CLASS REPTILIA 



553 



FIG. 



Family AGAMID^:. -- OLD WORLD LIZARDS. - -These lizards 

 can be readily distinguished by the position of their teeth, which 

 are set on the 

 edges of the jaw- 

 bones (acrodont 

 dentition) and not 

 in grooves or 

 sockets. There 

 are thirty genera 

 and about two 

 hundred species 

 in the family. 



The flying- 

 dragon, Draco 

 volans (Fig. 454), 

 is a species whose 

 sides are ex- 

 panded into thin membranes supported by ribs. These mem- 

 branes are employed as a parachute when leaping from tree 

 to tree, and are folded when not in use. It is about ten inches 



long and inhabits 

 the Malay Penin- 

 sula, Sumatra, 

 Java, and Borneo, 

 Members of the 

 genus Calotes have 

 the power of chang- 

 ing their colors 

 rapidly. Another 

 interesting genus is 

 Chlamydosaurus, 

 which includes the 



454. The flying dragon, Draco volans. 

 (From Gadow.) 



FIG. 455. The frilled lizard, Chlamydosaurus 

 kingi, at bay. (From Gadow.) 



frilled 



kingi 



This 



lizard, C. 

 (Fig. 455). 

 species in- 



