116 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



ices during the daytime. It comes forth late in the 

 afternoon and at night, feeding on insect prey. The 

 species is not very agile and if handled emits a faint, 

 squeaking sound. 



The Family JJroplatldce, composed of a single genus 

 and three species, is removed from the Geckonidce owing 

 to certain differences in the skull. Externally, the 

 members look like typical geckos. 



Leaving the group of geckos, the arrangement of 

 scientific classification halts at a family of some doubt 

 as to its exact position in the system. Certain it is that 

 the members of this are as unlike the geckos as could 

 possibly be imagined, for they are all serpentine of 

 body, entirely devoid of the front limbs, while the hind 

 limbs are merely represented by scaly flaps. The pres- 

 ent creatures form the family Pygopodidce. Though 

 their bodies are scaled and their heads plated like the 

 serpents — which characters would seem to place them 

 yet more distantly from the group we have just passed, 

 certain parts of the structure may point to a remote 

 relationship and warrant their present place in classifi- 

 cation. Among these characters are a similarity to the 

 skull (the most important), the absence of eyelids, and 

 the elliptical pupil. 



The Pygopodidce is distributed throughout Australia, 

 Tasmania and New Guinea. A species of wide dis- 

 tribution in Australia and Tasmania is technically 

 known as Pygopus lepidopus. It grows to a length of 

 twenty-four inches, of which the tail, which is very brit- 

 tle, occupies two-thirds. The serpentine aspect is in- 

 tensified by the symmetrical shields on the head. The 

 body scales are keeled. This creature progresses by a 

 series of lateral undulations, the flap-like vestiges of 

 hind limbs appearing to be quite useless. Delma 



