THE LIZARDS 135 



inhabits the Fiji and the Friendly Islands. A number 

 of the Iguanas are esteemed as food. Their flesh is 

 alleged to be white and tender, like that of a chicken. 



The genera embracing the typical Iguanas are Am- 

 blyrhynchus, 1 species — Galapagos Islands ; Conolophus, 

 1 species — Galapagos Islands ; Iguana, 2 species — Mex- 

 ico, Central America, tropical South America and the 

 West Indies; Brachylophus, 1 species — Fiji and 

 Friendly Islands ; Cyclura} 5 species — West Indies and 

 Ctenosaura, 3 species — Mexico and Central America. 

 Cachryx, Hoplocercus and Dipsosaurus are closely re- 

 lated genera. 



The Marine Iguana, Amblyrhynclms cristatus, 

 shares with one other species the characteristic of fre- 

 quenting the sea coast and entering salt water. It is 

 a big, stocky brute with a sullen, bull-dog mien. The 

 colors are dull brown and yellow. This is a gregarious 

 animal, assembling in flocks of several hundred individ- 

 uals, a unique habit among lizards. Mr. R. J. Beck, 

 who visited Narborough Islands, in the Galapagos 

 Group, in 1902, explains that on the comparatively 

 smooth lava of the shore he found an astounding colony 

 of these creatures. Over an area of at least three acres 

 the lava was literally hidden by a great army of iguanas. 

 The reptiles were quite tame and could be approached 

 with little caution. 



The tail of the present species is decidedly flattened. 

 On the neck, back and tail is a continuous crest of re- 

 curved spines. The head is short and stout; it is pro- 

 vided on the top with blunt, close-set tubercles. A large 

 specimen is four and a half feet long. Owing to the 

 flat tail the species is an agile swimmer and seems to 



i It appears best to include the Rhinoceros Iguana, formerly standing as 

 the one species of Metopoceros, within this genus. 



