CHAMAELEONTIDAE 579 



nest, which was found to contain some thirty soft-shelled eggs 



v OO 



closely packed upon each other. During the whole process she 

 was very snappy, and hissed much when approached. After that 

 she crept into the twigs as usual, but refused to eat, vomited at 

 once the artificially introduced food, became restless on the sixth 

 day, crawling about at the bottom of the cage, and died on the 

 following day. This is the usual fate, almost without exception, 

 of females after they have deposited their eggs in captivity. The 

 great number of eggs and their deposition naturally exhausts 

 them, and they probably want to hibernate at once. The eggs, 

 which are yellowish, long -oval, about half an inch long and 

 covered with a parchment-like shell, are very difficult to rear, 

 chiefly on account of the difficulty of regulating the moisture. They 

 shrink up when too dry, and they are very liable to become mouldy. 

 According to Fischer l the eggs can be hatched in a large flower- 

 pot with a layer of horse-droppings at the bottom, then a layer 

 of 6 inches of slightly moist soil, then the eggs, then another 

 6 inches of loose soil, with a glass plate covering the top, 

 securing at the same time ventilation. In this way he succeeded 

 in hatching several sets of eggs after 125 and 133 days 

 respectively. 



Ch. calcaratus, the Indian Chameleon, is found in the southern 

 half of the Peninsula and in Ceylon, but it is far from common. 

 It much resembles Ch. vulgaris, but the male is distinguished by a 

 tarsal process or " spur," covered with skin, on the inner side of 

 the foot. 



Ch. pumilus, the Dwarf Chameleon of South Africa, reaches a 

 total length of 5 to 6 inches. It has a well-marked, serrated 

 gular crest, which extends from the chin to the end of the neck. 

 The chest and belly are without a toothed line, but a strongly 

 serrated series extends from the occiput over the back and tail 

 (see the right upper corner of Fig. 152 on p. 575). A row of 

 enlarged tubercles or scales extends along the sides of the body. 

 The general colour is green, with a large and long patch of brick- 

 red on the sides ; small dots and spots of intense red are scattered 

 over various parts of the body. The changes of colour are rather 

 limited. At night the Dwarf Chameleon does not turn pale, but 

 generally keeps its colour. When they are very well the green 

 is quite saturated, and the large red patch on the side is 



1 Fischer, Zool. Gart. 1882, p. 4. 



