_Capite squamis lævibus non imbricatis tecto; auribus rotundis margine
anteriore minutè granulato. Seriebus duabus squamarum
supralabialium. Femorum facie posteriore partìm granulosâ, partìm
squamis minutis imbricatis tectâ._
_Proctotretus Weigmannnii_, Bibr. l. c. p. 284.
Habitat, Northern Patagonia and La Plata.
DESCRIPTION.—Head rather short, covered with numerous slightly raised
scales, not carinated nor imbricated; snout rather obtuse and
slightly rounded, nostrils semicircular. Two series of very small
scales between the labial scales and the orbit. Ear of moderate
size, the anterior margin furnished merely with minute granular
scales. Scales of the temples flat and smooth. Fold on the sides
of the neck distinctly marked, anteriorly bifurcated; the
remainder somewhat waved. Sides of the neck granulated scales of
the whole of the upper and back parts of the body and tail of
moderate size, the carina little elevated and the point but
slightly prominent. The scales of the inferior parts of the neck
and body are smooth, polished, and imbricated, those towards the
sides of the neck minutely emarginated. The scales of the limbs
resemble those of the body; those of the upper surface being
carinated and those beneath smooth. The posterior face of the
thighs is generally covered with granular scales, but there is on
this part near the tail, a distinct patch of imbricated scales
resembling those of the inferior surface of the thighs, a
character by which this species may at once be distinguished from
all others. The anterior extremity placed against the side reaches
about two-thirds of the distance towards the groin; the posterior
extremity reaches forward to the shoulder.
COLOUR.—The back and sides are brownish gray, with a yellow
longitudinal band on each side of the back, separating transverse
black or dark brown bands of various size and form; and there is
in most on each side a smaller interrupted yellow band. The under
parts generally of a yellowish white, in some individuals sparsely
dotted with black. Mr. Darwin says of some individuals of this
species that they have “an orange-coloured gorge, and faint
stripes of blue,” also “ash-grey with dark brown marks and specks
of orange and blue.”
DIMENSIONS.
Inches. Lines.
Length of the head 0 5
of the body 1 5
of the tail 2 2
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Total length 4 2
Length of anterior extremity 1 1
of posterior extremity 0 8
This species was found by Mr. Darwin at Bahia Blanca and at Rio Negro,
on the northern confines of Patagonia, and at Maldonado, near the mouth
of the Rio Plata.
_Plate 9._
[Illustration:
_Drawn from Nature by B. Waterhouse Hawkins,
on stone in Lithotint C. Hullmandel’s Patent._
]
_1._ _Tropidurus_ _multimaculatus._ _Nat. Size._
_2._ _pectinatus_ „
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_1a. 1b._ _Magnified Views._
_2a._ „