MI CIIAMAKI.KON riDAK 573 



obstinately. Once I have even seen u ( haiiu'leon, wlien put 

 into tlio o-reenhouse, make strai<_^]it for a lank and actuallv 

 drink in gulps. 



After thev have fattened thcni^^L-lws in thu auLunin, Chaiae- 

 leons, at least those of Nortli Africa, withdraw to hibernate in 

 the ground. I>ut nothing is known about Imw, when, and 

 where they do this, nor is it kimwu if tropical species aestivate 

 during the dry season. 



riianieleons arc notoriouslv difticult tn keen sTiccessfullv, 

 whereby we do not mean the keeping for three to six mouths. 

 This is easy enough, since it takes them several months 

 to die of starvation. The difficulty is to keep them tlirough 

 the winter. To enable them to do this, it is aljsolutely necessary 

 to fatten them up during the summer and autumn. Otherwise, 

 although kept in a warm ])lace, they are liable to lose their 

 appetite in the autumn, when they become restless, probably with 

 the desire to hibernate. Those few individuals which get over 

 this critical period, say during the month of Octoljer, and do not 

 refuse food, are probably safe. But those are doomed which 

 refuse to eat meal-worms or cockroaches or sucli food as can be 

 procured easily during the winter. 



The origin of the Chameleons is unknown. They form only 

 one family, Chamaeleontidae, with between fifty and sixty species, 

 which, with a few exceptions, belong to the genus Chamaehon. 



Ch. vulgaris is the Connnon Chameleon of North Africa, Syria, 

 and Asia Minor. It occurs also in a few parts of Soutliern Andalucia, 

 for instance near Jerez, and near Nerja, to the east of ]\Ialaga, where 

 it has possibly been introduced. A series of conical, slightly 

 enlarged granules forms a little crest on the median line of tlie 

 throat. A whitish line, which does not change colour, extends 

 from the chin to the vent. The rest of the skin, with the 

 exception of a median dorsal series of slightly enlarged tubercles 

 on part of the back, is composed of small granules. A small 

 but distinct lobe of leathery skin extends along either side of the 

 occiput towards the posterior end of tlic median parietal crest. 

 Dead or spirit-specimens are usually pale yellow ; living ones are 

 greenish, usually with differently coloured patches on the sides. 

 Exceptionally large males reach a total length of about 9 inches, 

 females reach the length of perhaps a foot, but about half 

 of the total length belongs to the tail. 



