, or with, spheroidal or compressed crowns; the new teeth hollow out the base of the old ones. Pterygoid teeth may be present. Vertebræ.—No ossified abdominal ribs. Limb-arches.—Pectoral and pelvic arches constantly present. Clavicle dilated and perforated proximally; inter-clavicle cruciform. Mode of Reproduction. Oviparous or viviparous; eggs oval, shell membranous, flexible. Lygosoma, Fitzing. Palatine bones in contact mesially; pterygoid bones usually also in contact anteriorly, the palatal notch not extending forwards to between the centre of the eyes; pterygoid teeth minute or absent. Maxillary teeth conical or obtuse. Eyelids well developed. Ear distinct or hidden; if distinct,

tympanum more or less sunk. Nostril pierced in the nasal; supranasals present or absent. Lambs more or less developed, rudimentary, or absent. There are over a hundred and fifty known species belonging to this genus, which extends over the whole of Australia, East Indies, China, North and Central America, tropical and South Africa. Sub-genus Liolepisma, Dum. and Bibr. Limbs well developed; the length of the hind-limb exceeds the distance between the centre of the eye and the fore-limb. Lower eyelid with an undivided transparent disk. Tympanum distinct. No supranasals. Rostral forming a suture with the frontonasal. Frontal not broader than the supraocular region. One or more pairs of enlarged nuchals. Liolepisma grande, Gray. Mocoa grandis, Gray, Cat., p. 272. Mocoa(?) laxa, Hutton, T.N.Z.I., iv., 1872, p. 169. Lygosoma (Mocoa) nigriplantare, Peters, Mon. Berl. Ac., 1873, p. 744. Lygosoma (Liolepisma) grande, Gray, Boulenger Cat., iii., p. 271, pl. xx., fig. 3. “Habit lacertiform; the distance between the end of the snout and the fore-limb is contained once and one-fourth to once and two-thirds in the distance between axilla and groin. Snout moderate, obtuse. Lower eyelid with an undivided transparent disk. Nostril pierced in a single nasal; no supra-nasal; frontonasal broader than long, in contact with the rostral and with the frontal; latter shield as long as fronto-parietals and interparietal together, in contact with the two anterior supraoculars; four supraoculars; seven or eight supraciliaries; frontoparietals distinct, a little longer than the interparietal; parietals forming a suture behind the interparietal; a pair of nuchals and a pair of temporals border the parietals; sixth upper labial below the centre of the eye. Ear-opening oval, a little smaller than the eye-opening, with a few projecting granules anteriorly. Forty to fifty smooth scales round the middle of the body: laterals smallest. Præanals scarcely enlarged. The hind-limb reaches the wrist in the adult, nearly to the axilla in the young. Digits moderately elongate, subcylindrical; subdigital lamellæ smooth, twenty-eight or twenty-nine under the fourth toe. Tail about once and a half the length of head and body. Black above, spotted all over with pale-olive or olive dotted with black; lower surfaces greenish or pale-olive. “Total length (tail reproduced), 215mm.; head, 20mm.; width of head, 14mm.; body, 84mm.; fore-limb, 30mm.; hind-limb, 42mm.” Boulenger.

Four supraoculars followed by a small fifth, and usually eight supraciliaries; sixth upper labial sometimes below the eye, but more usually the seventh or eighth, not always the same on the two sides in the same individual. Boulenger, in above description, gives from forty to fifty scales round the middle of the body. In all the specimens which we have examined the number exceeds fifty, ranging from fifty-four to sixty-six. The lamellæ under the fourth toe, twenty-five to twenty-nine. The disk usually not much larger than the nostril. The under-surfaces of fingers and toes black. We have one specimen in which the frontonasal is divided transversely, giving the appearance of an extra semioval shield between the frontonasal and frontal. This would seem to be an example similar to the one on which Hutton founded his Mocoa laxa (l.c.). In another individual the frontal is similarly divided longitudinally into two unequal shields. Distribution.—South Island, among rocks. Hutton. Liolepisma moco, Dum. and Bibr. Hinulia ornata, part, Gray, Cat., p. 77. Mocoa zelandica, Gray, l.c., p. 82. Mocoa owenii, Gray, l.c., p. 272. Lygosoma moco, Dum. and Bibr. v., p. 718. Tiliqua zelandica, Gray, in Dieffenb. New Zealand, ii., p. 202. Mocoa zelandica, Gray, Zool. “Erebus” and “Terror,” Rept., p. 8, pl. vii., fig. 4; Hutton, T.N.Z.I., iv., 1872, p. 168. Hinulia ornata, Gray, l.c., pl. xi., fig. 1. Oligosoma zelandicum, Girard, U.S. Exploring Exped., Herp., p. 246, pl. xxvii., figs. 9–16. Euprepes moco, Steindachner, “Novara,” Rept., p. 47. Hinulia variegata, Buller, T.N.Z.I., iii., 1871, p. 5, pl. ii., fig. 3. Mocoa striata, Buller, l.c., p. 6, pl. ii., fig. 2. Mocoa zelandica, part, Günther, Zool. “Erebus” and “Terror,” Rept., p. 13. Lygosoma (Liolepisma) moco, D. and B., Boulenger, Cat., iii., p. 272. “Habit lacertiform; the distance between the end of the snout and the fore-limb is contained once and a half to once and three-fourths in the distance between axilla and groin. Snout short, obtuse. Lower eyelid with an undivided transparent disk. Nostril pierced in the centre of the nasal; no supranasal; rostral nearly twice as broad as deep; frontonasal broader than long, forming a suture with the rostral and with the frontal; latter shield a little shorter than the frontoparietals and interparietal together, in contact with the two anterior supraoculars; four supraoculars, second largest; six or seven supraciliaries; frontoparietals distinct, a little longer than the interparietal; parietals in contact behind the interparietal, bordered by a pair of nuchals and a pair of temporals; two to five pairs of nuchals; usually fifth upper labial below the

