LIZARDS. 



407 



Plati/<Incti/hts maiiridnilotif: is fouiul in ihc cininlrics bonlcrinrj the Mpilitcrrancan 

 :iiiil is known in tlio sontli of France as tlic turciiti:. It is iic\cr t'ouml in danij) or 

 slia(k'<l localities, hut ilelights in the siinsliine, being I'omul aliout ruins and old walls. 

 The colder portions of the year it spends in an inert condition, hid away in some 

 crevice, or under the tile of an old house, ready to creep out on the first waiin days 

 of spring. It is a perfectly liarnilcss animal. Of its cry nothing is known. 



Fig. 235. — Platydacfi/ius nianritanicits^ tareiitc. 



SphoBrodactijlus iiotatux, one of the smallest American li/.ards, measuring aliout 

 two inches in length, is the only gecko in the l^'nited States, though there are three 

 or four in Mexico and Lower California. Each of the toes is terminated liy a small 

 rounded disk, by means of which, the animal can wander over the jierpendieular faces 

 of rocks. Till! reptile is very rare in collections, though it has been several times taken 

 in Florida and Cuba. Wliile the scales on the liack ami sides nw large and keeled, 

 those of the belly are smocjlh, small, and lie.\ag(jual. 



