Reef Gecko

Sphaerodactylus notatus, (Baird)

Colouration: Brownish yellow, with scattered, circular spots of reddish-brown; these spots fuse, on some specimens, producing dull bands, extending lengthwise; usually a central, dark marking on the head, becoming broader in the rear.
Dimensions: Total Length . . . . . 2 5/8 inches.
Distribution: Key West, Florida; the Bahama Islands; Cuba.
Colouration: This very pretty creature displays, among different individuals, considerable variation of pattern. The arrangement of the colours may be divided into two phases--banded and spotted. With the former, the ground colour is rich yellow, crossed by broad bands of chestnut brown. On the body, these bands terminate on the sides; they completely encircle the tail however, which is thus vividly ringed with the light and dark hues. The head is dark, the eyelids margined in yellow.
Dimensions: Following are the measurements of an adult specimen from Eagle Pass, Texas:
Distribution: Appears to be restricted to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. It is rather abundant.
Habits: Both the spotted and the banded forms occur in the same localities. The animal is rather nocturnal and may be found issuing from among loose stones or from cavities in the rocks about twilight. Its movements are fairly active, but seem slow when compared with the swifts and the "racerunners" or other lacertilians with long, powerful limbs. The food consists of small insects, carefully stalked, then taken by a rush. When caught, these creatures emit a faint, squealing sound, something like that produced by certain beetles (the "longhorns") when held in the fingers.

A very small species, but with much coarser scalation than the preceding ones; the scales are keeled. Tail thick and short; limbs small and with expanded toes.

Length of Tail . . . . . 1 3/8 inches.

Greatest Diameter . . . . . 5/16 inches.

Width of Head . . . . . 1/4 inches.

Length of Head . . . . . 3/8 inches.

Length of Hind Limb . . . . . 1/2 inches.

Length of Front Limb . . . . . 5/16 inches.

The family Eublepharidae: The members of this family are closely allied to the Geckonidae, differing from the typical geckos only in superficial characters of the skeleton. There are seven species of the Eublepharidae, these comprising three genera. Most curious about the family is the distribution of the species. One inhabits the Southwestern United States; three are found in Central America, two in Southern Asia and the remaining species in Africa. Concerning this remarkable scattering of members of a small family, Boulenger remarks, in his Catalogue of the Lizards of the British Museum: "This extraordinary distribution seems to indicate that the few representatives of this small family are the remnants of some ancient, more generally dispersed group; it nevertheless remains a matter of wonder how forms, now so widely separated, have retained so great a resemblance, not only in structure, but also in the pattern of colouration."

A description of the only species occurring in North America proper, is given:

THE BANDED GECKO Eublepharis variegatus, (Baird)

Small in size; the form is similar to the other small, North American geckos.

The spotted form is brownish yellow, with small and irregularly scattered, brown blotches. The eye-lids are bordered with yellow; there is a light spot on the snout and a row of yellowish spots on the upper jaw.

Total Length . . . . . 3 inches.

Length of Tail . . . . . 1 1/2 inches.

Width of Body . . . . . 5/16 inches.

Width of Head . . . . . 5/16 inches.

A number of specimens from Tucson, Arizona, were very sluggish, unless disturbed, when they appeared quite anxious to bite one's fingers, turning the head upon the side and opening the mouth widely, which position would be maintained for about ten seconds.

Several letters are at hand warning the writer of the very poisonous nature of this lizard. It seems that over a considerable portion of the distribution, the species is thought to be more dangerous than a poisonous serpent. This is a curious fallacy, for the lizard is in every way harmless. Its bright colours have possibly excited the idea of venomous properties.

The North American Representative of a Large, New World Genus of Lizards that are Remarkable in the Habit of Frequently Changing Their Colours

THE American "Chameleons" are members of the family I guanidae and represent the genus Anolis, to the number of over a hundred species. They are in no way related to the true chameleons (Chamaeleontidae) of the Old World, but rival those lizards in the characteristic of frequently and completely changing the body hues--an involuntary process, mainly influenced by light and temperature.

Anolis is a New World genus, distributed throughout Mexico, Central America, tropical South America and the West Indies. But one species occurs in the United States. With it, the trait of changing the body hues is most developed of any of the North American I guanidae.