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abdomen. One of them while in my possession discharged, appa- 

 rently with much labour, two eggs which were of an oval form, 

 about the size of a wren's, and covered with thin yellowish coria- 

 ceous shells. 



The external surface of their skin was thickly set with soft 

 tubercles, like the heads of small nails, some of a whitish, 

 others of a bright yellow colour: the white tubercles were most 

 numerous, and existed every where over the body ; the yellow ones 

 were so arranged as to form along each side of the back two rows 

 of lozenge-shaped spots, and round the legs and tail annular bands. 

 When examined in the morning, or during sleep, the whole surface 

 presented a greyish cast, with the exception of the yellow marks ; 

 but when the animal was excited in any way, as by pricking, or 

 transferring it from a cold to a warm temperature, an evident 

 change of colour took place, sometimes all over the surface, some- 

 times only partially, according as the excitement affected the entire 

 or only a part of its body. A brownish tinge gradually overspread 

 it, engaging equally the tubercles and the intermediate skin ; while 

 the spots, which were previously yellow, acquired a slight admixture 

 of green. The shades, however, were few, and confined to those 

 intermediate between a light grey and a deep brown, with a little 

 yellow or green interspersed through them, but never, that I could 

 observe, bore any relation to the colour of the surface on which the 

 animal happened to be placed. In dissecting the skin after death, 

 its exceeding thinness and vascularity attracted my attention. In 

 every part, but more especially between the tubercles, it was so thin 

 as to be almost transparent : and its internal surface, when exa- 

 mined through a magnifying glass, presented a complete net-work 

 of fine vessels, rendered visible by the dark blood which they con- 

 tained. A portion of skin removed from about the eyes, where 



