LIZARDS. 411 



luovalilc Mild sc:ilv, .■iii'l (inly a siiiulc \ku\- <<( liiiilis, tlu" iiostcrior, wliicii :ir(^ scaly ami 

 undivicliMl. /'. Icjildiipiis has tliu scales uf tlie back kcclcil, ami the prc-aiial poics 

 niiinerous. hi its general structure and liabits it resembles I'mialojuis. Ddiaa is an 

 allied genus, having smooth scales, no pre-anal pores, and shorter rudiments of hind 

 limbs, while Aprnsia^ of the same haliitat, western Australia, has no indication of 

 limbs whatever. 



We now come to one of the more interesting families, the Agamid^, which is 

 rciiresented in the eastern hemisjiliere by several acrodont genera. 



Aijdiitit pro]ier lias the lioily covered with keeled scales, the head trian!j;ular, the 

 tail idiiiid and covered with iinliiicate scales, the femoral ])ores absent, and the pre- 

 anals in a row across the abdomen. ^I. rii-JaUcepa inlialiits the warmer portions of 

 Africa, being particularly jiartial to dry and arid localities, where it is very watchful 

 and siis]iicious. If it cannot intimidate the object of its disturbance l>y its gesticula- 

 tions, it ([uickly retreats and conceals itself. 



Till' genus i'ldoti-'K inhaliits India and t'e\loii, and includes several species which 

 resemble each other in having the lym]ianiini naked; the scaU'S of the back and sides 

 equal, regularly arranged, and their tips directed slightly upward ; the dorsal crest 

 formed of non-united spines; the gular sac but slightly developed; the sub-caudal 

 scales as broad as long, and the femoral pores absent. The representatives are all ar- 

 boreal, feeding on insects, tender leaves, and berries. C. veisicolor, the so-called 

 ' blood-sucker,' is one of the most common animals of the whole continent, extending 

 north into the cooler zones of the Himmalehs. The vernacular name was perhaps 

 given because of the occasional reddish hue of its throat. The female deposits her 

 eggs, sometimes to the number of sixteen, in the hollows of trees, or in holes which 

 she digs in the earth ; the young appearing after a lapse of eight or nine weeks. 

 During and after showers these animals often descend to the ground, to search for the 

 numerous larvaj and small insects which are washed from the trees. 



The genus Jjraco is characterized by a most remarkable growth along the sides of 

 the body, the skin being horizontally sjiread out as a parachute and supjiorted by five 

 or six false posterior ribs. A pendant appendage like that of the iguana is also 

 present. 



The nieml>ers of this genus, the tlying-dragons, are confined to the East Indies, 

 Avhere they lead an arboreal life, lightly shooting from tree to tree by means of their 

 expanded jiarachutes, or, with these foldeil to the side of the body, running along like 

 ordinary members of the order, and resembling in their general haldts the Anoks of 

 the New Worl.I. Tlu' several sjiecies are extremely similar, the distinctions being 

 chiefly based on the relative length of limbs, the ]iosition of the nostrils, and the gen- 

 eral scutellation. 'fhe tail is undoubtedly of consideralile assistance in diri'cting their 

 course through the air; to this end it is long and slender, aii<l more tiriidy articulated 

 than that of less aerial relatixes. Cantor, in s])eakiiig of the ilying-dragons, says : 

 "The transcendent beauty of their colors baffles descriiitioii. As the li/.ard lies in the 

 shade, along the trunk of a tree, the colors at a distance a] 'pear like a mixture of 

 brown and gray, and renders it scarcely distinguishable from the bark. Thus it re- 

 mains with no signs of life except the restless eyes, watching ])assiiig insects, which, 

 suddenly ex])anding its wings, it seizes with a sometimes considerable, unerring leap. 

 The li/,ard itself ap]iears to jiossess no power of changing its colors." 



The scxcral s|iecies, of which tlieri' are foiirteeii, arc between seven and eight 

 inelu'S in length. Thri'i' or four whitish eu'^s are occasioiiallv found in the females. 



