104 



VERTEBRATES: REPTILES. 



gardens and buildings, often entering houses, and mov- 

 ing over the furniture, up and down the walls and 



Fig. 173. Six-lined Lizard. 



window-panes, and along the ceilings, in its search for 



flies, upon which it likes to feed. 



The Horned Toads are Lizards found in the south- 

 ern and western parts 

 of North America. 

 They have the head 

 armed with spines, 

 and the body cov- 

 ered with tubercles. 

 The Horned Toad, 



Fig. 174. Horned Toad. 



of Texas, is less than 



five inches long, and is lively in its movements. It is 

 sluggish when kept in a cage. 



SERPENTS, OR SNAKES. 



Serpents are reptiles which are exceedingly long in 

 proportion to their size, and which have no feet, yet 

 they glide over the ground with very great speed. 

 Their mouth, throat, and body are capable of being 

 greatly distended, and hence they are able to swallow 

 animals whose bodies are much greater in diameter 

 than their own. They do not masticate their food, 

 and hence their teeth are suited only for seizing, kill- 



