THE LIZARDS 149 



to locate his specimen, then slap the hand down over 

 the reptile. In two instances out of three the rough 

 little body squirms under the hand. Not so unless the 

 motion of securing the prize is lightning quick. How 

 many times has the writer gazed ruefully upon a lizard's 

 spasmodically wriggling tail, realizing that as the hand 

 descended the reptile started, yet not quick enough to 

 get away with all its possessions. Swifts may be 

 hunted around sawmills, especially if a number of old 

 logs are lying about, for on these the reptiles find such 

 food as the fat-bodied grubs of the wood-boring beetles. 

 In most families of lizards there is some particular 

 genus, or a small group of genera embracing species 

 of such eccentric form that a superficial examination 

 would lead one to suppose they had no near relations. 

 The IguanidcB furnishes marked examples in the shape 

 of the Horned "Toads," composing the genus Phry- 

 nosoma — and here let us change a misleading title, now 

 we have for duty's sake employed it. We will call 

 these creatures the Horned Lizards. They inhabit 

 the United States and Mexico; principally the former. 

 The fifteen species are characteristic in having wide, 

 flat, toad-like bodies on which there is a marginal fringe 

 of spines and erect, scattered spines of various sizes 

 on the back; over the general surface of the back the 

 scalation is exceedingly fine and granular. Most inter- 

 esting is the head; on most of the species it is armed 

 with spines that are huge in proportion to the size of 

 the possessor; and these spines are generously provided. 

 There are two or three large ones on each temple; be- 

 hind these — on the back of the head — is usually the 

 largest and stoutest pair of spines. On the chin, and 

 parallel with the line of the mouth (on each side) is 

 a row of keen-edged and projecting plates. 



