114 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



times pinkish, with dark bands crossing the back. On 

 the forward portion of the back — over the shoulders — 

 are four vivid white spots. The back is studded with 

 small tubercles, as is the anterior portion of the sides of 

 the tail, where the tubercles are long, pointed and 

 directed backwards. 



During an attempt to photograph some examples of 

 this species on a sheet of glass, the writer experienced 

 all kinds of difficulty. After focusing a specimen, the 

 movement of fitting the plate-holder in the camera — no 

 matter how cautiously made — sent the reptile scurrying 

 out of the field or jumping to the floor; the shock of 

 the latter performance invariably resulted in the loss 

 of the lizard's tail, making that particular specimen an 

 unfit object for the camera. In a desperate attempt to 

 effect some tractability among his subjects, the writer 

 placed the remaining perfect individuals in a gauze 

 cage, thence in a refrigerator, at a temperature of about 

 35° F. There they were kept for fifteen minutes. 

 Again placed on the glass, and the same put in a ver- 

 tical position, a new difficulty was encountered. While 

 the lizards were too sluggish to run away, their ad- 

 hesive digits so imperfectly performed their functions 

 the reptiles slid rapidly down the glass as soon as they 

 were placed upon it. The consequent difficulty in ob- 

 taining desirable photographs may be imagined. 



The specimens mentioned have lived for a long time in 

 a large cage occupied by several big snakes. During 

 the day the lizards sleep at the very top of the cage on 

 that part of the wall immediately adjacent to the angle 

 of the ceiling, their bodies parallel with the latter. At 

 night they dart about in search of roaches. But they 

 are by no means strictly insectivorous. A number of 

 American "chameleons" — Anolis — placed in the cage 



