54 BRITISH LIZARDS 



within the mother ; in the latter case, therefore, they 

 are born quite free. No nest of any kind is made. 

 The mother simply deposits the young upon the 

 ground and leaves them to their own devices. As 

 they have the perfect use of their limbs from the 

 moment of birth, this apparent carelessness of the 

 mother has no disadvantageous effect upon the young, 

 who, in obedience to the dictates of hunger, very soon 

 commence the search for small insects. These little 

 ones, as already mentioned, are nearly black at first. 

 In size they measure about an inch at birth, or a 

 fraction less. Within a week they are actively 

 engaged in feeding, but for the first few days they 

 remain under leaves, and apparently subsist upon the 

 remaining yolk from the egg, which has passed into 

 the body. " Their first food consists of Aphides and 

 similar tiny insects." ^ 



Synonyms. — The various names by which this lizard 

 is known are as follows : — 



The common lizard. 



The viviparous lizard. 



The scaly lizard. 

 In addition to the correct specific name of L. vivipara, 

 the name Zootoca mvipara will be found in many 

 writings apphed to this species. The classification is 

 given on page 101, and the specific scaling characters 

 whicli distinguish it from the sand lizard are described 

 in the chapter on " Specific Characters." 



^ Gadow, Amphibia and Reptiles, p. 554. 



