fl *oAl FIELDIANA . ZOOLOGY Cop. O Published by CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Volume 39 February 24, 1961 No. 47 Notes on Two New Guinean Lizards of the Genus Sphenomorphus Robert F. Inger Curator, Division op Amphibians and Reptiles A recent paper (Inger, 1958) describing a new species of Spheno-morphus from New Guinea failed to compare the new form, melano-pleurus, with variegatum stickeli Loveridge, also from New Guinea. I wish to thank Dr. Ernest E. Williams, of the Museum of Com-parative Zoology (MCZ), for calling my attention to the omission in my 1958 paper and for the loan of material in his care. It is in the absence of a black lateral band on the head and body that stickeli differs most conspicuously from melanopleurus. The original description of stickeli noted that the form had "little black on the flanks" (Loveridge, 1948), a statement confirmed by my examination of the holotype and five paratypes (MCZ 49326-29, 49615-16: four males, one female, and one juvenile). None had a black stripe from the snout to the eye, whereas 34 out of 36 paratypes of melanopleurus did (see Inger, 1958, fig. 45). Three of the stickeli had a more or less continuous black band on the side of the head and neck as compared to 29 out of 36 melanopleurus. None of the stickeli had a stripe on the side of the body, whereas 29 of 36 melano-pleurus did. Six of the 7 melanopleurus lacking the lateral band were females; but the difference between the two forms in this char-acter cannot be explained on the basis of sexual dimorphism, as most of the stickeli were males. The posteroventral corner of the groin bears a small dark spot in the six stickeli but not in any of the melanopleurus. In most scale counts the two forms are similar (Table 1). The only significant difference in counts appeared in the number of scale rows around the body: 42^44 in 5 stickeli, 38-42 in 22 melanopleurus, only one of which had 42. Loveridge (op. cit.) noted that none of the 16 stickeli he had seen had less than 42 scale rows. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 61-11260 No. 911 539 IBRARY OF Tilt i 1 a 1QR1 IIATURAl y+\)J* Ql history:.
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