James A. Oliver

Ontogenetic Changes in Osteodermal Ornamentation in Skinks

IN THE taxonomic literature on lizards there are several systematic studies in which the nature of the ornamentation of the osteodermal plates has been employed. Camp (1923) summarized the available information on these bony dermal plates that lie beneath the horny scales. More recently, Grant (1944) has reported his observations on the osteoderms of the West Indian lizards of the genus Celestus. One difficulty in the taxonomic use of these structures is that intraspecific and interspecific variation has not been thoroughly analyzed and is at present little known. The two investigators mentioned above, as well as others, have demonstrated the marked amount of variation that may occur in the ornamentation on the osteoderms from different parts of the body of the same individual. This indicates the