CHAPTER VIII 



THE GREEN LIZARD, LAGERTA VIRIDIS 



DISTRIBUTION DESCRIPTION HAUNTS HABITS 



FOOD — REPRODUCTION. 



Distribution. — A further word of explanation is neces- 

 sary to account for this species being introduced into a 

 book which purports to deal only with British lizards. 

 It is not at all a question of the evidence concerning 

 the capture of this or that specimen in this or that 

 locality, or the further argument thereupon as to 

 whether these captured green lizards are to be re- 

 garded as indigenous. As far as England is con- 

 cerned, Zacerta viridis is not, and never has been, an 

 indigenous species, and the capture of a few specimens 

 under circumstances which seem to point to their 

 being so, merely indicates that out of the very large 

 number that are kept by dealers and as vivarium 

 pets, some few every now and then manage to make 

 their escape from captivity. The same thing has 

 occurred with a tortoise, but it was not therefore 

 seriously urged that land tortoises were to be regarded 



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