centre of the eye. Ear-opening roundish or oval, much larger than the transparent palpebral disk; usually with one or two projecting granules or small lobules; twenty-eight to thirty-two smooth scales round the middle of the body; dorsals largest. Præanal scales not or scarcely enlarged. The ad-pressed limbs meet or fail to meet. Digits moderately long, subcylindrical; subdigital lamellaæ smooth, twenty to twenty-eight under the fourth toe. Tail once and one-fourth to once and two-thirds as long as head and body. Brown or olive above, with a more or less regular, black-edged, light dorsolateral streak; back uniform, or spotted with blackish and yellowish, or with three dark-brown, black-edged, longitudinal lines; usually a yellowish black-edged streak on the upper lip to the ear, another from the ear to the groin, a third on the anterior face of the fore-limb, and a fourth on the hinder side of the hind-limb; lower surfaces yellowish, greyish, or pale-olive, uniform or black-spotted. “Total length, 176mm.; head, 13mm.; width of head, 9mm.; body, 61mm.; fore-limb, 18mm.; hind-limb, 26mm.; tail, 102mm.” Boulenger. Habits.—Found under stones and logs, both in the bush and open country. Hutton. Distribution.—Common throughout the Islands. Hutton. Liolepisma lineo-ocellatum, A. Dum. Lygosoma lineo-ocellata, A. Dum., Cat. Méth. Rept., p. 169; Peters, Mon. Berl. Ac., 1873, p. 745. Mocoa zealandica, part, Günth., Zool. “Ereb.” and “Terr.,” Rept., p. 13. Lygosoma (Liolepisma) lineo-ocellatum, A. Dum., Boulenger Cat., p. 273. “Very closely allied to L. moco; larger, stouter. Rostral slightly broader than deep, more produced superiorly. Thirty-two to thirty-six scales round the body. Coloration very similar to that of Chalcides ocellatus. Back pale-brown or greyish-olive, with small black spots or ocelli with white centre; a more or less marked whitish dorso-lateral band, beginning on the nape; sides variegated with blackish or blackish dotted with white; lower surfaces greyish, throat and breast black-spotted. “Total length, 205mm.; head, 17mm.; width of head, 13mm.; body, 73mm.; fore-limb, 25mm.; hind-limb, 32mm.; tail, 115mm.” Boulenger. Distribution.—South Island; also Stephens Island. Hutton. Liolepisma smithii, Gray. Mocoa smithii, Gray, Cat., p. 82. Lygosomella æstuosa, Girard, U.S. Explor. Exped., Herp., p. 251, pl. xxvii., figs. 1–8. Euprepes smithii, Steindachner, “Novara

Rept., p. 47. Mocoa zealandica (part), Günth., Zool. “Ereb.” and “Terr.” Rept., p. 13. Norbea isolata, Hutton, T.N.Z.I., iv., 1872, p. 170. Lygosoma (Liolepisma) smithii, Gray, Boulenger Cat., iii., p. 274. “Habit lacertiform; the distance between the end of the snout and the fore-limb is contained once and one-third to once and three-fourths in the distance between the axilla and groin. Snout moderate, obtusely pointed. Lower eyelid with an undivided transparent disk. Nostril pierced in a nasal, which is often divided by an oblique suture; no supranasal; frontonasal usually not much broader than long, forming a suture with the rostral and with the frontal; latter shield as long as or longer than frontoparietals and interparietal together, in contact with the two anterior supraoculars; four supraoculars, second largest; six or seven supraciliaries; frontoparietals distinct, usually a little longer than the interparietal; parietals in contact behind the interparietal, bordered by a pair of nuchals and a pair of temporals; usually two or three pairs of nuchals behind the anterior pair; fifth and sixth upper labials below the eye. Ear-opening oval, about as large as the transparent palpebral disk, without or with a few very minute projecting lobules anteriorly. Thirty-six or thirty-eight scales round the middle of the body; dorsals largest, and frequently striated or feebly pluricarinate. Præanal scales not or scarcely enlarged. The adpressed limbs may overlap or fail to meet. Digits moderately long, subcylindrical; sub-digital lamellæ smooth, sixteen or twenty under the fourth toe. Tail about as long as head and body. Brown or olive-brown above, usually with small black spots and a more or less distinct light dorso-lateral band, which is edged inferiorly by the dark-brown of the upper part of the sides; flanks paler, often with light dots; lower surfaces yellowish or pale-olive, throat usually variegated with blackish. Some specimens almost entirely black. “Total length, 116mm.; head, 13mm.; width of head, 9mm.; body, 43mm.; fore-limb, 15mm.; hind-limb, 22mm.; tail, 60mm.” Boulenger. Distribution.—Both Islands, and Chatham Islands. Hutton. Liolepisma æneum, Girard. Cyclodina ænea, Girard, U.S. Explor. Exped., Herp., p. 236, pl. xxvi., figs. 9–16. Lygosoma (Liolepisma) æneum, Girard, Boulenger Cat., iii., p. 275. Liolepisma micans, F. Werner, Abh. k. k. zool.-bot. Ges. in Wien, xlv., p. 15. “The distance between the end of the snout and the fore-limb is contained once and two-thirds to twice in the distance between axilla and groin. Snout very short, obtuse. Lower

