Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences . these varieties, which isdistinctly striped with two latero-dorsal light lines, was thought byMr. Garman* to be the young, but among those that we obtained * Mr. Garman in Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 25, p. 387, note, gives a detaileddescription of this species. 698 A. E. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. they were as large as the iinstriped ones, nor is it a sexual differ- ence. We also found it, in small numbers, on Charles (or Goat) Island,which has not been inhabited for 250 years, and is very dry andbarren, with few insects, except
Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences . these varieties, which isdistinctly striped with two latero-dorsal light lines, was thought byMr. Garman* to be the young, but among those that we obtained * Mr. Garman in Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 25, p. 387, note, gives a detaileddescription of this species. 698 A. E. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. they were as large as the iinstriped ones, nor is it a sexual differ- ence. We also found it, in small numbers, on Charles (or Goat) Island,which has not been inhabited for 250 years, and is very dry andbarren, with few insects, except ants, on which the lizard probablyfeeds. A few individuals were seen in certain places on the MainIsland, in walls, but it was regarded as rare by the natives, many ofwhom had never seen it at all. Matthew Jones, 1859, reported it as common. The early writersdid not mention it, but they were not close observers of small crea-tures. So far as known, it is an endemic species, not very closelyrelated to any species found elsewhere. Its occurrence on the small. Figuie 51.—Bermuda Lizard {Eumeces longirostris). barren islands indicates that its occupancy dates back to a remoteperiod when nearly all the islands were united by land. Probably it was originally much more abundant and more gener-ally diffused than at present. Very likely the wood-rats and com-mon gray rats, which are abundant, prey upon its eggs and young,and thus reduce its numbers. Owing to its quickness and the inac-cessible holes to which it retreats, it can scarcely be destroyed byany other enemies here. There may be no rats on Castle Island,—at least we saw no evidence of any. This may account for itsgreater abundance there, where food would seem to be very scarceindeed. 32.—Decrease of certain Fishes and Shell-Jish. a.—Former Abundance of Fishes. The early writers describe, in expressive terms, the remarkableabundance of the edible fishes when they first landed, and give listsof various species that they
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