eyelid with, an undivided transparent disk. Nostril pierced in the centre of the nasal; no supranasal; frontonasal broader than long, forming a suture with the rostral and with the frontal; præfrontals small; frontal a little shorter than frontoparietals and interparietal together, in contact with the two anterior supraoculars; four supraoculars; seven supraciliaries; frontoparietals distinct, as long as or a little longer than the interparietal; parietals in contact behind the interparietal; a pair of nuchals and a pair of temporals border the parietals. Ear-opening roundish, hardly as large as the transparent palpebral disk. Twenty-six or twenty-eight scales round the body; dorsals largest and more or less distinctly striated. Præanal scales not or scarcely enlarged. Limbs short, widely separated where adpressed. Digits cylindrical; subdigital lamellæ smooth, sixteen to eighteen under the fourth toe. Brown above, with a few darker dots; a dark-brown irregular dorso-lateral streak, edged above with yellowish; flanks with light dark-edged spots; lips mottled with dark-brown; throat spotted with dark-brown. “From snout to vent, 59mm.; head, 11mm.; width of head, 7.5mm.; fore-limb, 12mm.; hind-limb, 17mm.” Boulenger. The tail is thick and short, as in the next species. Hutton. F. Werner has recently described a species, Liolepisma micans, in the Verhandlungen d. k. k. zool. -bot. Gesellschaft in Wien, vol. xlv., p. 13. It is founded on a single specimen. From the description we can see no reason for not including it under L. æneum. Distribution.—Both Islands, and Stephens Island. Hutton. Sub-genus Homolepida, Gray. Limbs short, the hind-limb not measuring more than the distance between the anterior corner of the eye and the fore-limb, pentadactyle. Lower eyelid scaly. Tympanum distinct. No supranasals. Præfrontals well developed. Frontal not broader than the supraocular region. Homolepida ornatum, Gray. Hinulia ornata, part, Gray, Cat., p. 77. Tiliqua ornata, Gray, in Dieffenbach's “New Zealand,” ii., p. 202. Euprepes ornatus, Steind., “Novara” Rept., p. 49. Lygosoma ornatum, Boulenger, Cat. iii., p. 317, pl. xxxii., fig. 1. “Habit lacertiform, rather stout; the distance between the end of the snout and the fore-limb is contained once and two-fifths to once and two-thirds in the distance between axilla

and groin. Snout short, obtuse. Lower eyelid scaly. Nostril pierced in the nasal; no supranasal; frontonasal broader than long, forming a suture with the rostral and with the frontal; latter shield as long as frontoparietals and interparietal together, in contact with the two anterior supraoculars; four supra-oculars, second largest; six to eight supraciliaries; frontoparietals distinct, longer than the interparietal; parietals forming a suture behind the interparietal; one or two pairs of nuchals; fourth or fifth upper labial below the centre of the eye. Ear-opening oval, a little smaller than the eye-opening, without projecting lobules; twenty-eight or thirty smooth scales round the middle of the body; laterals smallest. No enlarged præanals. The adpressed limbs fail to meet or just meet. Digits subcylindrical; subdigital lamellæ smooth, eighteen or twenty-two under the fourth toe. Tail thick, little longer than head and body. Yellowish or reddish-brown above, each scale with several fine darker lines; sides with dark-brown and yellowish markings; a yellowish dark-edged spot below the eye; lower surfaces yellowish, uniform or spotted with brown. “Total length, 129mm.; head, 13mm.; width of head, 10mm.; body, 51mm.; fore-limb, 16mm.; hind-limb, 20mm.; tail (reproduced), 60mm.” Boulenger. In habit and coloration this lizard has a strong resemblance to Liolepisma æneum. Distribution.—The neighbourhood of Auckland. An enlarged palpebral scale, or small disk, is generally present. Hutton.